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Book Keeping: 'Astounded, Flattered, And Overwhelmed' By Offers

Rejection didn't deter this novelist whose second manuscript sparked a four-house bidding war

By Peggy Bourjaily – August 1, 2007
Most writers have to deal with rejection on a regular basis. Allison Winn Scotch got a major dose of it when she landed an agent, but was unable to sell her first novel despite publishers' positive feedback. Scotch learned rejection can also be a blessing. Fusing her disappointment with her grief about the loss of a close friend to breast cancer, Scotch wrote another novel. The Department of Lost and Found (William Morrow May 2007) features Natalie Miller, a young woman who is suddenly diagnosed with breast cancer, as a result, discovers what's most important to her.