Not For Us / 略有小成後

　　Stephen King is, without a doubt, the best-known horror and science fiction writer in the world. When King was about sixteen, he, just like what many famous modern writers did in their early life, kept submitting his own-written stories to magazines for publication.

　　He once wrote a story called The Night of the Tiger and sent off to a magazine. He soon received the rejection slip, saying thus: "This is good. Not for us, but good. You have talent. Submit again. "

　　Ten years or so later, after King had sold a couple of novels, he discovered The Night of the Tiger in a box of old manuscripts. Thinking that it was still "a perfectly respectable story", he rewrote it and resummited it to the magazine which had once sent him a rejection slip for it.

　　This time they bought it.

　　"One thing I've noticed is that when you've had a little success, magazines are a lot less apt to use that phrase, 'Not for us.' " King remarked.

　　毋庸置疑，史提芬‧京是當世最為人熟悉的驚慄及科幻小說作家。十六歲那年頭，他跟很多現代作家的年少經歷相去無幾，都是不斷投稿，希望有雜誌刊登。

　　有一次他寫了一個故事，名為《虎之夜》，投稿至一本雜誌。他很快就收到退稿通知，上面寫著：「寫得很好。不合我們調性，但寫得很好。你很有天份。請再投稿。」

　　十數年後，京已經寫了幾本小說付梓出售，偶爾間在一個裝滿舊稿本的盒子中看見《虎之夜》。他始終覺得這個故事「極之不錯」，於是重寫之，再次投稿到那家曾拒他千里之外的雜誌社。

　　這次雜誌沒有退稿。

　　「我發現了一件事，就是當你略有小成後，雜誌社比較不會說出那句『不合我們調性』。」京如是說。