What do Mark Twain, Virginia Wolff, Walt Whitman, Edgar Allen Poe, Beatrix Potter, Benjamin Franklin, Deepak Chopra, and Edgar Rice Burroughs all have in common? (Here’s a hint: Amanda Hocking, JA Konrath and John Locke are also on this list!)

They self-published one or all of their books!

So the next time you get the vibe from someone that your self-published book is somehow less than a major accomplishment, think about these authors. And remember their successes. Feel proud of your achievement. Not everyone can write a book, let alone publish one. Congratulations. And keep writing!

For a longer list of self-published authors, as well as some very interesting factoids on rejections, go to www.simonteakettle.com/famousauthors.htm.