What they mean is, «big name» authors, with well -
known publishers stamped on the side of their novels; I am treated with disdain for just stepping into their store, as though I'm going to poison it with my presence.
My favorite of the 27 rejections I accumulated before I finally landed an agent was the New York
publisher whose rejection consisted of my own letter sent back to me with a
stamp — you
know, one of those rubber things that you pound on an ink pad — that said «
No.»