Who really said it
Credited to Ray Bradbury, but no first-hand interview or book source was established.
Last verified 9 Nov 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?
For presentations
Unconfirmed quote & credit
“You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance” — Ray Bradbury (attribution unconfirmed)
Can you use it?
We couldn’t establish where this was first published, so there’s no rights status to give. Credit it as shown above — just don’t present it as public domain, and get permission for commercial or published reuse.
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In context
Evoking the world of Ray Bradbury — American writer. Theme: "You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
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Provenance
You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance.
Read the attribution evidenceHow we verified this
The exact English wording or its first publication has not been pinned down; no public-domain clearance is asserted.
Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.
Context
Richard Dooling uses the saying while discussing rejection in a writer’s working life. Later quotation columns and a haiku essay repeat the Bradbury credit, but none of those inspected repetitions identifies the original interview, speech or book passage.
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More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.
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Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.
Dooling’s January 20, 2008 essay credits the saying to Bradbury without locating its original source.
The column repeats the maxim and credits Bradbury via the Pembroke Observer.
Robert Epstein uses the saying as an attributed epigraph in 2022.
Official collection of Bradbury’s writing advice; background rather than proof of this exact maxim.
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The author
For writers & researchers
Rejection, Thy Constant Companion, Richard Dooling (2008).
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/you-have-to-know-how-to-accept-rejection-and-reject/