Between 1966 and 1970 Stephen King studied at the University of Maine, finally graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in English. During this time he supported himself with a number of menial jobs and following his graduation, he wrote short stories to earn money as he worked on his first book, a story called Carrie. But Carrie was rejected numerous times by publishers and at one stage King became discouraged and threw the draft in the trash. His wife retrieved the manuscript and encouraged him to try again, which he did. Finally, in 1973 Carrie was accepted by a small publishing house who gave him an advance of $2,500. The paperback rights would later earn him around $400,000. Today King’s books have sold more than 350 million copies.