Her site also has the rejection letter her agent received for The Left Hand of Darkness, a book I'm willing to call a seminal work of science fiction even though I think that sounds a tad pretentious. It was the second book to win the Hugo and the Nebula! Being the class act that she is, UKL took the editor's name off the letter.
Writing well, lots of dollars
Telling good stories where the message doesn't overpower the characters, even more dollars
Having talent, modesty, and a sense of humor . . . priceless!