The Most Comprehensive List Of Famous Books Rejected By Publishers

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Famous Books Rejected By Publishers

Publishing is one of the few industries that systematically rejects its most talented people. The examples are so outrageous–and so frequent–we decided to create an altar to the ridiculous: The largest collection of infamous literary rejections in the world. With almost 100 entries including summaries, behind-the-scenes gossip and corroborating links it’s your one-stop shopping for literary outrages. Enjoy your soup!

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Most Likely To Make You Lactate With Rage

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stoneby K. Rowling was rejected 12 times before editor Barry Cunningham of Bloomsbury agreed to publish it. Cunningham advised J.K. Rowling to get a day job since she has little chance of making money in children’s books.

J.D. Salinger rewrote The Catcher In The Rye when he was told, “We feel that we don’t know the central character well enough.” He goes on to sell 65 million copies.

Even though Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind was rejected 38 times it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937 and sold 30 million copies.

The founder of Grove Press, Barney Rosset, hated J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. The New York Times quoted him as saying it ”was not credible. I thought I recognized Nordic figures from mythology, but it seemed a mishmash to me. I couldn’t follow it, literally couldn’t finish reading it.”

Alice Walker’s The Color Purple was rejected by Little, Brown & Company. Later the novel sold 10 million copies and won The Pulitzer Prize.

A small company finally published Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in 1818 after many rejections. Its first print was limited to 500 copies and Shelley’s name was not on the cover. She had to wait 13 years for a 3rd edition to be published in order to enjoy commercial success of her book.

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies was rejected 20 times. One editor wrote that his book was, “an absurd and uninteresting fantasy which was rubbish and dull.” Since then it has been adapted to four films, translated into over 30 languages, and been read in quite a few high schools.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was rejected 121 times. The editor who finally gave Robert Pirsig a chance said, “It forced me to decide what I was in publishing for.”

Alfred A. Knopf rejected Mario Puzo’s The Godfather. G.P. Putnam’s Sons later published it in 1969. The 1972 film adaptation of the novel was released starring Marlon Brando.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is one of my favorite children’s books of all time. Silverstein was told that the book would never sell.

An editor who said, “I don’t dig this one at all”, rejected On The Road by Jack Kerouac.

A savage satire disguised as a self-help book for Trump supporters.

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Most Likely To Make You Pronounce All 4 “e’s” in SHIT!

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller received 21 rejections. One rejection letter said, “I haven’t the foggiest idea about what the man is trying to say. Apparently the author intends it to be funny.”

Stephen King’s first published novel Carrie was rejected 30 times. One rejection letter said, “We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell.” He proved them wrong by selling approximately 30,000 copies of the first print.

Poet T.S. Eliot rejected George Orwell’s Animal Farm. A satire that reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Eliot said, “We have no conviction that this is the right point of view from which to criticize the political situation at the current time.” Your loss, T.S. Eliot!

Astonishingly, one publisher wrote about The Diary of Anne Frank: “The girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the ‘curiosity’ level.”

25 literary agents rejected one of my all time favorite novels, The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger. MacAdam/Cage, a small publisher in San Francisco publishes it and sells 7 million copies.

An editor who believed John le Carre had no future rejected The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. His novel received critical acclaim and was chosen as one of the All-Time 100 Novels by Time magazine.

Richard Hornberger’s M*A*S*H: A Novel About Three Army Doctors was based on the author’s experiences during the Korean War. It was passed over by 17 publishers until William Morrow & Company printed it in 1968.

Auntie Mame was rejected by 15 publishers before Vanguard Press discovered it. Patrick Dennis became a millionaire from his book and film sales.

Dune by Frank Herbert received 23 rejections yet it went on to become one of the best selling science fiction novels of all time.

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells was published in 1898 after one editor predicted, “I think the verdict would be, ‘Oh, don’t read that horrid book.’”

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is every child’s favorite book. It became one of the best selling movies of all time: The Wizard of Oz. It’s also been adapted into musicals and miniseries. L. Frank Baum kept a journal called ‘A Record of Failure’ that included all of the rejection letters he received.

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How Drunk Were You When You Turned Down These Literary Lions?

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway was loathed by publisher Moberley Luger. She sent a rejection letter that ended with, “Certainly, what is not needed are treatises about bullfighting and underemployed men who drink too much.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby received this advice in his rejection letter, “You’d have a decent book if you’d get rid of that Gatsby Character.”

Herman Melville’s Moby Dick was rejected for being long and old fashioned. Editor Peter J. Bentley wrote, “We were wondering if changing certain of the story’s elements might not buoy its purchases at the shop, as it were? First, we must ask, does it have to be a whale?”

One editor wrote to William Faulkner about his book Sanctuary, “Good God, I can’t publish this. We’d both be in jail.” Publishers Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith disagreed and published Faulkner’s book in 1931. He is now one of the most celebrated writers in American literature.

Louisa May Alcott was told to “stick to teaching” when she tried to publish Little Women. Her book sold millions and is still in print 140 years later.

The Bell Jar by Victoria Lucas (Silvia Plath’s pseudonym) was rejected once under the author’s reall name and then a second time under her pseudonym by Knopf saying “it is still not much of a novel.”

Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence: “For your own good do not publish this book.”

James Joyce’s Ulysses was judged obscene and rejected by several publishers.

Nan Talese, Houghton Mifflin’s executive editor, rejected Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children. Midnight’s Children ended up winning the prestigious Booker Prize.

James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room was called “hopelessly bad.”

One publisher rejected Oscar Wilde’s play Lady Windermere’s Fan by stating, “My dear sir, I have read your manuscript. Oh, my dear sir.”

Author James Joyce was rejected 22 times. He had to battle the threat of obscenity charges in order to get his books published. Joyce wrote one editor about his obscenity issues with Dubliners, “I have written my book with considerable care, in spite of a hundred difficulties, and in accordance with what I understand to be the classical tradition of my art.” He is now regarded as one of the most influential writers of the 20th century.

Slaughter-House Five by Kurt Vonnegut was rejected for not being compelling enough for acceptance.

Editors Who Gargled But Did Not Drink From The Fountain Of Prestigious Prizes

Alice Walker’s The Color Purple was rejected by Little, Brown & Company. Later the novel sold 10 million copies and won The Pulitzer Prize.

Even though Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind was rejected 38 times it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937 and sold 30 million copies.

Yann Martel’s Life of Pi received a number of rejections, but was finally published in Canada. It won the Man Booker Prize and sold over 10 million copies.

Nan Talese, Houghton Mifflin’s executive editor, rejected Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children. Midnight’s Children ended up winning the prestigious Booker Prize.

James Patterson’s The Thomas Berryman Number was turned down by 31 publishers. Little did they know that it would become a bestseller and win the Edgar for Best Novel.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle was passed over by more than 25 publishers. Later it won a Newberry Medal.

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Editors Who Knew 8 Languages But Couldn’t Say “Franchise” In Any Of Them

Louis L’Amour was rejected 200 times before Bantam published Hondo in 1953. It was later made into a movie starring John Wayne. Now L’Amour is recognized as the bestselling author of 101 books that recount life on the American frontier.

Agatha Christie was rejected for five years before getting The Mysterious Affair at Styles published. The story was adapted for television in 1990. Her website states that Christie “is the best-selling novelist in history, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. She is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime.”

C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia was rejected for years. The series has sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages and is regarded as a children’s literature classic.

Zane Grey was told, “You have no business being a writer and should give up.” Yet he persevered and Harper published The Heritage of the Desert. He has sold an estimated at 250 million books and his books have been made into 112 films.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyers has become a hugely successful novel, series, and film franchise. 14 literary agents rejected it before being accepted.

And to Think I saw It on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss: “. . . too different from other juveniles on the market to warrant its selling.”

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen received 140 rejections for their Chicken Soup for the Soul. They were told that anthologies don’t sell. They proved them wrong by selling 125 million copies.

Judy Blume, one of my ten-year-old daughter’s favorite authors, was told for two years that her fiction would have no readership. Reilly and Lee agreed to publish The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo, which started Judy Blume’s career as a best selling author.

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Editors Who Said NO To Some Of The Best Selling Authors Of All Time

J.D. Salinger rewrote The Catcher In The Rye when he was told, “We feel that we don’t know the central character well enough.” He goes on to sell 65 million copies.

Doubleday told Dan Brown of The Da Vinci Code that his book was so badly written. He then goes on to sell 80 million copies.

C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia was rejected for years. The series has sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages and is regarded as a children’s literature classic.

Watership Down was rejected 17 times. Richard Adams got a break when Rex Collings hesitantly agreed to publish it. Collings was apprehensive about publishing the novel and wrote to a friend, “Do you think I’m mad?”

The Alchemist only sold 800 copies when it was first released until Paulo Coelho found a new publisher that sold 75 million books.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov was passed over five times. His work had difficulty finding a publisher because many believed the book too obscene for public consumption. He was told “I recommend that it be buried under a stone for a thousand years.”

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Editors Who Reek Of Gin & Regret

Irving Stone was told that Lust For Life was, “A long, dull novel about an artist.” Stone persevered and sold 25 million copies.

Five publishers rejected Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery until L.C. Page & Company published it and her debut novel sold 50 million copies.

Beatrix Potter decided to self-publish 250 copies of The Tale of Peter Rabbit because it was rejected so many times. It has now sold 45 million.

Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull has sold 44 million copies even though he was told, “Nobody will want to read a book about a seagull.”

A few London publishers rejected Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe because they argued that books from African writers wouldn’t sell. Heinemann finally published it and it has sold more than 8 million copies.

The Art Of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein was rejected by his agent because it is narrated by a dog.

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks was rejected by 24 literary agencies. Today, the author has sold well over 100 million copies and has seen 11 of his novels adapted into movies.

William Saroyan received an astonishing 7,000 rejection slips before selling The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett was rejected 60 times before she found a publisher. The Help spent 100 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

The Shack by William Paul Young was passed over 20 times. He decided to self publish it in 2007 and it has now sold 15 million copies.

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand: “It is badly written and the hero is unsympathetic.”

A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James. James told the BBC he almost gave up writing after his first novel was rejected nearly 80 times. “I did give it up. I actually destroyed the manuscript, I even went on my friends computers and erased it.” He was able to recover the text by searching through his e-mails on an old computer.

Jasper Fforde racked up 76 rejections before getting The Eyre Affair published.

Jack London kept all of his rejection letters from the first five years of his writing career impaled on a spindle. The impaled letters (600 of them) eventually reached a height of four feet. The Call of the Wild sold 1 million copies and made London the most popular American writer of his generation.

Pearl Buck’s first novel, East Wind: West Wind received rejections from all but one publisher in New York.

The Roots author, Alex Haley, wrote every day for 8 years before finding success.

One publisher rejected Tony Hillerman’s The Blessing Way and told him “If you insist on rewriting this, get rid of the Indian stuff.”

Ursula K. Le Guin was told that The Left Hand of Darkness was “endlessly complicated.

Jean M. Auel’s novel The Clan of the Cave Bear got one rejection letter that stated, “We are very impressed with the depth and scope of your research and the quality of your prose. Nevertheless … we don’t think we could distribute enough copies to satisfy you or ourselves.”

It took Pat Barker 10 years to get her first novel, Union Street, published. Editors called her book “bleak and depressing.”

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling was rejected numerous times. One publisher commented that Kipling didn’t know how to properly us the English language.