Rejection is an imperative test of one’s character.
Some writers continually submit the same manuscript until it is accepted. Others chose to do a more polished draft before sending it out again. While a select few learn from the lessons to write a completely new novel.
But what they all have in common is a persistence to never ever give up on their dream; a dream that elevated them from writer, to best-selling author. There are countless examples in literary history, and here are just a few:
After 500 rejections spanning 4 years, the writer finally lands a publishing deal: Agatha Christie. Her book sales are now in excess of $2 billion. Only William Shakespeare has sold more.
The Christopher Little Literary Agency receives 12 publishing rejections in a row for their new client, until the eight-year-old daughter of the Bloomsbury Editor demands to read the rest of the book. The Editor agrees to publish but advises the writer to get a day job since she has little chance of making money in Children’s books. Yet Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling spawns a series where the last four novels consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history, on both sides of the Atlantic, with combined sales of 400 million.
Louis L’Amour received 200 rejections before Bantam took a chance on him. He is now their best ever selling Author with 330 million sales.
“Too different from other juveniles on the market to warrant its selling.” A rejection letter sent to Dr Seuss. 300 million sales and the 9th best-selling fiction Author of all time.
“You have no business being a writer and should give up.” Zane Grey ignores the advice. His 90 books have now sold 250 million copies.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter was rejected so many times she had to initially self publish. To date: 80 million sales.
“It is so badly written.” The Author tries Doubleday instead and his little book makes an impression. The Da Vinci Code sells 80 million.
140 rejections stating “Anthologies don’t sell” until Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen sells 80 million copies.
Having sold only 800 copies on its limited first release, the Author finds a new Publisher and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho sells 75 million.
“We feel that we don’t know the central character well enough.” The author does a rewrite and his protagonist becomes an icon for a generation as The Catcher In The Rye sells 65 million.
5 Publishers reject L.M. Montgomery‘s debut novel. L.C. Page & Company does not, and Anne of Green Gables sells 50 million.
“Nobody will want to read a book about a seagull.” Richard Bach‘s Jonathan Livingston Seagull went on to sell 44 million copies.
“Undisciplined, rambling and thoroughly amateurish writer.” But Jacqueline Susann refuses to give up and her book the Valley of the Dolls sells 30 million.
Margaret Mitchell gets 38 rejections from publishers before finding one to publish her novel Gone With The Wind. Sold 30 million.
“A long, dull novel about an artist.” Publisher rejects Lust For Life by Irving Stone. 25 million sales.
“An irresponsible holiday story that will never sell.” Rejection of The Wind In The Willows. 25 million sales.
His Publishers Doubleday rejects the first 100 pages. So the author Peter Benchley starts from scratch and Jaws sells 20 million.
Thor Heyerdahl believes his book Kon-Tiki: Across The Pacific is unique. 20 Publishers disagree. The 21st takes it on and sells 20 million: one for each rejection.
Despite 14 consecutive Agency rejections Stephenie Meyer‘s Twilight goes on to sell 17 million copies and spends 91 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
“An absurd and uninteresting fantasy which was rubbish and dull.” Rejection letter sent to William Golding for The Lord Of The Flies. 15 million sales.
After 20 rejection letters, WM Paul Young self publishes his novel The Shack. 15 million sales and a cultural phenomenon.
Despite 17 Rejections, Meg Cabot continues sending her manuscript out. It gets taken on and The Princess Diaries sells 15 million copies.
“Too radical of a departure from traditional juvenile literature.” Frank L. Baum persists and The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz sells 15 million.
Little, Brown & Company passes on a two book deal for Alice Walker. When complete her novel The Color Purple sells 10 million and wins The Pulitzer Prize.
26 publishers reject A Wrinkle in Time. It wins the 1963 Newbery Medal and becomes an international bestseller. 8 million sales and counting.
“Unsaleable and unpublishable.” Publisher on Ayn Rand‘s The Fountainhead. Random House takes a chance on it. It sells 7 million copies in the US alone.
To deal with publisher rejections, Hugh Prather decides to write a book about them in his early struggles and Notes To Myself sells 5 million.
To prove how hard it is for new writers to break in, Jerzy Kosinski uses a pen name to submit his bestseller Steps to 13 Agents and 14 Publishers. All of them reject it, including Random House, who had published it.
“It was rejected 60 times. But letter number 61 was the one that accepted me. Three weeks later we sold the book to Amy Einhorn Books.” Kathryn Stockett on The Help the current best-seller in both the US and UK.
Rejected by Publishers, Ruth Saberton leaves her 400 page manuscript Katy Carter Wants a Hero on the holiday home doormat of Richard and Judy in Cornwall. They love the book so much that their recommendation secures a publishing deal with Orion.
5 London Publishers turn it down. The little book finally finds a home: Life Of Pi by Yann Martel, winning The Man Booker Prize in 2002.
100 Agents and Publishers reject it. Anderson Press does not and Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace wins the Costa Children’s Book Award.
Rejected by 20 Agents and Publishers, one Editor believes in the book and Catherine O’Flynn‘s What Was Lost wins the 2008 Costa Book Award.
Rejected by his agent because it is narrated by a dog, Garth Stein switches to Folio Literary Management and The Art Of Racing In The Rain sells for 7 figures.
“An endless nightmare. I think the verdict would be ‘Oh don’t read that horrid book.” Publisher rejects the War Of The Worlds by H.G. Wells.
“Our united opinion is entirely against the book. It is very long, and rather old-fashioned.” Publisher rejects Moby Dick.
After 22 Rejections, The Dubliners is finally published. But it only sells 379 copies in the first year. James Joyce bought 120 of them.
T.S. Eliot as head of Faber & Faber rejects it because of “Trotskyite politics.” Secker & Warburg spot potential, and George Orwell’s Animal Farm becomes a best-seller.
“An absurd story as romance, melodrama or record of New York high life.” Yet Publication see The Great Gatsby become a best-selling classic.
“Stick to teaching.” Louisa May Alcott refuses to give up on her dream. Little Women sells millions, and is still in print 140 years later. Unlike the name of the Publisher who told her to give up.
“I haven’t the foggiest idea about what the man is trying to say. Apparently the author intends it to be funny.” Publisher rejects Catch-22, a novel given its name because it was the 22nd Publisher, Simon and Schuster, who agreed to take it on. 10 million sales.
“Older children will not like it because its language is too difficult.” On Watership Down one of the fastest-selling books in history.
After Random House reject his debut novel The Long Walk the author puts it away and ponders his next move. He decides to write a new novel: Stephen King.
“We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell.” Stephen King’s Carrie sells 1 million in the first year alone.
“The American public is not interested in China.” Pearl S Buck‘s The Good Earth becomes the best-selling US novel two years running in 1931/32, and wins The Pulitzer Prize in the process.
With 23 Rejections, Frank Herbert finally lands a publisher, and Dune becomes the best-selling science-fiction novel of all time.
24 Agencies turned down The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. The 25th did not and sold it to Time Warner one week later for $1 million dollars.
31 Publishers in a row turn down The Thomas Berryman Number. It wins the Edgar for Best Novel becoming a best-seller for James Patterson. An author with 19 consecutive #1′s on the New York Times best-seller list and sales of 220 million.
16 Agencies and 12 Publishers reject A Time To Kill. Its modest print run of 5000 quickly sells out, as it goes on to become a best-seller for its author: John Grisham. Combined sales of 250 million.
Despite 17 rejections Patrick Dennis in 1956 becomes the first author in history to have 3 books ranked on the New York Times best-seller list at the same time. He had worked through publishers in alphabetical order. The one that finally agreed to take him on: Vanguard Press.
30 Publishers tell Laurence Peter that his book The Peter Principle will never sell. In 1969, a mere 18 months later it is a #1 best-seller.
“This will set publishing back 25 years.” Rejecting The Deer Park. Its author Norman Mailer goes on to win The Pulitzer Prize, twice.
Alex Haley writes for eight years before selling a single short story. His novel Roots becomes a publishing sensation and wins The Pulitzer Prize in 1977.
Taking on the advice of his 76 rejections Jasper Fforde writes a new book The Eyre Affair and it becomes an instant New York Times best-seller.
“Every last publisher in England rejected my first two books.” So Simon Kernick writes a third and The Business Of Dying lands him a publishing deal with Bantam.
“Utterly untranslatable.” Jorge Luis Borges tries a different Publisher. He wins 50 Literary Prizes and dies with his books in many languages.
“We suggest you get rid of all that Indian stuff.” Publisher to Tony Hillerman, on his best-selling Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels.
Rejected by several Publishers Jonathan Littell‘s Les Bienveillantes becomes #1 best-seller in France and wins The Goncourt Literary Prize.
Her Agent believes in her. The publishers of New York do not. So Emily Giffin flies to London to write Something Borrowed and it becomes a New York Times best-seller.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis as an Editor at Doubleday sees potential in Dorothy West‘s unfinished novel The Wedding and it later becomes a best-seller.
“Rejection slips could wallpaper my room.” Dennis Kimbro on Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice used in seminars throughout the US.
Despite initial rejections, E.C.Osondu persists with his book Waiting and it wins the 2009 African Booker.
Rejected by everyone except Heinemann. Chinua Achebe‘s Things Fall Apart becomes the most widely-read book in modern African literature.
“We found the heroine boring.” Mary Higgins Clark switches genre to suspense and her second book gets a $1.5 million advance. She is now on a $60 million book deal.
The Alfred A. Knopf publishing house turned down: Jack Kerouac, George Orwell, Sylvia Plath, and Mario Puzo‘s The Godfather.
The E.E. Cummings best-seller The Enormous Room has a dedication page ‘With No Thanks To’ all 15 publishers who turned it down.
Robert M. Pirsig‘s Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is in the Guinness Book Of Records for 121 rejections, more than any other best-seller.
The estate of best-seller Jack London in San Francisco, the House Of Happy Walls has a collection of some of the 600 rejections he received before selling a single story.