A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle – 26 rejections.
This science fiction novel written in 1962 was continuously rejected for being “too different” according to its author. The book was awarded the John Newbery Medal, the Sequoia Award and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. It is constantly reprinted.
Carrie by Stephen King – more than 30 rejections.
King worked as a professor in the Hampden Academy and barely earned $6,400 a year. In order to reduce his expenses he had to cancel his landline phone contract. That is why he could not be contacted when his book was selected for publishing; his phone was out of service. His editor at Doubleday, William Thompson (who would eventually become a close friend of King’s) sent him a telegram that read: “CARRIE OFFICIALLY A DOUBLEDAY BOOK. $2,500 ADVANCE. CONGRATULATIONS, BOY – THE FUTURE IS TO COME, BILL”. Seven months later the New American Library would pay $400,000 for the publishing rights for the paperback edition.
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell – 38 rejections
It is one of the bestselling books of all time, an American literature classic and, after its film adaptation, one of the greatest icons or myths of contemporary pop culture.
A Time to Kill by John Grisham – 45 rejections
A Time to Kill is a thriller. Grisham first began writing his first novel in 1984 and it was published in June 1989. Grisham is one of the most popular authors in the world; more than 250 million copies of his books have been sold. He is one of three authors who sold two million copies of a first edition; the others are Tom Clancy and JK Rowling. His second book, The Firm, sold more than seven million copies.
Louis L’Amour, author of more than 100 westerns was rejected over 300 times before publishing his first book; at the time of his death he had published 89 novels, 14 short stories collections and two non-fiction works. During his time he was considered “one of the most popular writers in the world”.
Ray Bradbury, author of The Martian Chronicles and more than 100 science fiction novels more, was rejected around 800 times before selling his first story.
A rejection letter for the short novel Animal Farm by George Orwell read: “It is not possible to sell stories about animals in the US”. The book is being currently reprinted and it has become one of the bestselling books of the 20th Century in the United States.
A rejection letter for an article sent by Rudyard Kipling to The San Francisco Examiner read: “We are sorry, Mister Kipling, but you simply are not able to use the English language right”.
Anne Frank’s Diary was rejected with the following letter: “The girl does not produce, in my opinion, a special perception of any feeling that might elevate the book above the level of curiosity”.
Rejection letter for Stories by Dr. Seuss: “Very different of other children’s stories out there in the market as to justify selling it”.
Lastly, this exquisite rejection letter by a Chinese paper:
“We have read your manuscript with endless pleasure. If we published it in our paper, it would be impossible for us to publish anything of a lesser quality afterwards. Because we cannot imagine finding anything comparable in the next thousand years we are, regretfully, forced to reject your heavenly composition. I beg you a thousand times to forgive our shortsightedness and fear”.
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