Famous Books Rejected Multiple Times
Commenting on That First Page, a reader remarks:
Then there is the story of Orwell’s novel being rejected by American publishers because “American readers don’t like animal stories!”
Publishers and agents alike have turned down books that finally made it into print and immortality.
Two books devoted to the subject give details of now embarrassing reasons given for turning down writers who have become household names:
Pushcart’s Complete Rotten Reviews (1998), Edited by Bill Henderson and Andre Bernard. (”You’re welcome to Le Carré; he hasn’t got any future.”)
Rejections of the Written Famous (2003) by Joyce Spizer (”Tony Hillerman’s agent told him, ‘Get rid of the Indian stuff’”)
Here, with the number of times the book was turned down, are some examples to give you courage next time you receive a rejection letter. (Note: the figures are taken from websites and not directly from the books.)
Auntie Mame, Patrick Dennis (15)
Carrie, Stephen Kng (30)
Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfeld and Mark Victor Hansen (140)
Diary of Anne Frank (16)
Dr. Seuss books (15)
Dubliners, James Joyce (22)
Dune, Frank Herbert (23)
Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell (38)
Harry Potter book one, J. K. Rowling (9)
Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach (18)
Kon-Tiki, Thor Heyerdahl (20)
M*A*S*H, Richard Hooker (17)
The Peter Principle, Laurence Peter (16)
The Prncess Diaries, Meg Cabot (17)
Watership Down, Richard Adams (26)
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle, (26)
Links:
Debbie Ridpath Ohi on Rejection
Rejection is a Drag (Pen on Fire)
Rejection Collection.com
Maeve Maddox on December 29, 2008 
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As a university writing instructor, I often mention this litany of missed great books by publishers and expert editors.
The book that I usually mention first, however, is not on your fine list: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Originally, it was titled Catch-18 but he increased the number with each rejection letter from leading publishers. Of course, Heller had the last laugh as his comic masterpiece become an international bestseller and became a cultural reference point in 1960s. The Oxford English Dictionary even includes the phrase today and a Hollywood film was based on the book.
Thanks for the article and gentle reminder that tastes differ and experts do not always know best!
You say that Americans don’t like animal books. I won’t read anything human, or atleast imagine them as humans, because I like animal stories ONLY. Also, can you all say how many times Redwall was turned down?