Comments on: Famous Books Rejected Multiple Times

By: John Gil

John Gil — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:23:39 +0000

I am an architect and a writer and wish to add to your list Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. About 105 publishers. Still selling well today since the 1970’s.

By: Stephen Thorn

Stephen Thorn — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:08:32 +0000

In fact, “Carrie” had been dumped in the garbage. Stephen King was disgusted with it (presumably after all the rejections) and had tossed it in the rubbish. His wife, Tabitha, saw the manuscript and rescued it; she read it and convinced him to keep trying. That was the start of King’s career (and lots of sleepless nights for many fortunate readers).

By: Bean

Bean — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 06:08:10 +0000

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?

By: Eric H. Roth

Eric H. Roth — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 17:54:37 +0000

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!