REASONS BEHIND REJECTIONS AND FAMOUS REJECTION LETTERS
A friend of mine, who is a writer and emerging screenwriter, just received a rejection letter from an electronic publisher and shared it with me.
What I read was a voluntary harsh and ridiculous message, since the so-called publisher never mentioned any of the good aspects of the manuscript, neither the bad aspects of it (all books have a bit of both) which are two important elements of a constructive and professional critique. He never pointed out the reasons behind his rejection.
As we looked into the publisher’s profile, we found out that the guy is a FAILED WRITER HIMSELF, taking pleasure in rejecting other writers as his own work was countless times.
The guy also is a failed director and failed screenwriter, self-published for years; he launched his own publishing company in 2012 only to have his own short stories published, just like the guy buying dozen other undesired items thinking the condoms he bought won't get noticed by the other costumers or the check-out person. The poor « publisher » certainly thought this detail will be hiden by the publication of other writers.
As you see, envy from a failed writer turned publisher can be a good reason for rejection. Naturally, my friend laughed at the guy, and went back to his many projects (including cinema, television and writing).
I hope this anecdote will give you hope and faith in yourself but just in case; here are many examples of famous writers rejections:
And a good advice, always keep your rejection letters, personally, I found them hilarious!
Famous Rejections
Rejections received by famous authors and famous books.
Dr. Seuss got rejection letters, too. Here is one:
"too different from other juveniles on the market to warrant its selling."
Here's a rejection letter for 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."
Madeleine L"Engle's A WRINKLE IN TIME was turned down 29 times.
And THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT was turned down so many times, Beatrix Potter initially self-published it.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just don't know how to use the English language." Editor of the San Francisco Examiner to Rudyard Kipling.
Mystery writer Mary Higgins Clark recently received a $60 plus million dollar advance on her next five books, but this is what happened when she was sending out her manuscript "Journey Back to Love" in the early 1960s: "We found the heroine as boring as her husband did."
Classic writer Colette was told in a letter of rejection: "I wouldn't be able to sell 10 copies."
A rejection letter to Pierre Boulle about his "Bridge Over River Kwai" said, "A very bad book."
Jean Auel, author of "The Clan of Cave Bear" was told, "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."
"Jonathan Livingston Seagull will never make it as a paperback." From the publisher of a magazine refusing an offer to bid on the paperback rights to Richard Bach's best selling novel. Avon Books eventually bought those rights and sales totaled more than 7.25 million copies.
H.G. Wells had to endure the indignity of a rejection when he submitted his manuscript, "The War of the Worlds" that said, "An endless nightmare. I do not believe it would "take"...I think the verdict would be 'Oh don't read that horrid book'."
And when he tried to market "The Time Machine," it was said, "It is not interesting enough for the general reader and not thorough enough for the scientific reader."
Jacqueline Susann's "Valley of the Dolls" received this response, "...she is a painfully dull, inept, clumsy, undisciplined, rambling and thoroughly amateurish writer whose every sentence, paragraph and scene cries for the hand of a pro. She wastes endless pages on utter trivia, writes wide-eyed romantic scenes ...hauls out every terrible show biz cliché in all the books, lets every good scene fall apart in endless talk and allows her book to ramble aimlessly ..."
When Irving Stone sent his manuscript, "Lust for Life," this is what came back in the mail: "A long, dull novel about an artist." I guess that meant "No thanks."
Before Ayn Rand became known as an intellectual and her books as classics, she had to get past this from one publisher: "It is badly written and the hero is unsympathetic." And this from another: "I wish there were an audience for a book of this kind. But there isn't. It won't sell." So much for "The Fountainhead." Fourteen years later she was sending "Atlas Shrugged" on its publishing rounds and reading in the return mail: "... the book is much too long. There are too many long speeches... I regret to say that the book is unsaleable and unpublishable."
To writer Samuel Johnson (though I don't know which book the editor was referring to): "Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good."
Regarding "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" it was written "(this book has) no future ..."
Did you know that only seven of Emily Dickinson's poems were ever published during her lifetime? A rejection early in her career said, "(Your poems) are quite as remarkable for defects as for beauties and are generally devoid of true poetical qualities."
Edgar Allen Poe was told, "Readers in this country have a decided and strong preference for works in which a single and connected story occupies the entire volume."
Herman Melville, who had written a manuscript entitled "Moby Dick," was told, "We regret to say that our united opinion is entirely against the book as we do not think it would be at all suitable for the Juvenile Market in (England). It is very long, rather old-fashioned..."
Jack London heard, "(Your book is) forbidding and depressing."
Ernest Hemingway, regarding his novel, "The Torrents of Spring" was rejected with, "It would be extremely rotten taste, to say nothing of being horribly cruel, should we want to publish it." Ouch!
William Faulkner may be a classic writer to this, as well as prior, generation, but back when he was trying to crack the publishing market, he had to read letters like this one, "If the book had a plot and structure, we might suggest shortening and revisions, but it is so diffuse that I don't think this would be of any use. My chief objection is that you don't have any story to tell." This was kinder than the rejection he would receive just two years later, "Good God, I can't publish this!"
According to the terrific little book, "Rotten Rejections" (Pushcart Press, Andre Bernarnd, 1990), "Auntie Mame" went through fifteen rejections over a period of five years before finding a home at Vanguard Press.
Crash by J G Ballard
‘The author of this book is beyond psychiatric help.'
The Deer Park by Norman Mailer
'This will set publishing back 25 years.'
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
'Do you realize, young woman, that you're the first American writer ever to poke fun at sex.'
Lust for Life by Irving Stone
(which was rejected 16 times, but found a publisher and went on to sell about 25 million copies)
‘ A long, dull novel about an artist.’
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
'The grand defect of the work, I think, as a work of art is the low-mindedness and vulgarity of the chief actors. There is hardly a lady" or "gentleman" amongst them.'
Carrie by Stephen King
'We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell.'
Catch – 22 by Joseph Heller
‘I haven’t really the foggiest idea about what the man is trying to say… Apparently the author intends it to be funny – possibly even satire – but it is really not funny on any intellectual level … From your long publishing experience you will know that it is less disastrous to turn down a work of genius than to turn down talented mediocrities.’
The Spy who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
‘You’re welcome to le Carré – he hasn’t got any future.’
Animal Farm by George Orwell
‘It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA’
Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde
‘My dear sir,
I have read your manuscript. Oh, my dear sir.’
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
‘... overwhelmingly nauseating, even to an enlightened Freudian … the whole thing is an unsure cross between hideous reality and improbable fantasy. It often becomes a wild neurotic daydream … I recommend that it be buried under a stone for a thousand years.’
The list of famous writers who were rejected is long. Rejection and writing go hand-in-hand, but sometimes it feels that those pesky publishers simply don’t know what they are talking about.
We all know that quality of writing isn’t the only reason for reaction. Perhaps your book is not a good fit for the publisher, or the agent is looking for something ‘different’ or your work has just been misunderstood. Yet, no matter what the reason those rejection letters still sting!
Here’s eleven famous writers who were rejected and show that writers might just be right after all…
Madeline L’Engle’s book, A Wrinkle in Time, was turned down 29 times before she found a publisher.
C.S. Lewis received over 800 rejections before he sold a single piece of writing.
Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind was rejected by 25 publishers.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was rejected 121 times.
Johathan Livingston Seagull was rejected 40 times.
Louis L’Amour was rejected over 200 times before he sold any of his writing.
The San Francisco Examiner turned down Rudyard Kipling’s submission in 1889 with the note, “I am sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just do not know how to use the English language.”
An editor once told F. Scott Fitzgerald, “You’d have a decent book if you’d get rid of that Gatsby Character.”
The Dr. Seuss book, And to Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street, was rejected for being “too different from other juveniles on the market to warrant selling.”
George Orwell’s Animal Farm was rejected with the comment, “It’s impossible to sell animal stories in the USA.”
The manuscript for The Diary of Anne Frank received the editorial comment, “This girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the curiosity level.”
What I read was a voluntary harsh and ridiculous message, since the so-called publisher never mentioned any of the good aspects of the manuscript, neither the bad aspects of it (all books have a bit of both) which are two important elements of a constructive and professional critique. He never pointed out the reasons behind his rejection.
As we looked into the publisher’s profile, we found out that the guy is a FAILED WRITER HIMSELF, taking pleasure in rejecting other writers as his own work was countless times.
The guy also is a failed director and failed screenwriter, self-published for years; he launched his own publishing company in 2012 only to have his own short stories published, just like the guy buying dozen other undesired items thinking the condoms he bought won't get noticed by the other costumers or the check-out person. The poor « publisher » certainly thought this detail will be hiden by the publication of other writers.
As you see, envy from a failed writer turned publisher can be a good reason for rejection. Naturally, my friend laughed at the guy, and went back to his many projects (including cinema, television and writing).
I hope this anecdote will give you hope and faith in yourself but just in case; here are many examples of famous writers rejections:
And a good advice, always keep your rejection letters, personally, I found them hilarious!
Famous Rejections
Rejections received by famous authors and famous books.
Dr. Seuss got rejection letters, too. Here is one:
"too different from other juveniles on the market to warrant its selling."
Here's a rejection letter for 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."
Madeleine L"Engle's A WRINKLE IN TIME was turned down 29 times.
And THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT was turned down so many times, Beatrix Potter initially self-published it.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just don't know how to use the English language." Editor of the San Francisco Examiner to Rudyard Kipling.
Mystery writer Mary Higgins Clark recently received a $60 plus million dollar advance on her next five books, but this is what happened when she was sending out her manuscript "Journey Back to Love" in the early 1960s: "We found the heroine as boring as her husband did."
Classic writer Colette was told in a letter of rejection: "I wouldn't be able to sell 10 copies."
A rejection letter to Pierre Boulle about his "Bridge Over River Kwai" said, "A very bad book."
Jean Auel, author of "The Clan of Cave Bear" was told, "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."
"Jonathan Livingston Seagull will never make it as a paperback." From the publisher of a magazine refusing an offer to bid on the paperback rights to Richard Bach's best selling novel. Avon Books eventually bought those rights and sales totaled more than 7.25 million copies.
H.G. Wells had to endure the indignity of a rejection when he submitted his manuscript, "The War of the Worlds" that said, "An endless nightmare. I do not believe it would "take"...I think the verdict would be 'Oh don't read that horrid book'."
And when he tried to market "The Time Machine," it was said, "It is not interesting enough for the general reader and not thorough enough for the scientific reader."
Jacqueline Susann's "Valley of the Dolls" received this response, "...she is a painfully dull, inept, clumsy, undisciplined, rambling and thoroughly amateurish writer whose every sentence, paragraph and scene cries for the hand of a pro. She wastes endless pages on utter trivia, writes wide-eyed romantic scenes ...hauls out every terrible show biz cliché in all the books, lets every good scene fall apart in endless talk and allows her book to ramble aimlessly ..."
When Irving Stone sent his manuscript, "Lust for Life," this is what came back in the mail: "A long, dull novel about an artist." I guess that meant "No thanks."
Before Ayn Rand became known as an intellectual and her books as classics, she had to get past this from one publisher: "It is badly written and the hero is unsympathetic." And this from another: "I wish there were an audience for a book of this kind. But there isn't. It won't sell." So much for "The Fountainhead." Fourteen years later she was sending "Atlas Shrugged" on its publishing rounds and reading in the return mail: "... the book is much too long. There are too many long speeches... I regret to say that the book is unsaleable and unpublishable."
To writer Samuel Johnson (though I don't know which book the editor was referring to): "Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good."
Regarding "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" it was written "(this book has) no future ..."
Did you know that only seven of Emily Dickinson's poems were ever published during her lifetime? A rejection early in her career said, "(Your poems) are quite as remarkable for defects as for beauties and are generally devoid of true poetical qualities."
Edgar Allen Poe was told, "Readers in this country have a decided and strong preference for works in which a single and connected story occupies the entire volume."
Herman Melville, who had written a manuscript entitled "Moby Dick," was told, "We regret to say that our united opinion is entirely against the book as we do not think it would be at all suitable for the Juvenile Market in (England). It is very long, rather old-fashioned..."
Jack London heard, "(Your book is) forbidding and depressing."
Ernest Hemingway, regarding his novel, "The Torrents of Spring" was rejected with, "It would be extremely rotten taste, to say nothing of being horribly cruel, should we want to publish it." Ouch!
William Faulkner may be a classic writer to this, as well as prior, generation, but back when he was trying to crack the publishing market, he had to read letters like this one, "If the book had a plot and structure, we might suggest shortening and revisions, but it is so diffuse that I don't think this would be of any use. My chief objection is that you don't have any story to tell." This was kinder than the rejection he would receive just two years later, "Good God, I can't publish this!"
According to the terrific little book, "Rotten Rejections" (Pushcart Press, Andre Bernarnd, 1990), "Auntie Mame" went through fifteen rejections over a period of five years before finding a home at Vanguard Press.
Crash by J G Ballard
‘The author of this book is beyond psychiatric help.'
The Deer Park by Norman Mailer
'This will set publishing back 25 years.'
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
'Do you realize, young woman, that you're the first American writer ever to poke fun at sex.'
Lust for Life by Irving Stone
(which was rejected 16 times, but found a publisher and went on to sell about 25 million copies)
‘ A long, dull novel about an artist.’
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
'The grand defect of the work, I think, as a work of art is the low-mindedness and vulgarity of the chief actors. There is hardly a lady" or "gentleman" amongst them.'
Carrie by Stephen King
'We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell.'
Catch – 22 by Joseph Heller
‘I haven’t really the foggiest idea about what the man is trying to say… Apparently the author intends it to be funny – possibly even satire – but it is really not funny on any intellectual level … From your long publishing experience you will know that it is less disastrous to turn down a work of genius than to turn down talented mediocrities.’
The Spy who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
‘You’re welcome to le Carré – he hasn’t got any future.’
Animal Farm by George Orwell
‘It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA’
Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde
‘My dear sir,
I have read your manuscript. Oh, my dear sir.’
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
‘... overwhelmingly nauseating, even to an enlightened Freudian … the whole thing is an unsure cross between hideous reality and improbable fantasy. It often becomes a wild neurotic daydream … I recommend that it be buried under a stone for a thousand years.’
The list of famous writers who were rejected is long. Rejection and writing go hand-in-hand, but sometimes it feels that those pesky publishers simply don’t know what they are talking about.
We all know that quality of writing isn’t the only reason for reaction. Perhaps your book is not a good fit for the publisher, or the agent is looking for something ‘different’ or your work has just been misunderstood. Yet, no matter what the reason those rejection letters still sting!
Here’s eleven famous writers who were rejected and show that writers might just be right after all…
Madeline L’Engle’s book, A Wrinkle in Time, was turned down 29 times before she found a publisher.
C.S. Lewis received over 800 rejections before he sold a single piece of writing.
Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind was rejected by 25 publishers.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was rejected 121 times.
Johathan Livingston Seagull was rejected 40 times.
Louis L’Amour was rejected over 200 times before he sold any of his writing.
The San Francisco Examiner turned down Rudyard Kipling’s submission in 1889 with the note, “I am sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just do not know how to use the English language.”
An editor once told F. Scott Fitzgerald, “You’d have a decent book if you’d get rid of that Gatsby Character.”
The Dr. Seuss book, And to Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street, was rejected for being “too different from other juveniles on the market to warrant selling.”
George Orwell’s Animal Farm was rejected with the comment, “It’s impossible to sell animal stories in the USA.”
The manuscript for The Diary of Anne Frank received the editorial comment, “This girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the curiosity level.”
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