Source link : https://las-vegas-news.com/9-novels-rejected-by-publishers-dozens-of-times-before-becoming-bestsellers/
Every writer knows the sting of a rejection letter, but few stories are as encouraging as the ones where authors kept submitting their manuscripts long after most people would have given up. Some of the world’s most beloved and commercially successful books were turned away by dozens, and in a few cases over a hundred, publishing houses before someone finally said yes. These stories are not just quirky trivia. They are proof that publishing decisions are subjective, that editors miss things, and that persistence sometimes matters as much as talent.
Below are nine novels whose paths to publication were littered with rejection slips, only for each one to go on and sell millions of copies, win major awards, or become a cultural touchstone. Their journeys remind us that a “no” from one editor is rarely the final word.
1. Carrie by Stephen King
Before Stephen King became one of the best-selling authors alive, his debut novel Carrie faced a brutal road to publication. Stephen King’s first published novel, Carrie, hit the shelves on 5 April, 1974, but King’s journey to publication wasn’t as easy as you may have imagined, and it was the fourth novel he had written. Carrie was rejected by thirty publishers, and one editor reportedly noted that they weren’t interested in stories dealing with negative futures because such books simply didn’t sell.
King had initially thrown just three pages of the story into…
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Author : Matthias Binder
Publish date : 2026-09-16 07:37:00
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