20 Renowned Writers and Their Stories of Rejection

by Alex Carter

It’s surprising to imagine that literary giants who’ve sold countless books once encountered rejection. From James Baldwin to Gertrude Stein, many of the world’s most acclaimed authors have experienced harsh and unyielding setbacks in their careers.

1. Ernest Hemingway

The Sun Also Rises is widely regarded as one of Ernest Hemingway’s most popular works, though it didn’t resonate with everyone. In 1925, Moberley Luger from Peacock & Peacock wrote to the young author, “To be candid—much like your prose—I found your work both dull and distasteful. You truly embody a man’s man, don’t you? I wouldn’t be shocked to learn you wrote this entire tale holed up at a club, pen in one hand and brandy in the other. Your over-the-top, alcohol-soaked, aimless characters left me craving a glass of brandy myself.”

This critique was undeniably severe—though, given Hemingway’s persona, the scenario described isn’t entirely implausible. Nonetheless, this rejection didn’t hinder his success. Scribner's published the novel the very next year.

2. James Baldwin

“We all agree that this novel showcases your undeniable talent as a writer,” Knopf editor Henry Carlisle wrote to James Baldwin regarding his work Giovanni’s Room. “Our concern isn’t about the length or the theme of the book; rather, we believe you didn’t achieve what you set out to accomplish. … Publishing this book, not due to its subject matter but because of its shortcomings, could harm your reputation and alienate many of your readers.”

3. George Orwell

Even fellow writers can be critics. In 1944, T.S. Eliot, then at Faber & Faber, penned a somewhat apologetic rejection of Animal Farm to George Orwell, stating: “[W]e don’t believe (and I’m certain none of the other directors would) that this is the appropriate perspective to critique the current political climate … Your pigs are significantly more intelligent than the other animals, making them the most suited to manage the farm—indeed, without them, the farm couldn’t have functioned. One might argue that what was needed wasn’t more communism but more pigs with a sense of public duty.” The manuscript faced rejection from at least four publishers before finally being published in August 1945.

4. Kenneth Grahame

“An irresponsible holiday story that will never sell” might just be the most whimsical description ever given to the escapades of Mole, Rat, Toad, and Badger in the beloved children’s classic The Wind In The Willows, which faced multiple rejections before finally being published in 1908.

5. H.G. Wells

One editor famously described H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds as “An endless nightmare. I believe the general reaction would be, ‘Oh, don’t read that dreadful book.’”

6. Joseph Heller

“I haven’t the slightest clue what the author is attempting to convey,” one publisher remarked about Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. “It seems the writer aims for humor—perhaps even satire—but it fails to be intellectually amusing.” Originally titled “Catch-18,” the name was altered, as explained by Heller’s daughter Erica, “because Leon Uris’s novel Mila 18 had already claimed the number. His editor, Robert Gottlieb, suggested the now-iconic number 22.”

7. Kurt Vonnegut

A notably kind rejection letter was sent to Kurt Vonnegut by Atlantic Monthly regarding three of his submissions: “As part of our summer manuscript review, we’ve gone through our backlog, including the three pieces you shared. Regrettably, none of them align with our current needs. While both your Dresden bombing narrative and the piece titled ‘What’s a Fair Price for Golden Eggs?’ received praise, neither was quite compelling enough for publication.” Vonnegut later expanded the Dresden bombing story into Slaughterhouse-Five.

8. Marcel Proust

“I can’t fathom why anyone would need thirty pages to describe tossing and turning in bed before falling asleep,” a publisher reportedly remarked about Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time. Proust ultimately self-published the first volume, which grew into the world’s longest book, spanning 1.3 million words.

9. Vladimir Nabokov

One publisher described Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita, released in 1955, as “overwhelmingly repulsive, even to a progressive Freudian … the narrative oscillates awkwardly between grotesque reality and implausible fantasy. At times, it reads like a chaotic, neurotic reverie … I suggest it be sealed away for a millennium.”

10. Rudyard Kipling

When Rudyard Kipling submitted a short story to the San Francisco Examiner, he received this reply: “[Y]ou simply don’t understand how to wield the English language.”

11. Gertrude Stein

Gertrude Stein was infamous for her repetitive style—Hemingway, once her close friend, remarked after their falling out that her writing contained “repetitions that a more diligent and less indolent writer would have discarded.” When Stein submitted her manuscript for The Making of Americans to publisher Arthur C. Fifield in 1912, he rejected it with a letter stating, “I am only one, only one, only one. A single being, one at a time. Not two, not three, only one. One life to live, sixty minutes in an hour. One pair of eyes. One brain. One being. With only one pair of eyes, one lifetime, one chance, I cannot read your manuscript three or four times. Not even once. A single glance suffices. Hardly one copy would sell here. Hardly one. Hardly one.” He concluded with, “Many thanks. I am returning the manuscript by registered post. Only one manuscript by one post.”

12. D.H. Lawrence

“For your own good, do not release this book,” a publisher allegedly warned D.H. Lawrence. Ignoring the advice, he went on to publish Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

13. John le Carré

“Feel free to take le Carré—he’s got no future,” one publisher remarked to another regarding John le Carré and his third novel, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, which later became a global bestseller.

14. Louisa May Alcott

When Louisa May Alcott penned her essay “How I Went Out to Service,” detailing her time as a governess, publisher James T. Fields harshly rejected it, stating, “Stay in teaching, Miss Alcott. Writing isn’t your forte.” Ignoring his advice, Alcott went on to publish Little Women in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, a work that remains a beloved classic over a century later.

15. F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Your book would be quite good if you removed that Gatsby character,” an editor allegedly told F. Scott Fitzgerald about The Great Gatsby.

16. Stephen King

“We have no interest in science fiction centered on dystopian themes. They simply don’t sell,” Donald A. Wollheim of Ace Books wrote to Stephen King in 1972. Despite this criticism, King later published The Running Man under the pen name Richard Bachman.

17. Sylvia Plath

“Rejection advised: I’m uncertain what Heinemann’s finds appealing in this debut novel, unless it’s a sort of youthful American female audacity. However, there’s insufficient genuine talent here to warrant our attention.”

An editor at Alfred A. Knopf turned down Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar twice: initially when it was submitted under a pseudonym (above) and later (below) when her real name was revealed. Surprisingly, the editor struggled to spell her name correctly:

18. Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac’s On the Road was rejected numerous times, with one publisher telling the author’s agent, “Kerouac possesses a remarkable and unique talent. However, this isn’t a well-constructed novel, nor is it marketable or, in my opinion, particularly good.”

19. Ursula K. Le Guin

A rejection letter sent to Ursula K. Le Guin’s agent about her future bestseller, The Left Hand of Darkness, stated: “The novel is overwhelmed by intricate details and references … to the point where the narrative becomes bogged down and, ultimately, unreadable. … The pacing is so sluggish and the tone so lifeless that any potential drama or excitement is completely overshadowed by what appears to be … unnecessary content.”

20. Ayn Rand

“In its current state, I must regrettably conclude that the book is neither marketable nor publishable,” a publisher wrote to Ayn Rand about her revolutionary work Atlas Shrugged.