Despite initial rejections, E.C.Osondu persists with his book Waiting and it wins the 2009 African Booker. "The girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the ‘curiosity’ level.” Perhaps the most misguided literary critique in history. In some cases their enormous sales were so consistent that they even kept their publishers afloat. Jean-Louis Lebris de Kerouac was born on March 12, 1922 in Lowell, Massachusetts. To deal with publisher rejections, Hugh Prather decides to write a book about them in his early struggles and Notes To Myself sells 5 million. In late 1950, Kerouac married Joan Haverty, and in February 1952, Haverty gave birth to their daughter, Janet Michelle. When he eventually lands a publishing deal, such is the demand for his fiction that it is translated into over 47 languages, as The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. 140 rejections stating “Anthologies don’t sell” until the Chicken Soup for the Soul series by Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen sells 125 million copies. “We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. The fantasy author has an army of devoted fans and a record-making Kickstarter - … And when she turns 17 she gets her mate. The author immediately declares this as sign of "complete artistic success." In 2002, he finished writing The Way of Kings. His attempts to write grittier books were terrible, he says, so he became “kind of depressed”. “…overwhelmingly nauseating, even to an enlightened Freudian … the whole thing is an unsure cross between hideous reality and improbable fantasy. To date: 10 million sales. “...for your own sake do not publish this book.”. Like the characters in his novels, Kerouac often based his artworks on people he met. There are believed to be over 250 million copies of his books in print. Since 1957 it has regularly sold at least 60,000 copies every year. In 2003, a publisher, Tor, finally showed interest in one of his novels: Elantris, an epic fantasy set in a former city of the gods, now devoid of magic. The famous thermos mug brand, Stanley, has teamed up with Disney to create three exclusive bottles featuring imagery from The Mandalorian. "This author is beyond psychiatric help. Your bombastic, dipsomaniac, where-to-now characters had me reaching for my own glass of brandy.". I try to not to engage too much,” he says. It's a harsh assessment—though from what we know of Hemingway, it proposes a scenario that is not unlikely either. A year later Penguin finally launch the UK edition. Despite this editor's take on The War of The Worlds, the tale of alien invasion is still in print nearly 120 years later. His novel Roots becomes a publishing sensation, selling 1.5 million copies in its first seven months of release, and going on to sell 8 million. Two years after this rejection, she removes it from a hat box and resubmits. “But the big advantage I have is that I wrote so much before I sold. Louis L’Amour received 200 rejections before Bantam took a chance on him. 256849 reads. Thor Heyerdahl believes his book Kon-Tiki: Across The Pacific is unique. Whether you're a love and romance fanatic, a fiction enthusiast, or just looking for something fun—there's alwa… But publishers kept telling him that his epic fantasies were too long, that he should try being darker or “more like George RR Martin” (it was the late 90s, and A Song of Ice and Fire was topping bestseller charts). Sanderson loves this. 300 million sales and the 9th best-selling fiction author of all time. It sells 7 million copies in the US alone. It took me another six years after that until I was able to sit down and start the book over from scratch. Rejected by several publishers Jonathan Littell‘s Les Bienveillantes becomes the number #1 best-seller in France and wins The Goncourt Literary Prize. The novel did sell: 25 million copies worldwide. It is too bad because Miss Play has a way with words and a sharp eye or unusual and vivid detail. So the author Peter Benchley starts from scratch and Jaws sells 20 million. Yet in spite of this phenomenal success, every single one of these best-selling authors was initially rejected. "You’d have a decent book if you’d get rid of that Gatsby character.". The novel goes on to inspire countless songs, and the film adaptation wins the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1996. Sick of it all, Claire tries to put a stop to her life, however, she fails. Despised and Rejected. Despite 14 consecutive agency rejections Stephenie Meyer‘s Twilight goes on to sell 17 million copies and spends 91 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. Sign Up Today: Get exclusive deals, product news, reviews, and more with the Mental Floss Smart Shopping newsletter! “An absurd and uninteresting fantasy which was rubbish and dull.” Rejection letter sent to William Golding for The Lord Of The Flies. “Stick to teaching.” Louisa May Alcott refuses to give up on her dream. “It was rejected 60 times. They do not sell.” Stephen King’s Carrie sells 1 million in the first year alone. This genre defining sci-fi novel was rejected 23 times before final commanding the attention of a small Philadelphia-based publisher. They love the book so much that their recommendation secures a publishing deal with Orion. Her name proved to be surprisingly difficult for the editor to spell: “I have now re-read—or rather read more thoroughly— “The Bell Jar”, with the knowledge that it is by Sylva Plath which has added considerably to its interest for it is obviously flagrantly autobiographical.