<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > wen /Qing Xia Temple shovel historian</h1>
"Lord of the Flies" was rejected by 20 publishers, "Anne Frank's Diary" was rejected by 15 publishers, "Harry Potter" was rejected by 12 publishers, "Catch-22" was rejected by 22 publishers, "Go to Swann's House" was submitted to the 4th time, and "Lolita" was not seen until 6 times. These numbers are really surprising, but what is even more surprising is the content of the rejection letter -
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" >, Moby Dick</h1>
We have to ask, do we have to write about a whale? For such a fascinating novel, which is quite mysterious in some places, we suggest replacing the captain's nemesis with a more familiar image for young readers, for example, whether he can compete with some young, perhaps very lewd girl. ——（Bentley&Son）
Herman Melville's Moby Dick, which depicts the struggle between man and nature, was called the "great American novel" by later generations. In 1850, Melville sent Moby Dick to Bentley & Son, one of Britain's oldest publishing houses, where Charles Dickens's creative career began. However, editor-in-chief Peter Bentley refused to publish Moby Dick, arguing that it had no commercial value.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > II</h1>
I don't understand why it took 13 pages to write about a guy tossing and turning before going to sleep. ——（Editions Gallimard）
Marcel Proust's "To Svan's House" is the first in a series of novels, Reminiscences like water. This exemplar of the modern prose novel has been rejected by 3 well-known French publishers, including the most progressive Editions Gallimard.
Moby Dick
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > three, "Soft Buttons"</h1>
I only have two eyes and one life, and I can't read your manuscript several times, I can't read it once. One look, just one glance is enough. This kind of book can barely sell one copy, and one book is enough. ——（A.C.Fifield）
Critics have referred to Gertrude Stein's poetry collection Soft Buttons as "the Cubism of the literary world," which made Stein one of the most important modernist women writers in the United States. However, in 1912, the work was rejected by 10 British and American publishing houses.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > IV</h1>
Nonsense, boredom, and confusion. ——（Penguin Books）
This is how Penguin Books, britain's largest publisher, commented on William Golding's debut novel Lord of the Flies. In 1953, "Lord of the Flies" was rejected 20 times. The following year, the future Nobel laureate was recognized by Faber & Faber.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > V</h1>
Frivolous casual reading materials that no one will buy. ——（Macmillan Publishers）
Kenneth Graham's The Wind in the Willows focuses on the peculiar experiences of river rats, moles, badgers, and Mr. Toad, making Graham one of the most famous children's writers of the 20th century. In 1907, however, three publishers returned the manuscript of the novel on the grounds of a lack of heroism.
The Lord of the Flies
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >6, "Military Regulation XXII</h1>"
I don't understand what this guy is trying to say, maybe he just wants to be funny. ——（Simon & Schuster）
Joseph Heller's Catch-22 satirizes World War II. In 1961, the novel was placed on the desk of Simon & Schuster's associate editor, Henry Simon, and before that, it had been rejected 22 times.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > VII</h1>
We're looking for inspiring novels, and that's what people need right now. They didn't need this kind of nonsense: what bullfights and men who were about to lose their jobs knew to drink all day long. ——（Peacock and Peacock）
Such rejection of one of Hemingway's most famous novels, The Sun Also Rises, is quite bold. Thanks to this rejection, Hemingway, a fledgling man in 1925, sent the manuscript to Charles Scribner's Sons. Editor Maxwell Perkins read it and suggested advertising, which led to a commercial success for the book.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > VIII</h1>
This time we can only refuse you. Your manuscript was so thin that a small gust of wind blowing in through the open window blew it off the table, and it took us hours to get it back. Then, in order to identify the words on the manuscript, we have to use an electron microscope... (Random House)
When James Baldwin sent his essay on racism, Next Time Will Be a Fire, to Random House, it was already a "living legend." But none of this impressed Random House, and Baldwin was rudely rejected.
The great writer Hemingway was also rejected
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > nine, "Rabbit Run"</h1>
Mr. Updike, we have decided not to publish your manuscript because we think it is too out of touch with reality. No one in the whole novel burps, which is a common phenomenon that happens to everyone, and none of the so-called protagonists in your novel have ever suffered from this. ——（Random House）
As one of the largest publishing houses in the United States, Random House's editors have always liked to be sarcastic in their rejection letters, and John Updike's most famous novel, "Rabbit Run," is no exception.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" >0, Lolita</h1>
If we were to publish this book, we would all have to go to jail. ——（Viking Press）
In 1953, Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita was rejected by all the leading publishers in English-speaking countries.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > XI, The Great Gatsby</h1>
Remove the character named Gatsby, and the book is bearable. ——（Charles Scribner's Sons）
The Great Gatsby is an important work of the "Roaring 20s." Charles Scribner's Sons, however, tried more than once to prevent it from being published.
"The Great Gatsby" - how life should be lived is meaningful
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > XII. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone</h1>
Unfortunately, we agree that this novel has no commercial value, so we do not intend to publish it. ——（HarperCollins）
According to J.K. Rowling, the most respected publisher in the UK wrote her a rejection letter that she considered most polite. In two years, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone received a total of 12 rejection letters in which the editors not only ridiculed Harry Potter's character, but also ridiculed her ambition to be a writer.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > XIII</h1>
We're not interested in this murky sci-fi story. This book can't be sold. ——（Pantheon Books）
In 1974, Stephen King's Carrie the Witch was rejected by 30 publishers.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > XIV</h1>
The only words and sentence patterns that need to be changed are, and I think that if a person can't express his thoughts and just piles words and sentences together, then he may not even understand English. A story written like this will not only ruin our reputation, but also ruin your career. ——（Grant Richards Ltd.）
James Joyce's debut collection of short stories about life in Dubliners in the early 20th century, The Dubliners, took nine years to publish, a nightmare for both the writer himself and his publisher.
J.K. Rowling's rejection is commonplace
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > XV, Slaughterhouse No. 5</h1>
During our summer routine of sorting through book manuscripts, we found three pieces, all of which were samples you sent. It's a shame there wasn't one for us. The article about the bombing of Dresden and "How Much is the Golden Egg Worth" was okay, but neither of them reached the level of publishing. ——（The Atlantic Monthly）
It was a letter of rejection from The Atlantic Monthly, the most influential magazine in the United States and a major competitor to The New Yorker, to Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut framed the rejection letter and hung it above his desk as the main motivation for his writing. The rejected autobiographical story about the bombing of Dresden became the heart of Vonnegut's most famous novel, Slaughterhouse Five.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > sixteen, Little Women</h1>
You'd better go get an education, you can't write. ——（Ticknor And Fields）
Louisa May Alco's Little Women was a benchmark for American realist work, but in 1867 it was rejected by several publishers on the grounds that it was about the lives of four provincial sisters, written by a woman, and without a male pseudonym, it was doomed to success.
Later, these novels have achieved great success, and their authors have become famous all over the world, so it can be seen that gold will always shine, failure is temporary, as long as you affirm yourself, then the only thing you need to do is to persevere!
So, which work do you think has the strangest reasons for rejection?
Stills from Slaughterhouse Five
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