“Every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better.” – Dr. Steve Maraboli

What stops you from achieving your dreams?

For most, it’s fear of rejection – that someone won’t like what you’ve done, that you’ll be laughed at or put down, told to change careers or drop your idea entirely.

Here are some quotes by publishing houses and literary agents that rejected some of the most talented, bestselling authors of all time. It just goes to show – rejection may hurt, but you should never let it hold you back!

Beloved children’s’ author and legendary literary figure Dr. Seuss’ works were regarded as, “too different from other juveniles on the market to warrant its selling”, while L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz suffered similar criticism, with a publishing house stating it was, “too radical of a departure from traditional juvenile literature”. Both authors continued on to become revolutionary successes, as we all know and love!

Authors of Chicken Soup for the Soul Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen were told that “anthologies don’t sell”. Despite 134 rejections, Chicken Soup went on to sell over 125 million copies and developed into its own publishing and media company, cranking out about a dozen new books per year in various categories.

“We don’t feel that we know the central character enough,” was a comment made about The Catcher in the Rye, a book that boasts one of the most relatable and now iconic teenage protagonists, Holden Caulfield. Around 1 million copies are sold per year, and The Catcher in the Rye was named by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20^th century.

Lord of the Flies, one of our bestselling books for education, was called, “An absurd and uninteresting fantasy which was rubbish and dull.” It is now highly regarded as a classic, and required reading in many middle and high school classrooms. Lord of the Flies also won a place on the Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels list, coming in at #25 for readers. There are now both film and stage adaptations of the story.

The oldest rejected title on our list is H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, a sci-fi thriller which has been in print consistently since its hardcover release in 1898. Originally, the book was critiqued as, “an endless nightmare” and “a horrid book”. The War of the Worlds was incredibly influential in the genre of science fiction, with dozens of feature films, radio dramas, records, comic books, TV shows and more – it has also influenced real-world scientists like Robert H. Goddard, inventor of the liquid fueled rocket!

About Carrie, Stephen King’s first published novel, he was told, “We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell.” Carrie sold over 1 million copies in its first year alone, and popularity skyrocketed after it was turned into a popular feature film in 1976. The horror story also went on to become a Broadway musical, and continues to live on today with various film adaptations and remakes.

Other rejected titles include:

• A Wrinkle In Time: Rejected by 26 publishers, this book went on to win the 1963 Newbery Medal and continues to be a classic
• Gone with the Wind: Rejected 38 times, went on to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 with over 30 million copies printed worldwide, as well as a classic American film adaptation
• The Help: Rejected 60 times, went on to be published in 35 countries and in 3 languages, spending over 100 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List
• The Notebook: Rejected 24 times, now over 75 million printed copies in the US alone and a wildly successful feature film
• Roots: 200 consecutive rejections, this title went on to be awarded a Pulitzer Price Special Citation in 1977. It sold 1.5 million copies in its first seven months of publication
• Moby Dick: Author Herman Melville only saw about 50 copies of his book sold in his lifetime, as it was regarded as “long and rather old-fashioned”. One publisher questioned, “Does it have to be a whale?” This sea-faring story is now legendary, and has since established a reputation as a Great American Novel.

There are countless other authors who have been rejected time and time again, which just goes to show that you shouldn't let rejection stop you! Get out there and do your thing.