Bold Stories

Twelve Rejections: J.K. Rowling and the Manuscript Nobody Wanted

In the mid-1990s, Joanne Rowling was a single mother in Edinburgh, living on very little and writing in whatever time she could find. She has described this period as one of the lowest of her life.

The manuscript she finished was Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It was turned down by twelve publishers. Then Bloomsbury, a small London house at the time, said yes. The first print run in 1997 was small.

The rest is publishing history. But the bold part of the story isn’t the success. It is the thirteenth submission, made by someone who had every reason to believe the answer would be another no.

Rejection is information about one door. It is not a verdict on the building.

Take it into your day

What have you stopped sending out because of the last “no”? Send it again, somewhere new, this week.

Illustration: AI-generated, not a photo of the person.