Can you imagine a world with no Harry Potter, Dr Seuss or How to Kill a Mockingbird? …. Neither can we! Yet this was almost the case with some of today’s most treasured books – let’s thank those risk-taking publishers and persistent authors!

“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling

One of the world’s most successful books and now a worldwide blockbuster is J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter series. In 1996 the manuscript of her first Harry Potter book “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” was turned down by 12 publishers. Rowling couldn’t afford to make photocopies at the time and even hand typed extra copies of the initial Harry Potter book to be repeatedly told the book was too long to appeal to children.

It was Bloomsbury who eventually decided to accept the manuscript after the chairman’s daughter was given the first chapter to review and instantly wanted to read more. The series went on to sell more than 450 million copies worldwide. Not forgetting the film franchise that generated approximately over £10 billion!

“And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” by Dr. Seuss

“The Cat in the Hat”, “Green Eggs and Ham” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” are just some of our most loved childhood stories. However we may have never had the chance to read these great and unique books if Dr Seuss had burnt the manuscript for his first title as planned.

After being rejected by 27 children’s publishers for being too ‘different’ ‘out of style’ and ‘silly’ the author vowed to burn his book “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street”. Yet that very same day he ran into an old school friend who worked at Vanguard Press who agreed to take on the title, becoming a published author in 1937.

Although sales were not impressive in the first few years it received high praise from critics, where he later went to on write more than 60 books. His titles went on to sell over a whopping 600 million copies, and have been translated into more than 20 languages.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee

Classified as one of the most inspirational reads of all time, a title that is today still used in the school’s curriculum and one in which, according to her publisher, continues to sell more than one million copies each year could have never been!

Harper Lee grew frustrated with her work whilst writing her famous novel, and was rumoured to have thrown all the pages of her manuscript into the snow! It was her agent, Truman Capote, who made her retrieve every page and finish the title. We thank you Truman Capote!

So if ever you’re feeling defeated or if ever you feel like giving up, just think of these three famous household names to give you that extra bit of encouragement. Everyone started somewhere, and remember no matter if you don’t succeed first time round to stay positive and persistent, as who knows, you may have yourself the next best seller!