I donβt think they rejected it. From what I heard, she didnβt have an agent, so she just sent her book to a publishing house and it went in the slush pile. Thatβs where they put manuscripts for books that are mailed in with no agent. A publisher will randomly pull a manuscript of the pile of thousands of books occasionally, and read only the first chapter or so. If the book doesnβt show promise, it wonβt get published. If it does, then it goes on a long process to possibly be published. J. K. Rowling sent the first Harry Potter to the slush pile, and it was miraculously pulled out. There are many books in the pile that will never be read.