[Pollard]

Jones says Steinbeck unsuccessfully tried publishing the book in his early career.

"Steinbeck wrote it under a pseudonym and did not choose to publish the work during his lifetime.”

Contradiction. Publishers chose not to publish it early on.

[nickcarraway]

Once he was a bestselling author, no doubt he could have published it, but chose not to then;.

[Valpal1]

Yes, but once he was an established and famous author, publishers would have published it, if he had offered it to them under his own name. He chose not to do that.