How did J.K. Rowling pull it off?

This forum is for discussion about authors. You can discuss specific authors, types of authors, groups of authors, or any other topics related to authors.

Related Special Forums: Author Articles | Author Interviews

If you are an author or writer looking to discuss writing and author-related issues, please use our writing forums instead.
User avatar
donaldzlotnik
Posts: 52
Joined: 22 Aug 2015, 04:26
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... 38853">MYK: Prince of the Vends</a>
Bookshelf Size: 56
Publishing Contest Votes: 2

How did J.K. Rowling pull it off?

Post by donaldzlotnik »

Abet--her series was excellent--but!--she was on the dole (welfare) in England with 2 children...and she entered into one of the best publishing contracts in the history of writing!

So how did she pull that off in a publishing industry that was declining and well known for being absolutely cutthroat? As a first time author, on welfare--a half million dollar advance would have made her ecstatic--yet!--she entered a contract that would not have been offered to Stephen King at that time--which netted her almost three billion dollars.

I've tried envisioning all of the hidden agendas from blackmail to bribery to sex and none of them would have landed her such a lucrative contract. Please note all of this wealth is from one series--her work since has barely made the publisher's list.

So how did she pull it off--who helped and guided her?
User avatar
Mollyrussell22
Posts: 5
Joined: 25 Aug 2015, 11:37
Bookshelf Size: 1

Post by Mollyrussell22 »

I'm not sure how she did it but thank god she did because I love the harry potter books I think she is great for writing them and I also love the films.
User avatar
Ryan
Posts: 15342
Joined: 08 Sep 2014, 19:11
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 444
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ryan.html

Post by Ryan »

Simple: publishers recognized the series for what it was; a potential phenomenon! And I don't think it's wrong to call it that: she bridged the gap between young readers and old and now it's known by cultural osmosis. Publishers wouldn't be very good if their noses weren't attuned to the sweet smell of fortune :)
"Reason is intelligence taking exercise. Imagination is intelligence with an erection" -- Victor Hugo.
User avatar
LivreAmour217
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 2043
Joined: 02 Oct 2014, 12:42
Favorite Author: Too many to count
Favorite Book: Ditto
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 294
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-livreamour217.html
Latest Review: Island Games by Caleb J. Boyer

Post by LivreAmour217 »

ryanj1 wrote:Simple: publishers recognized the series for what it was; a potential phenomenon! And I don't think it's wrong to call it that: she bridged the gap between young readers and old and now it's known by cultural osmosis. Publishers wouldn't be very good if their noses weren't attuned to the sweet smell of fortune :)
It's like you read my mind, ryanj1! She had a truly great story on her hands and a publisher was intelligent enough to see it for what it was.

@ Donald: JK Rowling's latest works may not be as popular, but that shouldn't take away from her success with the Harry Potter series. Perhaps we can just consider her a one-hit wonder.
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." - Albert Einstein
User avatar
donaldzlotnik
Posts: 52
Joined: 22 Aug 2015, 04:26
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... 38853">MYK: Prince of the Vends</a>
Bookshelf Size: 56
Publishing Contest Votes: 2

Post by donaldzlotnik »

I hear all of you praising her work--but that does not answer the question--HOW did she pull it off? Having a great story is not enough; there are a lot of great novels that never make it. By having a number of books published by New York houses I am aware of how cutthroat the business is and that it take more than a good story. She had a fantastic marketing team--and a great lawyer, plus another group of key people behind her. If you want to get a little mystical--there are two forces on this earth; good and evil--and they back their own players.
User avatar
Ursula_Minor
Posts: 87
Joined: 04 Sep 2015, 14:46
Bookshelf Size: 6
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ursula-minor.html
Latest Review: "The Hidden Planet" by Rob Chicken

Post by Ursula_Minor »

I thought that the thing about being on welfare was a myth? Haven't read up on her in a while, but wasn't she actually a middle school teacher, and then someone started the rumour that she was unemployed for some reason?
Latest Review: "The Hidden Planet" by Rob Chicken
User avatar
kennyhop
Posts: 8
Joined: 10 Sep 2015, 10:23
Bookshelf Size: 3
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kennyhop.html

Post by kennyhop »

I think she wrote a book that genuinely compelled to an audience, the audience being everyone. Harry Potter had an amazing story plot, characters, and ending. Plus she added a life that everyone wished they could be apart of. It wasn't just a book about a boy that was a wizard. This series introduced a new way of looking at enchantment and proved that not all magic is bad, its not bad at all really. She also proved that the least person you would expect to be important, holds the fabric of our future in his heart. She's brilliant. Harry Potter has so many angles and so many underline stories and she perfectly tied it in one series without screwing it up.
User avatar
Dest_Robinson
Posts: 12
Joined: 10 Sep 2015, 02:16
Currently Reading: Reawakened
Bookshelf Size: 13
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-dest-robinson.html

Post by Dest_Robinson »

I believe that the welfare thing is actually true. From my understanding, of course, it had been a more recent thing. She'd gotten the idea for it while she was working, but after having a child and her marriage fell apart, she mentioned that she was living one of the poorest lives that you could in England, and even considered suicide. It's not surprising that Harry Potter involves a lot of deaths. Of course, how that involves the contract she was able to get? Like everyone else is saying, publishers saw something that they thought would sell - they knew what they were doing. Not before she'd been rejected several times (nine, if I recall correctly).
Point is, every author is different, and every publisher is different. As a mother on welfare myself, I would love to hear news like that, but JK Rowling had been an amazing writer since she was little, and certainly deserved the contract she got.
User avatar
pj2629
Posts: 5
Joined: 11 Sep 2015, 09:39
Bookshelf Size: 0
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-pj2629.html

Post by pj2629 »

I love J.K. Rowling too and never gets tired of rereading Harry Potter. :) I don't know how she pulls it off too :)
User avatar
Fran
Posts: 28072
Joined: 10 Aug 2009, 12:46
Favorite Author: David Mitchell
Favorite Book: Anna Karenina
Currently Reading: Hide and Seek
Bookshelf Size: 1208
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-fran.html
Reading Device: B00I15SB16
fav_author_id: 3104

Post by Fran »

I don't know why there is such consternation - after all the proof of the pudding is in the eating and I would imagine J K Rowling's publisher has been handsomly rewarded for their gamble on her. The answer is no doubt in a combination of timing, gripping story, fascinating characters, a far seeing publisher and more than a nod from Lady Luck. I don't understand the emphasis on her being unemployed other that it highlighting how fortune favoured her.
Call me cynical but if J K Rowling were male would this topic have been created?

Now I have to admit I've never read the Harry Potter series other than reading a few chapters to my niece and nephew when they were little. But I have read all her books under the Robert Galbraith pseudoname and enjoyed all of them.
We fade away, but vivid in our eyes
A world is born again that never dies.
- My Home by Clive James
User avatar
StoneGargoyle
Posts: 11
Joined: 13 Sep 2015, 16:24
Currently Reading: Chessmen of Mars
Bookshelf Size: 8
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-stonegargoyle.html

Post by StoneGargoyle »

You could ask the same question of nearly any popular author.

Part of it is simply "the right book at the right time," and part of it is the fact that Joseph Campbell's "hero with a thousand faces" archetype is a proven way to make a hero that resonates with people. If Star Wars was about an intergalactic tea shop, it might still be a really good story, but I guarantee that it never would have become the . Like it or not, people generally enjoy "safe" stories that repeat similar themes with different characters and settings.

I'm not even a fan of HP (shock and horror!) and It's still very easy for me to see why Potter, Percy Jackson and other YA heroes got to be so massive.
User avatar
donaldzlotnik
Posts: 52
Joined: 22 Aug 2015, 04:26
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... 38853">MYK: Prince of the Vends</a>
Bookshelf Size: 56
Publishing Contest Votes: 2

Post by donaldzlotnik »

Guys--you are missing the point: She signed a contract that even Stephen King can not get that has made her the first BILLIONAIRE author--for a 7 book series. So how did she pull off such a fantastic contract with all the movies and spin off rights that are NEVER offered to a first time author? :D Also--sex has nothing to do with it--male or female; her original contract was unbelievable!
Susie Shy
Posts: 11
Joined: 23 Sep 2015, 22:08
Bookshelf Size: 4
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-susie-shy.html

Post by Susie Shy »

I think she came as a whiff of fresh air to a decadent industry and a genre which was calling out for fresh blood or fresh authors- children's books.
User avatar
rachel_bruhn
Posts: 290
Joined: 03 Aug 2015, 08:04
Favorite Author: Lemony Snicket
Currently Reading: A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire #1)
Bookshelf Size: 101
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-rachel-jacks.html
Latest Review: The Sparrow by Denna M. Davis
Publishing Contest Votes: 9
fav_author_id: 5004

Post by rachel_bruhn »

I think the question you are asking is redundant. Almost every post here has explained HOW she got such a wonderful contract offer: she had a story to offer, she proposed that story to numerous publishers, one publisher saw something they liked, they made an offer, maybe she countered that offer, maybe the publisher really thought they had a gold mine and was willing to raise their offer. No one here was present at the discussions around the contract, so no one can get more specific than that. There are "good" stories and there are "great" stories (or better). Some people can tell what is going to be a worldwide hit (as opposed to an okay seller) and they are willing to pay for it. Although you might feel like the stories you are writing are "great", clearly publishers don't agree; hence, you are not seeing offers like what J K Rowling got. I think you are jealous of her success and need to find some alternative explanation for her contract to make yourself feel better about your own work and own success.
Journey beyond the jacket.
User avatar
missbookworm
Posts: 142
Joined: 30 Jun 2015, 19:04
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by missbookworm »

Maybe she had a contact. You know what they say: It's not WHAT you know, it's WHO you know.
Post Reply

Return to “Discuss Authors”