J.K. Rowling

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all- in which case you fail by default”. This wise quote from a wise woman by the name of J.K. Rowling is not full of empty words, for she knows plenty of struggle. Many people know Rowling as the creator of the most famous wizarding story, but they do not know of her struggles before becoming famous. Rowling is a woman whom has struggled both emotionally and financially.

Joanne Rowling was born in Yate, Gloucestershire, England. She was born on July 31, 1965 in Yate General Hospital. Her father is Peter James Rowling, and he worked as a Rolls-Royce Aircraft Engineer. Rowling’s mother Anne Rowling was a science technician. Her parents met on a train in 1963. It was love at first sight. Rowling’s sister, Diana, is two years younger than her. As a child Rowling lived a few miles south of a town called Dursley (This is the last name of Harry Potter’s cruel aunt and uncle he was forced to live with.). Two of her neighborhood friends were named Ian and Vikki Potter. The brother and sister are most likely the source of Harry’s last name, in Rowling’s most known book series Harry Potter. As a young child she went to St. Michael’s Primary School and she later went to Wyedean School. After Secondary School Rowling attended and graduated from Exeter University with a French and Classics Degree. Rowling’s mother died from a 10 year battle with multiple sclerosis at the age of 45.

Jessica Mitford has been her heroine since she was 14. Jane Austen is her favorite author. Emma is Rowling's favorite book. Rowling started to develop the Harry Potter story during a delayed train ride from Manchester to King's Cross Station in London. Over the next five years she started outlining the series' seven books and started writing the first book.  In Rowling's early 20's she was diagnosed with clinical depression. After Rowling left her ex-husband Jorges Arantes she took her daughter and moved to Edinburgh, Scotland to be near her sister Diana.   She struggled to support her family and lived off of State Benefits. Rowling and her daughter Jessica lived in government subsidized apartment. Since Rowling had very little money she had to write her first book in long hand. She could not submit a handwritten piece so she bought a cheap used typewriter and typed all 223 pages(without a backspace button). Rowling also struggled after her career had already started. She once said, "For a few years I did feel I was on a psychic treadmill, trying to keep up with where I was. Everything changed so rapidly, so strangely. I knew no one who'd ever been in the public eye. I didn’t know anyone- anyone- to whom I could turn and say, 'what do you do?', so it was incredibly disorienting." It was so disorienting that Rowling went to therapy to deal with the stress and pressure of being famous.

J.K. Rowling is most famous for her first books which were the Harry Potter series. The first Harry Potter book was published on June 26 1997. After five years of her books being on the market, Rowling became a multi-millionaire, and she is the first person to become a U.S. Dollar Billionaire from writing books.  Rowling is the 13^th wealthiest woman in Britain. She is even wealthier than the Queen. Rowling sold Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to a publisher for $4,000, and her first three books made over $480 million in three years. Rowling's fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was the fastest selling book in history. In 1998 Harry Potter and Sorcerer's Stone won British Children's Book of the Year, and in 2000 Rowling won the British Book Awards Author of the Year. One thousand books were made in the first printing of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Now those original books sell for $16,000-25,000. Over 35 million copies of Harry Potter have been made in over 35 languages. Rowling has also written other books including The Casual Strike Series and The Casual Vacancy.

Rowling changed the literature industry drastically. Harry Potter is one of the few modern books that you can ask someone about and they will almost always have at least heard of it or know the basic plot. Harry Potter was really the first book that was meant for children, but adults have enjoyed it just as much. Rowling wrote an amazing, very famous, inspiring book that is enjoyed by people of all ages.

Rowling’s perseverance is why she is so successful. Even though she struggled to put food on the table she still believed that things would get better. When she had finished her first book she took it to an agent at Christopher Little Literacy Agency. The agent signed her quickly after starting to read the book. Manuscripts of Harry Potter were sent to 12 different publishers. All 12 of them rejected it. Then she sent the manuscript to Bloomsbury and they accepted it. Her publisher told her that there is not much money children’s literature so she shouldn’t expect to make a lot of money. Rowling is one of few people that has been on both sides of the economic scale. Since she understands the difficulties of having little money she gives back to those people. Rowling has donated over $160 million of her own money to charities supporting single parents, multiple sclerosis, and many other causes. J.K. Rowling has taught me to never give up on your dreams even if you have it rough, things will get better. Work hard and do things that you enjoy and Rowling would be proud.

Bibliography

Biography.com Editors. "J.K. Rowling Biography." The Biography.com. 2016. Web.

"J.K. Rowling." IMDb. 2016. Web.

Lamare, Amy. "Rags to Riches: How J.K. Rowling Went From Welfare Mom to Harry Potter Billionaire." Celebrity Net Worth. 2013. Web.

Nikkhah, Roya. "J.K. Rowling: My Struggle with Success." Dna. 2012. Web.

Ostrowsky, Morgan. "Failure. Rejection. Success: The J.K. Rowling Story." Uncollege. 2016. Web.

Rolwing, J.K. "Biography." www.jkrowling.com. 2012. Web.

Shapiro, Marc. J.K. Rowling: The Wizard Behind Harry Potter. New York: St. Martin's Griffin's. 2000.

Wikipedia Contributors. "J.K. Rowling." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 2016. Web.