J. K. Rowling. To aspiring writers the name is royalty. (Indeed, reports say Rowling is the second-richest woman in Britain, after only the Queen!) But Rowling is no “let them eat cake” aristocrat: the famously once-down-on-her luck author is still mixing it up, trying new things. She even had the nerve to release a book under a different name, just to see how it would do without all that “J.K. Rowling” (very good) baggage. (Note: it did much better after she put her name on it, and so it goes.) But Rowling is experimenting and always challenging herself. That’s the point. And it’s a point that puts Rowling on a level with all the other writers out there — even those who have never sold a word. Fact is you’ve got to do the work, even if you’re J.K. Rowling. And you’ve got to keep the faith.
Rowling’s Twitter is a lively place, nearly always inspirational. This week Rowling retweeted the message “HEY! YOU! You’re working on something and you’re thinking ‘Nobody’s gonna watch, read, listen.’ Finish it anyway.” Which famous person said that, you ask? Well a relatively unknown scribe who goes by Y’assssssss Al Ghul. (Check her out; she’s terrific.) Rowling came across it and let everybody know that truer words were never spoken. Rowling decided to do a little social media mentoring to anybody listening — she shared the tweet with the recommendation below. Harry Potter, of course, was rejected a dozen times before finding a home.
There were so many times in the early 90s when I needed somebody to say this to me. It’s great advice for many reasons. https://t.co/tiGpAOb4Fh
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 3, 2017
