J.K. Rowling : Rags To Richies

 The only person in the world who became billionarie by writing !

 The Magic Of an Enchantress

The wizarding world of J.K. Rowling has enchanted a whole generation's childhood.The characters and storyline of the entire Potter series shows us the rich and unbelieving imagination of its author.This series not only provided its readers extreme joys through its never seen before plots,places and characters but also helped in destigmatization of various issue by inculcating liberal and more accepting views in young reader's minds.

 The Beginings

J.K. Rowling aka author of Harry potter series wrote this master piece at such a time in her life when she was living on unemployment allowance and was a divorced single mother of a girl-child.After graduating from University of Exeter(B.A.) in 1986, for seven straight years she failed to write something worthy and sellable. During those years she worked as a researcher and bilingual secretory in London at Amnesty International then she took a job at Chamber of Commerce,Manchester. Later on she moved to porto,Portugal to teach English as a Foreign language. She got married during that time in 1992 with a portuguese telivision journalist , they then had a daughter in july,1993 in portugal. Unfortunately, Rowling's marriage didn't work out and she got divorced in that same year. Exact reason for her divorce is unknown but biographers suggest Domestic Violence as a possible reason. Torn out Rowling then moved to Edinburgh, Scotland with her infant daughter. 

 The Struggle

When Rowling came to Edinburgh she had with her three chapters of what would become Harry Potter in her suitcase.By now her marriage had failed, and she was jobless with a dependent child, but she described her failure as liberating and allowing her to focus on writing. During this period, Rowling was diagnosed with clinical depression and contemplated suicide.Her illness inspired the characters known as Dementors , a soul sucking creature in her novels.She applied for welfare benifits , describing her economic status as being "poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless."

 The Opportunity

In 1995, Rowling finished her manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone on an old manual typewriter.The book was submitted to twelve publishing houses, all of which rejected the manuscript.A year later she was finally given the green light (and a £1,500 advance) by editor Barry Cunningham from Bloomsbury, a publishing house in London.The decision to publish Rowling's book owes much to Alice Newton, the eight-year-old daughter of Bloomsbury's chairman, who was given the first chapter to review by her father and immediately demanded the next.Although Bloomsbury agreed to publish the book, Cunningham says that he advised Rowling to get a day job, since she had little chance of making money in children's books.Soon after, in 1997, Rowling received an £8,000 grant from the Scottish Arts Council to enable her to continue writing.

 The Debut

In June 1997, Bloomsbury published Philosopher's Stone with an initial print run of 1,000 copies, 500 of which were distributed to libraries. Today, such copies are valued between £16,000 and £25,000.Five months later, the book won its first award, a Nestlé Smarties Book Prize. In February, the novel won the British Book Award for Children's Book of the Year, and later, the Children's Book Award. In early 1998, an auction was held in the United States for the rights to publish the novel, and was won by Scholastic Inc., for US$105,000. Rowling said that she "nearly died" when she heard the news.In October 1998, Scholastic published Philosopher's Stone in the US under the title of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, a change Rowling says she now regrets and would have fought if she had been in a better position at the time.Rowling moved from her flat with the money from the Scholastic sale, into 19 Hazelbank Terrace in Edinburgh.

 The Golden Books

The sequal to the first book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was published in July 1998 and again Rowling won the Smarties Prize.In December 1999, the third novel, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, won the Smarties Prize, making Rowling the first person to win the award three times running. The fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was released simultaneously in the UK and the US on 8 July 2000 and broke sales records in both countries. 372,775 copies of the book were sold in its first day in the UK, almost equalling the number Prisoner of Azkaban sold during its first year. In the US, the book sold three million copies in its first 48 hours, smashing all records. A wait of three years occurred between the release of Goblet of Fire and the fifth Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.The sixth book,Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was released on 16 July 2005. It too broke all sales records, selling nine million copies in its first 24 hours of release.In 2006, Half-Blood Prince received the Book of the Year prize at the British Book Awards. The title of the seventh and final Harry Potter book was announced on 21 December 2006 as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.It was released on 21 July 2007 and broke its predecessor's record as the fastest-selling book of all time.It sold 11 million copies in the first day of release in the United Kingdom and United States.The book's last chapter was one of the earliest things she wrote in the entire series.

 The Reward

Harry Potter is now a global brand worth an estimated US$15 billion, and the last four Harry Potter books have consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history.The series, totalling 4,195 pages,has been translated, in whole or in part, into 65 languages.

It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. —Albus Dumbledore,Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live. —Albus Dumbledore,Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open. —Albus Dumbledore,Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. —Albus Dumbledore,Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

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