12 Publishers Rejected JK Rowling's 'Harry Potter' That Sold Over $1 Billion Later

JK Rowling is popular worldwide for the ‘Harry Potter series. He was born in England on July 31, 1975. She is a famous novel writer and a socialist. Her life wasn’t so easy at that point. So many things happened to her.

At a point in life, she thought about suicide. Harry Potter was her first book, and surprisingly it got rejected by almost 12 publishers.

Interestingly 13th one was agreed to publish it. And then people liked the unique story so much. This book is considered one of the highest-selling books in the world.

And today, we will jump into deep about the book and the reason behind this book’s success. And the reason behind getting rejected by those publishers. So let us begin with the main article.

The Best Selling Book, Harry Potter

Sitting in a cafe in Edinburgh, Scotland, J.K Rowling began to write little by little. A long time ago, while traveling by train from Manchester to London, he thought of a story of a little boy who will be admitted to a school of magicians. That boy is none other than Harry Potter.

In 1995, Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and sent manuscripts to several agents. Interestingly, in the beginning, no publisher agreed to print the book.

Many large publishers returned the manuscript. After a year of trying, a publisher was found. That was made possible by the publisher’s eight-year-old daughter, who loved the book. After deciding to publish the book, Rowling was paid 1,500 euros in advance.

Only 1,000 copies were printed in the first edition, of which only 500 copies were sold to various school libraries. Those books from the first edition of Harry Potter are considered an invaluable, rare resource to collectors around the world today.

Why Publishers Rejected Harry Potter

This sounds weird that 12 publishers rejected Harry Potter. One of the best-selling books in the history of the world was rejected before publishing. Why did it happen? Let’s try to know about it.

The story and character were not like the other novel books. It was something new. At the time of publishing, J.K Rowling was not a famous or known writer. She was just a beginner. And a struggler. The Publisher could not rely on her story because there was a risk of being lost financially.

If people do not like the book. That is why almost 12 publishers rejected the book, Harry Potter. And they had a very negative mindset about the book for the first time.

Success Behind The Harry Potter

The story was unique and something new. The daughter of a publisher read the book and enjoyed it so much. That is how it got published by a publisher. As it was a unique story, people found it very interesting. And also, the mindset of J.K Rowling was great.

She didn’t give up after getting rejected by almost 12 publishers. Not giving up mindset from J.K Rowling is one of the reasons for their success. At that time, she was in depression and thought about suicide.

But she didn’t give up. She fought with her unique creativity. She kept visiting all the publishers in Europe who can publish her book. This is inspiring for us all.

Ending

J.K Rowling sold Harry Potter’s rights to film his first two books to Warner Bros in 1997. And he never had to fall into financial problems again. The books in the Harry Potter series began to see one success after another.

Breaking all records in the history of the publishing world, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire sold nearly three million copies in the UK on its first day of publication. More than three million copies in the United States in two days!

Despite reaching the pinnacle of success, Rowling did not forget the memories of her most difficult days. In 2000, she founded a charitable trust that provides around 5 million pounds a year to aid distressed women and children.

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