J.K. Rowling Tweets Monday Motivation for Aspiring Authors

Apr 04, 2017

Posted by: Amanda Kirk

Cormoran Strike series/Robert Galbraith, J.K. Rowling, News

Never shy about expressing her personal and political views on Twitter—and occasionally throwing a bone to us fans with a new Harry Potter revelation—J.K. Rowling has been Tweeting prolifically today in response to a Tweet from a writer urging anyone working on a creative endeavour to finish it even if they are not certain of attracting an audience.

Rowling Tweeted that she wished she’d received this advice when she was writing the first Harry Potter book.  Like many first-time authors, she received over a dozen rejections before finding a publisher for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone.  She also received initial rejections under her pseudonym Robert Galbraith for the first Cormoran Strike mystery novel.

Screen Shot 2017-04-04 at 12.10.51 AMShe urged fellow writers to finish their works for the sense of accomplishment that comes from having “turned yourself from somebody who’s ‘thinking of’, who ‘might’, who’s ‘trying’, to someone who DID.”

We all live in deepest gratitude at her tenacity in pursuing and finding an audience (understatement of the year) for Harry Potter.

Obviously moved by the Tweet that inspired her outpouring of encouragement, she posted a series of Tweets in response to it,  closing with “Here endeth today’s sermon” and pinning the original Tweet to the top of her profile page.

Ever eager to jump into the political fray, Rowling also responded to a man blustering against the pussy hats worn by protesters at the recent women’s marches, quipping that “Every man who feels this way should wear his penis hat with pride.”

Perhaps if you put one in a Christmas cracker, Dumbledore would wear it at Christmas dinner in the Great Hall.  You certainly wouldn’t have to ask the Weasley twins twice!





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.