J.K. Rowling Tweets Monday Motivation for Aspiring Authors
Apr 04, 2017
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.
She 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.
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
(And by the way, just because it didn't find an audience, that doesn't mean it's bad work.)
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 3, 2017
You'll have turned yourself from somebody who's 'thinking of', who 'might', who's 'trying', to someone who DID. And once you've done it…
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 3, 2017
Maybe your third, fourth, fiftieth song/novel/painting will be the one that 'makes it', that wins the plaudits…
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 3, 2017
Here endeth today's sermon and thanks to @beauty_jackson for her original words of wisdom.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 3, 2017
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!