Five Writers and Their Big Breaks

J.K. Rowling, "Harry Potter"

The story of J.K. Rowling's success is an author's fairy tale. When Harry Potter walked onto her pages, she was a divorced single mother who battled depression and poverty. Everything was falling apart when she poured all her energy into writing the story about a young wizard. She found a literary agent, and the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was picked up by a British publisher. It was also published in America under the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Today there are seven books in the Harry Potter series that have sold 450 million copies in more than 60 languages. Rowlings who once considered herself a failure is now a billionaire and one of the most successful writers of all time.