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"No, I didn't know [that Harry Potter would be so successful]... I think it's very dangerous for a writer to start thinking in those terms." --J.K. Rowling (self.keepwriting)

submitted 1 year ago by CaspianXI to c/keepwriting

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I watched an interview with J.K. Rowling, and the interviewer found it hard to believe that she didn't know Harry Potter would be such a huge success.

The interviewer kept on asking how Rowling envisioned what it would be like to get famous, but she kept denying any visions of grandeur. "You are wasting your time," she said at last when asked for advice to writers who are sure they're destined for the top, "Just get on and work."

When we start writing, it's easy to imagine our stories becoming bestsellers, adapted into blockbuster movies, and gaining widespread acclaim. But fantasies don't finish drafts. The path to becoming a successful writer is paved with hard work, determination, and the willingness to face the challenges head-on.

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[–] dethb0y -1 points 1 year ago (10 children)

Not to mention, she literally had nothing to do with HP's success as a franchise - that was down to her publisher and the marketing the publisher did. There's 100 books a year published that are as good or better than HP's first book, but they just won't have the combination of good marketing and publisher support that HP had.

I also find it meaningless to ask successful people how they became successful, because there's always a strong element of luck and random chance. Not only can a person only catch lightning in a bottle once, but they can't instruct someone else how to do it.

If they could, we'd all be successful.

[–] Ilovethebomb 7 points 1 year ago (9 children)

Holy shit, the crab bucket mentality here is off the wall. I haven't read them myself, but do you really think marketing is the reason her books are so insanely popular?

Especially since her books are popular with one of the most cynical and marketing wary groups of people in existence.

[–] Leeharveyteabag 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

If you haven’t read them yourself then you don’t understand how truly horrible her writing is. Her prose is wooden, her dialogue is forced, and she named a Chinese character “Cho Chang” with a straight face. There are plot holes so big that she has to continually go back and retcon random bullshit, like the literal plumbing at Hogwarts. The big scary spell is “abracadabra” with one letter changed.

She’s a hack.

[–] Moonstone 1 points 1 year ago

I agree with you!

I read the all the books some months ago out of curiosity. The game came out, the school library had all the books, and i was just searching for a new book to read when i saw them. In my opinion, the first ones were okay, but the last ones are badly flawed in every way possible. Ron becomes dumber with each book, the romance of harry is so bad written i couldn't believe it how terrible it was, and the worst of the worst are the obvious plotholes.

J.K. Rowling had more luck than skill.

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