8 Facts about J K Rowling
5. Rowling was married briefly to a television journalist Jorge Arantes, and it was during this time that she worked as an English teacher in Portugal. Though later, the marriage did not work well and they were divorced soon after.
6. It was advised by her publishing house to give an ambiguous pen name, “J.K” in all her works, to make the name anonymous, as they thought that a wizard book by a woman would not be popular enough or taken seriously. The initial “K” in her name is from her grandmother’s name ‘Kathleen’. Due to this pen name, initially many fans addressed her in fan letters as “Dear Sir…”
7. When Rowling had completed the first rough script of ‘Philosopher’s Stone’, 12 publishing houses rejected the manuscripts, as they were not sure if it would work. It was then a small publisher called ‘Bloomsbury’ that gave Rowling a chance to publish her untold story with a minimal advance. No one ever knew that time that she would eventually make history! It has been noted that her last book of the series ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ broke all the records, and went on to become one of the fastest-selling books of all time.
8. After the immense success of the Harry Potter series, along with the movies, Rowling has moved on and wrote another tragic-comedy novel aimed for adults called “The Casual Vacancy”. She is also currently working for two other books, out of which one is targeted to children who will be younger than the Harry Potter audience.
From being unemployed to becoming one of the richest people in the world, JK Rowling has had a hell-of-a-story. And she just proves that hard work, perseverance, and determination can make you a hero, come what may.
