John Grisham’s first novel, A Time To Kill, had an initial press run of only 5,000 copies. At some point, his publisher went out of business and he sold the books out of the trunk of his car. Today, Grisham has sold more than 250 million book world-wide.
Dan Brown’s first three books sold less than 10,000 copies each before The Da Vinci Code hit the market and that book has now sold over 80,000,000 copies.
Stephanie Myer’s first novel, Twilight, was initially rejected by nine agents before being accepted. She signed a three-book deal worth $750,000 and has now been reportedly worth $40,000,000.
J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected by twelve publishers before she signed with Bloomsbury for $1500 with an initial print run of only 1000 copies. Today those copies are valued at $20,000 each. Rowling’s net worth is now reportedly $1 billion.
J.A. Konrath received close to 500 rejections on nine different novels before finally signing with a publisher. He now makes over $10,000 a month on Kindle alone.
Jennifer Weiner’s Good In Bed was turned down by 23 agents. Her book rose to the NY Times Bestseller List within a month of being released.
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