J.K. Rowling's story, the author of the famous "Harry Potter" book series, is a very interesting story filled with valuable lessons. Her life had all the ups and downs of one of her books, and she's managed to come out on top!
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00:00 J.K. Rowling's story, the author of the famous saga Harry Potter, is a very interesting
00:09 story filled with valuable lessons.
00:14 Did you know that Joanne Rowling, better known as J.K. Rowling, decided to finish and publish
00:19 Harry Potter at one of the worst times in her life?
00:23 When she made the decision, she was a single mother that was going through many difficulties,
00:28 barely surviving, and with depression.
00:33 On a trip from Manchester to London, she suddenly came up with the character of Harry Potter.
00:38 According to Joanne, this idea came out of nowhere, and with it came the story and characters.
00:47 In 1995, Rowling finished her manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
00:53 on an old typewriter.
00:55 The book was sent to 12 publishing companies, and all of them rejected it because the title
01:00 alluded to a children's text.
01:05 In June of 1997, Bloomsbury published the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's
01:11 Stone, with an initial print run of 1,000 copies, of which 500 were distributed to public
01:17 libraries.
01:20 Harry Potter is now a global brand with an estimated value of $15 billion.
01:27 The series has been translated, in whole or in part, into 65 languages.
01:35 It has also been recognized as awakening interest in reading among young people, at a time when
01:40 it was thought that children would abandon books for computers and television.
01:47 One of the main stipulations that Jo insisted on was that the movies be filmed in Great
01:52 Britain and with an all-British cast, including production cast and extras.
01:59 In July of 2011, Rowling said that her new book would be quite different from what the
02:04 public was used to reading from her.
02:09 The Casual Vacancy chronicles a struggle for public office in a small English town and
02:14 deals with issues like family violence, among others.
02:20 In April of 2013, Little, Brown and Company published The Cuckoo's Calling, a novel by
02:27 the supposed author Robert Galbraith.
02:30 After a thorough investigation by the Sunday Times, it was discovered that Galbraith was
02:35 a pseudonym for Rowling.
02:39 In 2004, Forbes named Rowling the first person to become a billionaire just by writing books.
02:48 Beyond her money, Rowling's exploits as a writer have made her one of the most influential
02:53 people in the world.
02:55 She is a person whose face is not unknown for either those who read her novels or for
03:00 those many who know her by reference.
03:02 (upbeat music)
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