Poof!  Bestsellers all over the place!  You blink and you got another J.K. Rowling on your hands.  But is it really an “overnight success” or just a matter of becoming aware of the product?  Definitely none of the former and more than likely some of the latter.  Kristin Nelson talks about the pure fallacy of “overnight success” in the publishing world and how such successes actually work.

An overnight success in the publishing world is as oxymoronic a term as jumbo shrimp.  That’s why when people say they want to get into publishing to “make a quick buck,” I try to smack some sense into them.  And just outright laugh at those that “know” what they’re doing and are too pig-headed to learn right.  *snerk*  That can be a whole ‘nother rant.

First, just think about how long it took it write that first novel.  Meyer doesn’t count because she put absolutely no care into the craft, just focused on telling a ridiculous story.  Lets use Rowling.  Much better example.  She started writing Harry Potter in 1993, I believe.  Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was first copyrighted in 1997.  That’s when the book hit shelves.  Give it at least a year prior to that to get into an editor’s hands , so 1996 it was sold to publishing.  Not to mention the time to find an agent.  Lets be generous and use 6 months.

But were there insane Potterheads right from the beginning?  Certainly not like there are now.  The fandom didn’t pick up until the second book, at least.  And that’s not even when Rowling hit the mega-insanity that she has now in the publishing world (and, really, the world in general).  The first movie based on the books was released in 2001.  So lets say a good year range for the mania to hit was somewhere between 2000 and 2001.  That would be 7 to 8 years after the writing started and three to four after the first book hit shelves.

Does that sound like “overnight” to you?

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