It is possible to become a bestselling author

I found this in the New York Times:

"The book, a debut novel by Kathryn Stockett, also comes with a back
story that is a publishing dream come true: at first rejected by nearly
50 agents, the manuscript was scooped up by an imprint of Penguin and
pushed aggressively to booksellers, who fell in love with it. Since it
came out in February, “The Help” has been embraced by book clubs and
bloggers who can’t stop recommending it to their friends."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/books/03help.html?scp=3&sq=Top%20literary%20agents&st=cse

It seems to be just the type of book that DT suggested might succeed. It did!

Good! Of course it is possible--People do it. I am very happy for her.

I like winners. I don't like holier than thou types.

Shelagh. I know you have worked hard on your books, You have donated your proceeds to cancer concerns. I wish you were a best- selling author. I wish we all were.

Thank you for HOPE.

Kathryn Stockett did it against the odds. I had to search long and hard to find the story. I did not find hundreds of similar success stories.

Lulu announce on their website that over one million authors have used lulu.com. They do not claim that a single book written by one of over a million authors went on to become a bestseller. So, some might think that authors stand a better chance of writing a bestseller if they don't self-publish.

I know what you're thinking. "Among all that research, did she find two authors or only one?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this searching I kind of lost track myself. But being as I'm a top class researcher, the most thorough in the world, and would blow your dreams clean away, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

When this question is asked, I cannot help but think of James Redfield. He literally sold his self-published The Celestine Prophecy from the trunk of his car, until it had sold so many copies and gained such attention that it was picked up by Warner Books.

http://www.celestinevision.com/

(click on "Meet James" for the full story)

Ann

Alice wrote:

Good! Of course it is possible--People do it. I am very happy for her.

I like winners. I don't like holier than thou types.

Shelagh. I know you have worked hard on your books, You have donated your proceeds to cancer concerns. I wish you were a best- selling author. I wish we all were.

Thank you for HOPE.

Thanks Alice!

I started this thread to show that anything is possible. This type of story gives aspiring authors false hope, I'm afraid. Yes, she succeeded by being persistent and not giving up. What we are not told is how, after forty-nine other agents had turned it down. she managed to convince the agent who sold her manuscript.

If Don Harpe were here, he would tell you that there is a missing ingredient. Something we are not being told. JK Rowling was turned down umpteen times before the eight year old daughter of a publisher nagged and nagged for more Harry Potter chapters. There is always a reason for everything. So, we can safely assume that some kind of intervention occurred to make the fiftieth agent say yes.

It happened to me with the serialisation. I had contacted agents and publishers with no success after PA gave me joint printing rights. I already had the audio rights and had sent a book to RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind) to convert to an audio version but they never contacted me again after I sent the book. None of my efforts led to anything new. The offer to serialise the book came out of the blue. I happened to be in the right place at the right time. Had I not been born in Lancashire, it would not have happened. My book was available at a time that a radio presenter was looking for a children's book to air on the current affairs daily programme.

It reminds me of this quote:

"Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the
more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will
come and sit softly on your shoulder. - Henry David Thoreau"

Shelagh,

You are so right. I am glad you were born in Lancashire..

It is possible to get in the main stream. Have a look at this. http://www.youwriteon.com/

"Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the
more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will
come and sit softly on your shoulder. - Henry David Thoreau"

A good quote Shelagh.

Carol