Harry Potter and the Mixed Emotions

Don't bite my head off, but I love Harry Potter. For the record, I disagree with J.K.Rowling's stance on transgender rights, but I still love the books. If we look at the personal lives of every author, actor, or politician, we'd cancel everyone. 

Here's my deal- there's a lot to think about here. Her impact on reading and writing is once in a generation. And those are the parts I choose to focus on.

First, she got a whole generation of kids (and adults) excited about reading. When bookstores have midnight release parties and they're swamped with kids who will go home and read all night, you've done something. Hopefully, those kids continued to enjoy reading. 

Second, Harry Potter was rejected by a dozen publishers. I can't find how many literary agents rejected her, but I'm guessing it was a few. But she stuck with it and well, she did OK. What I take from that is that chasing a dream may take some time.

But reason three is what got me thinking about impact. Impact is the real point of this post. Let me share a story about what inspired this whole bunch of thoughts. 

Sometimes when I write I listen to classical music. I can't write with other people's words in my head, it's too distracting. On YouTube, there are a bunch of Harry Potter-themed channels and they're my go-to when I'm writing. The Hufflepuff (my house!) common room is filled with fun, lighthearted music and I love it. Hufflepuff Common Room | Harry Potter Music & Ambience - 4 Magical Scenes for Relaxation and Focus.

One day I took a little break and started reading the comment section. Years later, even after all of the kerfuffle, there are still multitudes of people listening and commenting. And commenting in the politest, most Harry Potter way. I read things like "I'm a Slytherin, but I think you have a beautiful common room. Am I welcome?" And then a hundred people welcome them in and tell them where to find cookies. It's a little absurd, but what would you expect from a wizarding world?

I think I can skip the mayhem she experienced at her peak, that's really not my bag, but holy cow- years later and she can still evoke those kinds of feelings from people? That's what I'd like to do! There are a lot of ways to measure one's success as a writer, but twenty years later most folks don't remember most authors' names, much less get excited about their work.