Ever feel like you’ll never get your book right? Like you’re rewriting the same scene for the hundredth time and wondering if all this effort is even worth it? Well, you’re in good company. You may be wondering how many drafts bestselling authors write before they publish.
Surprise! Most famous works were not published as first drafts. So, how many drafts do bestselling authors write? J.K. Rowling rewrote Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 15 times before it ever saw a bookstore shelf. Patrick Rothfuss spent over a decade reworking The Name of the Wind. And Harper Lee? Her first draft of To Kill a Mockingbird was so different her editor had her start over.
So if you’re staring at your messy draft thinking, Is it supposed to be this hard?, the answer is—yes. Writing is rewriting. But every draft brings you one step closer to something truly magical.
Let’s take a look at how many drafts it really took for these bestselling authors to get it right—and why your own revision process might just be the secret to your success.
Here are the stats for famous authors you may know and how many drafts these bestselling authors wrote. It includes the age they got published, how long it took them to gain significant recognition (such as hitting bestseller lists), and which number book that was in their career.
| Author | Age at First Publication | Time to Recognition (Bestseller/Breakout Book) | Book Number for Breakout |
| Stephen King | 26 (Carrie, 1974) | Instant bestseller (1 year) | 1st book |
| J.K. Rowling | 32 (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 1997) | 1 year (bestseller in 1998) | 1st book |
| George R.R. Martin | 28 (Dying of the Light, 1977) | 19 years (Game of Thrones, 1996) | 5th novel |
| Brandon Sanderson | 28 (Elantris, 2005) | 4 years (Mistborn, 2009) | 3rd novel |
| Agatha Christie | 30 (The Mysterious Affair at Styles, 1920) | 10 years (The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, 1930) | 6th novel |
| Margaret Atwood | 30 (The Edible Woman, 1969) | 16 years (The Handmaid’s Tale, 1985) | 6th novel |
| Toni Morrison | 39 (The Bluest Eye, 1970) | 17 years (Beloved, 1987) | 5th novel |
| Frank Herbert | 35 (The Dragon in the Sea, 1956) | 9 years (Dune, 1965) | 2nd novel |
| Madeline Miller | 33 (The Song of Achilles, 2011) | 1 year (bestseller in 2012) | 1st novel |
| Harper Lee | 34 (To Kill a Mockingbird, 1960) | Instant bestseller (same year) | 1st novel |
| Ernest Hemingway | 27 (The Sun Also Rises, 1926) | 10 years (For Whom the Bell Tolls, 1940) | 4th novel |
| Octavia Butler | 29 (Patternmaster, 1976) | 13 years (Kindred, 1989) | 6th novel |
| Rick Riordan | 41 (Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, 2005) | Immediate hit (same year) | 1st children’s novel (3rd overall) |
| Suzanne Collins | 38 (Gregor the Overlander, 2003) | 5 years (The Hunger Games, 2008) | 6th novel |
| Patrick Rothfuss | 33 (The Name of the Wind, 2007) | Instant bestseller (same year) | 1st novel |
| Louisa May Alcott | 22 (Flower Fables, 1854) | 14 years (Little Women, 1868) | 7th novel |
| Diana Gabaldon | 39 (Outlander, 1991) | Instant bestseller (same year) | 1st novel |
| Colleen Hoover | 32 (Slammed, 2012) | 4 years (It Ends With Us, 2016) | 6th novel |
| Veronica Roth | 22 (Divergent, 2011) | Instant bestseller (same year) | 1st novel |
| Liane Moriarty | 38 (Three Wishes, 2003) | 11 years (Big Little Lies, 2014) | 6th novel |
Takeaways:
- Some authors hit success immediately (e.g., Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, Harper Lee, Patrick Rothfuss).
- Others took multiple books before their breakout novel (e.g., Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood, Liane Moriarty).
- Age at debut publication varies widely, from early 20s (Veronica Roth, Louisa May Alcott) to late 30s/early 40s (Rick Riordan, Suzanne Collins, Diana Gabaldon).
- Bestseller status can take years or happen instantly, depending on genre, marketing, and reader reception.
Now let’s look at how many drafts these famous authors wrote of their breakout books before they got published:
| Author | Breakout Book | Number of Drafts |
| Stephen King | Carrie (1974) | 1 (threw it away, wife rescued it) |
| J.K. Rowling | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (1997) | 15 drafts |
| George R.R. Martin | A Game of Thrones (1996) | 5+ drafts |
| Brandon Sanderson | Mistborn (2006) | 5+ drafts |
| Agatha Christie | The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) | Unknown, but wrote daily |
| Margaret Atwood | The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) | 3-4 drafts |
| Toni Morrison | Beloved (1987) | Multiple, over 5+ years |
| Frank Herbert | Dune (1965) | 5+ drafts, rejected 23 times |
| Madeline Miller | The Song of Achilles (2011) | 10 years, unknown drafts but heavily rewritten |
| Harper Lee | To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) | 2.5 years of rewriting, dozens of drafts |
| Ernest Hemingway | For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) | Over 10 drafts |
| Octavia Butler | Kindred (1979) | 7+ drafts |
| Rick Riordan | The Lightning Thief (2005) | 3-5 drafts |
| Suzanne Collins | The Hunger Games (2008) | 2 drafts (first draft was very close) |
| Patrick Rothfuss | The Name of the Wind (2007) | 7-15 years of rewriting |
| Louisa May Alcott | Little Women (1868) | 1-2 drafts (rushed for publication) |
| Diana Gabaldon | Outlander (1991) | 1 draft, written as an experiment |
| Colleen Hoover | It Ends With Us (2016) | 3-4 drafts |
| Veronica Roth | Divergent (2011) | 3-4 drafts |
| Liane Moriarty | Big Little Lies (2014) | Multiple drafts, heavy rewrites |
Takeaways:
- Some books were rewritten over 10+ years (The Name of the Wind, The Song of Achilles).
- Some books were rushed or written quickly (Little Women, Outlander).
- A few authors nailed it early (The Hunger Games, Divergent).
- Harper Lee’s publisher made her rewrite To Kill a Mockingbird completely—it was originally a different book!
Ready to get back to writing your own novel? Check out my posts: How to Create A Basic Novel Outline and How To Develop Characters With Complexity & Depth.
If there’s one thing to take away from this, it’s that no one gets it right the first time—not even the greats. Hopefully seeing how many drafts bestselling authors wrote makes you feel a little less discouraged. Rewriting isn’t a sign of failure. Commitment to your craft and your story and staying determined to write the best book you can is a good thing! Every messy draft, every frustrating edit, every late-night revision is a step toward something incredible. So keep going. Keep refining. Keep believing in the magic of your storytelling. Because one day, you might just be the author someone else looks to and says, Wow, they really stuck with it.
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