Whose Career Would You Most Want to Emulate?

John Green's, totally. I mean, his books are amazing and win lots of awards and starred reviews but are also loved by readers, his personality is so infectious that any video he's in rockets up to hundreds of thousands of views, and he travels all over the world for conferences and bookish events!

I really couldn't ask for anything more than a career like that.

I wonder whose career John Green (say) wanted to emulate before he started out? And does he feel he's got there?

Hm, this is a tough one. I have to say, NOT Rowlings or Meyers. Which sounds weird, I know, but they both wrote one series and, while it's incredibly popular, that's it. I think it's hard for them to leave the world of Harry Potter or Bella and write something new. While I'd certainly love to be that wealthy and popular and widely read, I don't think that InstaFame would be ideal. So I guess I'd say, Dean Koontz - he's a very popular and well-off writer now, who started to make a living within a few years of writing seriously, but he also slowly built his craft and credentials.

AlwaysJuly said:

Hm, this is a tough one. I have to say, NOT Rowlings or Meyers. Which sounds weird, I know, but they both wrote one series and, while it's incredibly popular, that's it. I think it's hard for them to leave the world of Harry Potter or Bella and write something new. While I'd certainly love to be that wealthy and popular and widely read, I don't think that InstaFame would be ideal. So I guess I'd say, Dean Koontz - he's a very popular and well-off writer now, who started to make a living within a few years of writing seriously, but he also slowly built his craft and credentials.

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ITA. I thought I was the only one who never wanted/wants a career like Rowling's. I don't want to be famous. I want to be a little known for my writing, but I definitely do not want that kind of slavish attention to my books. Because both of them seem to have serious issues with an Unpleasable Fanbase.

AlwaysJuly said:

I have to say, NOT Rowlings or Meyers. Which sounds weird, I know, but they both wrote one series and, while it's incredibly popular, that's it. I think it's hard for them to leave the world of Harry Potter or Bella and write something new. While I'd certainly love to be that wealthy and popular and widely read, I don't think that InstaFame would be ideal.

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Meyer actually wrote a best-selling adult novel, too. And I think I read here at AW that she's currently writing a book about mermaids? So, whatever else people may say about her, she does seem willing to write other things.

Gail Carson Levine. I fall in love with all her MC for their spunk and heart. And she inspired me to pursue my own dream. (*insert cheese sauce here*) In general, I'd just like to be the kind of author that inspires others to come up with their own worlds. I think that's why J.K. Rowling comes up so often.

Tamora Pierce, because she writes awesome heroines and generally seems like a great person, or Diane Duane, because I adore her books and she lives in Ireland.

I would have to say either J.K. Rowling's or Nora Roberts'

Besides Rowling... No one, really. :/ I read a lot of YA fiction, because I think it has important influences on how it shapes youth today... but I'm not impressed with any of the YA authors I've read lately.

It's hard for my to decide, but I'd love to be like John Green, David Levithan, or Maureen Johnson.

I would want the media saturation and success of a Meyer or Rowling. Because I write multicultural romance,I want to see my books hit that level and disprove some very hurtful myths.


Career wise,I want to be a combination of Nora Roberts and Stephen King with a side of Anne Rice. They all are prolific,long lasting,and talented.


ETA:Neil Gaiman and Clive Barker. I LOVE them!

I wouldn't mind Rowling's career, but I think Chuck Palahniuk's would be awesome (without the initial rejection, of course!). Two movie adaptations, success in multiple genres, and a cult following? Sounds good to me!

... Gary Paulson. He writes awesome adventure stories and lives in the North with his huskies. How cool is that?!

Lisa McMann seems to be doing well, of The Unwanteds. But hands down it would be Rowling. I am blown away by how she took 5 years to create the entire universe of Harry Potter. That is no small undertaking.

I want the career that slowly trickles the fame, with a variety of different books that have been written that they loved writing.

Not sure what author is most like that. In other words, a writing nest egg.

I'd go with Maggie Stiefvater.
The Raven Circle is her third series, all of which have done well or even great. She gets to drive cool cars through the country and travel the world for book signings, but at the same time she isn't *that* known. She's no Rowling or Meyer or Green with a giant franchise and tons of pressure for her next series to appeal to all the movie-goers and hardcore fans alike. I feel like that popular-but-not-famous balance has allowed her to stick to writing her stories in her very own way.

Not a mod, but just hopping in to say this thread is 4 years old (eek!).

But since I haven't replied to it yet (I think), I'll be unoriginal and say J.K. Rowling. An extreme success that brought her to the point where she's rich and famous no matter what she does. She can stop caring about selling her books any minute now. She can self-publish anything she wants and still come out on top. She can publish her laundry list and a whole country worth of people will rush to read it. Even if she writes a really weak book or a really unmarketable book or a really out there book, she will still be a billion steps ahead of the majority of other authors, fame-wise, audience-wise, money-wise.

In short, if any author is able to have zero publishing and writing worries and focus on nothing but enjoying writing, that's her.

Maureen Johnson is my role model in terms of her relationship with her fans. I <3 Auntie MJ.

Also Laurie Halse Anderson. I really admire how seriously she takes her readers and the ways her books intersect with their lives. I think one of the most difficult things about being published, especially if you write pretty personal books that hit people in the soft bits, is that you kind of have to keep talking about all this really vulnerable stuff over and over again, a long time after committing it all to paper. LHA is so incredibly committed and a total sweetheart about this.

I really don't want the bajillionaire crazyfamous thing. But. There are definitely things I want from Neil Gaiman's career. Like that he seems to pretty much write whatever kinds of projects he wants to write. I'm definitely not cut out to be as prolific as he is (and again, I do not aspire to his level of fame), but I want to work on plays, comics, picture books, maybe an operetta?

Mariko Tamaki is a good (and not so outrageously famous) example too. She seems so good at choosing the projects that excite her, and exploring different ways to tell stories, with different collaborators.

I agree that Neil Gaiman is almost too famous. I wouldn't want my life to be overtaken by traveling or to have millions of twitter followers (although I totally follow him). But I do love that he has the opportunity to write whatever he wants across genres - from the cutest children's books to the creepiest short stories, to fanboying through Doctor Who episodes. I would adore that type of freedom!

I think it's less about opportunity and more about balls. There are lots of examples of not-famous writers who still have the guts to go ahead and play with whatever they want to play with. And there are famous people who seem to be pigeonholed by the area of their fame, especially if the first thing they published is what took off.

For me, it's going to be a toss up between:

1) John Green -- I love how big an impact his books have on the world, that they get people talking and makes them think. He's just so witty and clever, and frigging brilliant, as both a writer and a person.

2) Ellen Hopkins -- She has a heart of gold. She also has this gorgeous-ass house in Northern Nevada, and I love the idea of being able to travel around the country. Her books are so damn hard-hitting, it's fabulous. (I'd also like to add Laurie Halse Anderson to this, for many of the same reasons).

3) A.S. King -- She is, like, the most down-to-earth badass post-punk hippy awesome person I've ever had the good fortune to meet. And again, lots of time traveling, and talking to HS kids ... something I'd love to do.

And they all write contemporary, same as me

I know this is 4 years old. Lol. I have a habit of going back through and reading old threads.

I'm in love with Nina LaCour's career. And Stephanie Perkins'. And Cat Clarke. Contemporary writers with significant fan bases and always buzz surrounding the next book, but not crazy-ass famous. Also, they each consistently write amazing books. That's what I want the most.

For me, it's an author who sometimes writes YA, but mostly writes adult epic fantasy. Brandon Sanderson.

He's written fantasy (both secondary world and contemporary). He's written across age groups (MG, YA, and adult). Most of all, he writes books I love that take common fantasy elements and make them feel fresh again (without all the dark, dark, dark of so much recent fantasy).

That's the kind of career I want. I'll probably devote most of my attention to my adult fantasy. But I also have MG and YA ideas. I want to see them all successful.


While I'd love to write something as popular as Harry Potter, I wouldn't want to be known only for writing that one series. I have tons of ideas that I think people will love.