Almost two years ago I read a book that a friend loaned me, a book with a cover that fascinated me from the start. Written by R. J. Palacio, the book was called Wonder. The book had a good story, great characters – always important for me to keep reading. And even though I cried through most of the second half – not because it was sad, more because the story just touched me – I ended up really enjoying it.
The amazing thing is, a lot of editors didn't want to publish this book. They thought it would be a downer. Even the publisher who did pick it up, didn't have high hopes for it; they only did a small print run. But word of mouth has turned this little book into a bestseller and two years later, it's still topping the charts.
If you're a writer, this story should give you hope. Hope that even a single title from an unknown author can catch on with readers and build on the strength of its merits. If you're a reader, I hope you'll continue to search for stories by unknown authors and give them a try. And maybe in the process, you'll find something wonderful.
Find more great posts for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday on Shannon Whitney Messenger's blog.
5 comments:
I love this book. I can't imagine how publishers could pass this up, but it is a strange business.
I didn't know the book's history, and it surprises me! I adored Wonder and so did both my kids.
Rosi: Amazing, isn't it? You can read more about R.J Palacio and how Wonder came to be in this Wall Street Journal article.
Barbara: According to the WSJ article, they thought it would only appeal to a "special needs" market. I'm glad she didn't give up on it because it's touched a much larger market than anyone thought possible.
I'm so glad the predictions were wrong. This book blew a lot of people away, I think.
It makes you realize that no one knows what's going to sell, what's going to resonate with readers. You just have the write the story that your heart is telling you to write!
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