JK Rowling ‘pocketed £1,560 a word for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’
JK Rowling pocketed £1,560 a word for first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, a study suggests.
The Brit author, 55, hit the big time as the novel, published in 1997, went on to sell 120million copies.
It reportedly earned her £120million — or £1,560 a word for its 76,944 words.
She has three books in the top ten “per word earner” of living authors, according to The Knowledge Academy.
Second was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, which sold 65million copies and earned £1,300-a-word for its 45,000 words.
A spokesman for The Knowledge Academy said: “We analysed the best-selling books across the world by living authors, and found that Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is the highest earning book, earning JK Rowling a whopping £1,560-a-word.”
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Per word earner top ten
- JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, £1,560
- Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist, £1,300
- JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, £890
- Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code, £535
- Susanna Tamaro, Follow Your Heart, £525.
- EL James, Fifty Shades of Grey - £495-a-word
- Jack Higgins, The Eagle has Landed - £465-a-word
- JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - £435-a-word
- Banana Yoshimoto, Kitchen - £430-a-word
- Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingstone Seagull - £370-a-word
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