Most—if not all—readers are familiar with the beloved Harry Potter novels written by J. K. Rowling. Her novels sparked interest across the world, and she quickly became one of the most beloved modern authors of all time.1 In her personal account, she wrote that she had experienced the death of her mother, the birth of her first child, and the marital abandonment of her husband while she was writing Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.2 The process of writing the book took her five years, so she likely treasured the book as a piece of stability and magic among the difficulties she went through.3 For editors, it is important to understand how special books like these are to the authors who write them.
After Rowling finished writing her first book, she sent a sample of it to several literary agents.4 A literary agent is someone who looks through a slush pile of potential stories submitted to their literary agency and chooses the best story.5 Then the agent teams up with the author of the story, and works to get the author published at a publishing house.6
Literary agents are not the same as acquisitions editors. Acquisitions editors will look through a slush pile of potential stories submitted to the publishing house they work for and choose the best stories to publish through the publishing house directly.7 Authors can submit their writings to either a literary agency or a publishing house, but the process to publish becomes longer after submitting to a literary agency.8 On the other hand, literary agents can be helpful in the publishing process because they advocate for the author by marketing the author’s writing to several publishing houses—something an acquisitions editor doesn’t do.9
In the case of J. K. Rowling, she submitted samples of her first book to several literary agents until a man named Christopher Little became interested in her story in 1996.10 After Little became her agent, he advocated for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by applying to over a dozen publishing houses.11 A year later, Little convinced Bloomsbury Publishing to publish her book.12
Publishing houses only have jurisdiction over certain publishing rights.13 Because there are several different types of publishing rights (country rights, language rights, film rights, etc.), most authors and literary agents end up publishing from several different publishing houses.14 Rowling originally contracted with Bloomsbury Publishing to publish her book in the UK; however, Scholastic also sought rights to publish Rowling’s book in the US in 1998.15
During the publication of Rowling's books, Bloomsbury Publishing had an advantage because they could publish Rowling’s stories in the UK months before Scholastic.16 Additionally, Scholastic specifically requested that Rowling change the title of the book to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to better fit the style of their American audience.17 J. K. Rowling’s experience teaches that publishing houses can have a significant impact on the timelines and specific editorial judgments of the books editors work with.
Footnotes:
1 “The Most Popular Contemporary Fiction Writers,” YouGov, accessed August 31, 2026, https://yougov.com/en-us/ratings/contemporary-fiction-writer.
2 J. K. Rowling, “My Story,” J. K. Rowling’s Stories, accessed August 31, 2026, https://stories.jkrowling.com/my-story/.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 “Literary Agent,” Careers in Publishing, Publishers Association, accessed August 31, 2026, https://www.publishers.org.uk/about-publishing/careers/literary-agent/.
6 Ibid.
7 Natalie Harris-Spencer, “What Does an Acquisitions Editor Do?,” Submissions, Aspiring Author, November 12, 2024, https://aspiringauthor.com/what-does-acquisitions-editor-do/.
8 Steve Laube, “How Long Does It Take to Get Published,” Blog, The Steve Laube Agency, June 3, 2019, https://stevelaube.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-get-published/.
9 “Literary Agent,” Careers in Publishing, Publishers Association, accessed August 31, 2026, https://www.publishers.org.uk/about-publishing/careers/literary-agent/.
10 Katie Gibbons, “Harry Potter and the £10m pay-off: JK Rowlings split with agent Christopher Little revealed,” The Times, June 12, 2021, https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/harry-potter-and-the-10m-pay-off-jk-rowlings-split-with-agent-christopher-little-revealed-gp2mf00hw.
11 Cary, “Rowling’s Life as an Author: What It Was Really Like to Write Harry Potter,” My Blog, The Friendly Editor, June 6, 2015, https://thefriendlyeditor.com/2015/06/16/rowling-writing-harry-potter/.
12 Ibid.
13 Amita Parikh, “A guide to book publishing rights,” Blog, Amita Parikh, June, 2023, https://www.amitaparikh.com/blog/a-guide-to-book-publishing-rights.
14 Ibid.
15 “Scholastic Marks 25 Year Anniversary of the Publication Of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” Newsroom, Scholastic, February 6, 2023, https://www.scholastic.com/newsroom/all-news/press-release/scholastic-marks-25-year-anniversary-of-the-publication-of-j-k--.html.
16 Alan Cowell, “Investors and Children Alike Give Rave Reviews to Harry Potter Books,” Archives, The New York Times on the Web, October 18, 1999, https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/books/101899harry-potter.html.
17 J. K. Rowling, “My Story,” J. K. Rowling’s Stories, accessed August 31, 2026, https://stories.jkrowling.com/my-story/.