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Kurt Johnson
John Grisham is well known as a best-selling author, word craftsman and master of the legal thriller, but one of his greatest gifts is perhaps his best kept secret — perseverance.
A long-time fan of the famous Mississippi lawyer turned author, I have read all of Grisham’s 41 novels and in fact have most of them in my home library. Everything he writes, it seems, involves page-turning suspense filled with characters, intrigue and creative detail. But it didn’t come easily at first, I recently learned in a post by Jon Finkel, who writes a weekly Books & Biceps online newsletter. The insight into Grisham’s humble beginnings as a writer would make a best-seller in itself.
Back in 1984, Finkel shared, Grisham was a 29-year-old lawyer sitting in a Mississippi courthouse listening to horrific testimony from a young girl who was the victim of a violent crime. Staring at the defendant, he later said, “A story was born,” launching a daily ritual in which he wrote for an hour at 5 a.m. before he began his day as a trial lawyer.
Three years later he finished what he thought was a good book, only to be rejected by publishers 27 times. The 28th, Wynwood Press, printed 5,000 copies, which he couldn’t even give away. Failure? No. Just a test of his resolve.
Like many of the hard-nosed characters Grisham would later create, he decided to keep going, committed to writing just one, more, book. That book turned out to be “The Firm,” a No. 1 best seller in 1991 later made famous on the big screen with Tom Cruise in the starring role of Mitch McDeere.
The publisher then re-released Grisham’s first book, “A Time to Kill,” which sold 1.5 million copies, and nearly 30 years later the man with a golden pen (keyboard) has now sold more than 400 million books around the world.
The key was consistency and having confidence in himself. “Write every day. At the same time. No excuses,” he told the New York Times.
What a valuable life lesson at a time when our society seems enamored with how quickly someone grew their social media following or made a short-lived splash in cyberspace. Many start new endeavors with bold plans, but it takes effort, no fear of failure and sacrifice to achieve a worthwhile dream.
Perseverance is essential to success, as well as to friendship and love if you think about it. It teaches us to resolve difficulties and to become the best version of the person we were meant to become.
The real life version of Grisham’s own struggles may be his most compelling story yet.
KURT JOHNSON can be reached at kjohnson@hamilton.net
