Nora Roberts | Author | $390 Million

Today, Nora Roberts is almost synonymous with romance novels. In fact, she is also the first author inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. Before she found success, however, did you know that the author was rejected by Harlequin, the lead publishing company for romance novels? It only goes to show that every big-named figure once began at a low point and climbed their way up from there. Fortunately, Silhouette Books took a chance on the newbie author, and she went on to take credit for a total of 23 novels with the company! Although she began her writing career around the late ‘70s, Nora earned her first bestseller title in 1985 for her book Playing the Odds.

Her work has since ranked in the New York Times Bestseller list for a whopping 861 weeks! Through the years, Nora has also written under different pseudonyms, including Jill March, Sarah Hardesty, and JD Robb.