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Books That Took Their Authors Years to Write

A lot of other writers aren't writing the 30-day-novel either — and some of them have still managed to achieve things like publication, acclaim, kudos from their mothers, livable incomes, and health insurance. Here are eight successful books that took years to write, so you can stop sweating your recurring NaNoWriMo failures once and for all, and just write at your own pace already.
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The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Junot Diaz)
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
1
Junot Diaz
Cantos
Cantos
2
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22
3
Joseph Heller
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Catcher in the Rye
4
J.D. Salinger
A Clash of Kings (George R.R. Martin)
A Clash of Kings
5
George R.R. Martin
A Dance With Dragons (George R.R. Martin)
A Dance With Dragons
6
George R.R. Martin
David Copperfield (Charles Dickens)
David Copperfield
7
Charles Dickens
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Vol. 1-3 (Edward Gibbon)
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Vol. 1-3
8
Edward Gibbon
Dune (Frank Herbert)
Dune
9
Frank Herbert
A Feast for Crows (George R.R. Martin)
A Feast for Crows
10
George R.R. Martin
Fight Club 2 (Graphic Novel Omnibus) (Chuck Palahniuk)
Fight Club 2 (Graphic Novel Omnibus)
11
Chuck Palahniuk
Finnegans Wake (James Joyce)
Finnegans Wake
12
James Joyce
A Game of Thrones (George R.R. Martin)
A Game of Thrones
13
George R.R. Martin
The Golden Compass (Philip Pullman)
The Golden Compass
14
Philip Pullman
The Goldfinch (Donna Tartt)
The Goldfinch
15
Donna Tartt
Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
Gone Girl
16
Gillian Flynn
Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
Gone With the Wind
17
Margaret Mitchell
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
18
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
The Hobbit
19
J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Victor Hugo)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
20
Victor Hugo
Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)
Invisible Man
21
Ralph Ellison
J K Rowling the Philosopher's Stone
J K Rowling the Philosopher's Stone
22
Juneteenth (Ralph Ellison)
Juneteenth
23
Ralph Ellison
Jurassic Park (Michael Crichton)
Jurassic Park
24
Michael Crichton
Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)
Les Miserables
25
Victor Hugo
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
26
C.S. Lewis
The Little Friend (Donna Tartt)
The Little Friend
27
Donna Tartt
Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
Lord of the Flies
28
William Golding
The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R.Tolkien)
The Lord of the Rings
29
J.R.R.Tolkien
The Magicians (Lev Grossman)
The Magicians
30
Lev Grossman
Middlesex (Jeffrey Eugenides)
Middlesex
31
Jeffrey Eugenides
The Name of the Wind (Patrick Rothfuss)
The Name of the Wind
32
Patrick Rothfuss
No Great Mischief (Alistair MacLeod)
No Great Mischief
33
Alistair MacLeod
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovtich (Alexander Solzhenitsyn)
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovtich
34
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
The Pillars of the Earth
35
Ken Follett
The Power Broker
The Power Broker
36
The Queen of the Night (Alexander Chee)
The Queen of the Night
37
Alexander Chee
Rising Up and Rising Down (William T. Vollmann)
Rising Up and Rising Down
38
William T. Vollmann
The Secret History (Donna Tartt)
The Secret History
39
Donna Tartt
A Song Flung Up to Heaven (Maya Angelou - 2002)
A Song Flung Up to Heaven
40
Maya Angelou - 2002
Page 1 of 2
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