You may have noticed the little key labeled "persist" in the left hand column. Yes, it's kind of a cliche, but it also happens to be great advice (of which I have to remind myself from time to time...). I'm always interested in examples, and found another one recently in an article in The New Yorker, about the "Bratz" dolls that have taken over Barbie's number one spot.
In January of 2001, the entrepreneur behind it, Isaac Larian, showed a rough version at the Hong Kong toy fair and Toys R Us placed an order; in October, they cancelled the order because initial sales were so poor.
Decision time: redouble efforts or give up?
Larian borrowed money to pay for more ads. By Christmas, the dolls were a hit. In the five years since, 125 milllion Bratz dolls have been sold. One hundred twenty-five million.
This may not be cheering news for parents (The New Yorker writer Margaret Talbot wrote, "They look like pole dancers on their way to work at a gentlemen's club"), but it's a great testimony to the power of persistence, for writers or anybody else.
