Before landing lucrative deals with Netflix and Amazon, the author of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ held positions at Olive Garden and worked as a librarian.

Emma BurleighBy Emma BurleighReporter, Success
Emma BurleighReporter, Success

    As a reporter for Fortune, Emma Burleigh focuses on success, career paths, entrepreneurship, and personal finance. Prior to her role on the Success desk, she was a co-author of Fortune’s CHRO Daily newsletter, where she provided in-depth coverage of the workplace and emerging trends in employment. Emma's writing has also appeared in outlets such as the Observer and The China Project, where she has published in-depth articles covering culture, entertainment, and geopolitical matters. Politics. She holds a dual master’s degree from New York University, specializing in Global Journalism and East Asian Studies.

    Author Jenny Han
    Jenny Han, acclaimed for her popular book series including “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” stated she would not alter any aspect of her career ascent, noting that her work experiences As a librarian she helped uncover what young readers desired.
    Lyvans Boolaky / Stringer / Getty Images

    The central question dominating this summer has been: Conrad or Jeremiah? Is a popular sensation, appearing on numerous people's social media feeds. Following three successful seasons, the franchise is slated for a movie sequel. Not long before audiences became engrossed in the romantic entanglements of young people, conversations in offices were dominated by Netflix trios Y

    Before Jenny Han, the author of both of these romantic hits, secured deals with Netflix and Amazon, she juggled several jobs Ranging from serving at Olive Garden to babysitting and working as a librarian. Despite the lengthy process of getting her narratives onto major streaming platforms, Han expressed no regrets about her professional journey. Her daily routine of reshelving books and noticing what readers were engrossed in actually allowed her to identify a vast market populated by millions of dedicated followers. 

    While I was writing my books, I also worked as a school librarian. I believe a reason the show and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, resonated with viewers is my ongoing effort to comprehend my audience as a novelist Collection,” Han recently revealed on offered Marketplace the podcast. 

    In my role as a librarian, I’d immerse myself in new literature daily to satisfy the constant requests for fresh narratives from my young patrons, prompting me to frequent the bookstore. And try to understand their motivations, she added. I believe that's a significant aspect of my role as showrunner today.

    In 2009, Han debuted their first The Summer I Turned Pretty novel, which rapidly established them as a successful author in the young-adult genre. In 2021, over ten years after its initial release, she secured a deal with Amazon Studios to adapt the romantic drama into a television series, a move that significantly boosted its popularity. The books returned to the NYT Bestsellers list in 2022. 

    This September, the franchise concluded its third and last TV season, attracting over 25 million viewers worldwide on the platform within its initial seven days. Streaming's days are numbered—and Han still has a movie sequel planned. Han is also recognized for the triumph of her second teen trilogy, released in 2014, which was adapted into one of Netflix’s "most-watched origi The company's most successful films to date, capturing the attention of over 80 million subscribers. In 2018, Netflix acquired the rights to the series. Following three highly successful films, they have now greenlit a spinoff series: XO, Kitty. 

    Following Han's success in streaming, the author has established a romance empire with a global following numbering in the millions. Having moved far beyond her prior role as a librarian, and distancing herself from her achievements in both film and literature, this creator of worlds now views herself as An entrepreneur and author. 

    I started writing books in my early twenties, and the book publishing industry is quite unlike Hollywood, primarily due to its significantly lower financial stakes. "It's a more refined sort of business," Han remarked. From the outset, it's crucial to actively promote yourself and your books. I believe social media has amplified this. Back when I began, not even that was available.

    CEOs who previously held conventional employment before founding their own enterprises.

    While many leaders achieve top positions by climbing the corporate ladder, individuals like Han have had surprisingly quiet professional journeys prior to their current success. Achieving significant triumphs. 

    The individual who served you lunch a decade ago might presently be the CEO of a multimillion-dollar firm; for instance, the chief executive of Coursera, [ The outfits you may have once ruined at Nordstrom. Greg Hart, the head of $1.67 billion an online course provider, previously worked at a department store chain during his college years before moving on From Amazon's ranks to Jeff Bezos' inner circle, then leading a significant tech enterprise.

    The CEO of Eventbrite, a $225 million live event marketplace, Julia Hartz, opted for self-funding to establish her thriving business. She had a promising career in television, rising to junior executive at FX and contributing to successful shows like Friends, Jackass, and [[INLINE_ She decided to pursue her own lucrative venture, so she quit her conventional employment, packed her belongings into containers, and traveled north. Eventbrite chose the California coast for its new headquarters in San Francisco. Two decades after founding her company in 2006, she has transformed her passion into a dominant ticketing enterprise; in 2024 alone, the platform managed the distribution of 8 Over 4.7 million events had 3 million tickets purchased. 

    Prior to establishing her shapewear empire, the billionaire founder of Spanx, Sara Blakely, sold fax machines had already achieved success. With seven years of appliance sales accumulated savings, she independently launched her enterprise. At the age of 29 in 2000, while employed by the office-supply firm Danka, Blakely established Spanx out of a need for undergarments suitable for her white pa Content, keeping its meaning and approximate length intact. Return solely the revised text, without any lists, headings, labels, or quotation marks. Maintain the original HTML tags and entities precisely, and use the same language. Her company achieved $4 million in sales during its inaugural year, then surged to $10 million the next. Twenty years on, in 2021, the entrepreneur divested a controlling interest in Spanx to Blackstone, reaching a market value of $1.2 billion. 

    Fortune Global Forum will be back in October. The event is scheduled for March 26–27, 2025, in Riyadh. An exclusive, invitation-only gathering for CEOs and global leaders will convene to forge the future of commerce. Here's a redesigned version of the content, maintaining its original message and approximate length: This revised content offers a similar message while keeping the length comparable.