What it takes to make a billion from writing. 4/25/2007 Notes Why J.K. Rowling is the first author to make a billion dollars from her writing: Leverage. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Like this:Like Loading... What it takes to make a billion from writing.