Kate Scott | Accepting Excellence

The main character in my debut novel, COUNTING TO D, is dyslexic. I am also dyslexic, and I based Sam’s character largely on my own experience growing up with a severe learning disability.

Dyslexia isn’t a cold; it’s not something that goes away. Even though I’m now a published author, I’m still a very slow reader and a horrible speller. Fortunately, I know what is and isn’t required to build a writing career. Knowing how to read fast and properly spell two-letter words is totally not necessary. I still misspell of all the time. Seriously, can somebody tell me when the letter f started making a va sound? Being an author does require an active imagination, and thankfully, that is something I have.

Now that I’m a published author, I’ve somehow made it onto the “successful dyslexics” list, and people keep asking me what advice I would give to young, not-yet-successful dyslexics. My answer is that you have two simple choices: you can either strive for average your entire life and fail miserably, or you can accept that you were born exceptional.

Every artistic masterpiece, every scientific discovery, every business innovation— every single thing that makes life on Earth worth living exists because an individual had an idea. We need people who think a little different. Sometimes we even need people who think a lot different.

I was seventeen years old when I learned how to spell my middle name. I still don’t know how to spell my mom’s maiden name, which makes online security checks really difficult. I know I’m not average, so I write books for a living.

I’m not alone. This world is practically overflowing with successful dyslexics: Walt Disney, Charles Schwab, Pablo Picasso, Woodrow Wilson, Agatha Christie, Thomas Edison, Kate Scott, you…

Growing up with a learning disability is never easy. Growing up period isn’t easy. But that’s okay. Because sometimes, children who can’t read grow up to be adults that invent light bulbs.

The kids at Sam's school never knew if they should make fun of her for being too smart or too dumb. That's what it means to be dyslexic, smart, and illiterate. Sam is sick of it. So when her mom gets a job in a faraway city, Sam decides not to tell anyone about her little illiteracy problem. Without her paradox of a reputation, she falls in with a new group of highly competitive friends who call themselves the Brain Trust.

When she meets Nate, her charming valedictorian lab partner, she declares her new reality perfect. But in order to keep it that way, she has to keep her learning disability a secret. The books are stacked against her and so are the lies. Sam's got to get the grades, get the guy, and get it straight-without being able to read.