Simplify the following text for a Grade 11 native English-speaking person.
Original: A practicing attorney ( at the time ) , Berry had been writing since 1990 , and it took him 12 years and 85 rejections ( over five different editions ) to finally sell a manuscript to Ballantine Books .
Simplified: Berry had been writing since 1990 , and it took him 12 years and 85 rejections ( over five different editions ) to finally sell a manuscript to Ballantine Books .