Keep Going with Casey Griffin
down to get my career off the ground, the best piece of advice I can give you
is to be flexible.
writing for years. I know that the book you’re currently working on feels like the one. And who knows? Maybe it is.
Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky ones who wrote the right book at the right
time and got it into the right hands. But what if it’s not the one?
and then it doesn’t sell? Or a publisher picks up another book exactly like it
weeks before you’ve finished yours? Or the industry shifts its focus away from
its obsession with vampires / werewolves / zombies / fairies / etc? What if
your book is left in the dust with no home? Plenty of mine certainly were.
doesn’t sell…
supposed to be the one. It was
supposed to be flying off the bookshelves by now. You were supposed to
attending the premiere of the movie based on your story that was directed by
Joss Whedon. You were supposed to be so stinking rich that you bought your
neighbor’s house just so you could extend your garden. And the publishing houses
were supposed to be banging your door down, begging you for the sequel.
this post to tell me your secret). But if it’s not, listen up: don’t limit
yourself by putting all your eggs in one basket, err…book.
inflexible.
university, and I only got into reading for pleasure after I graduated. So did
I think my first book was going to be the next big thing? No. Did I hope it was?
Yes. Was it unrealistic? Probably. But did I stop there? Absolutely not!
created. So naturally, when I began writing, I wrote fantasy. When my first
novel went nowhere, I wrote another YA fantasy. Sure, it kick-started my career
path by placing me in the finals of the ABNA contest, but it never made it to
the shelves. But that was okay. I had plenty more ideas where that came from.
So I wrote another fantasy. And then another. I was limiting myself by fixating
on a single genre.
own eyes, you can open up your opportunities.
encouraging me to try my hand at contemporary. I’d resisted for a long time,
thinking, “But all I know is fantasy.” Well, it turns out that since I live in
reality—occasionally—I guess I can write about it too. And I was really happy
with the results.
no limit to what I could write. In fact, when one of my now-editors approached
me and asked, “Do you write adult romance?” I was like, “I do now!” Because,
suddenly, I could write anything and still find storylines I felt just as
passionate about. I just needed to be open to it. That doesn’t mean I can’t go
back to writing fantasy. It just means that I’m better able to roll with the
publishing punches and bounce back from rejection. It made me a well-rounded
writer. It made me more likely to get published.
publishing tides to turn your way. Chart your own course.
come around again. Sometimes you think you’ve found your voice, only to be told
it sounds nothing like you. It’s not just about being persistent after
rejection. I was certainly persistent with my fantasy obsession, but I wasn’t
helping myself any, was I?
and voices. That’s how we grow as writers and how we learn new things about
ourselves and our art. One of my editors was the first person who told me that
my writing was humorous. I’m funny? Who knew? I always thought people were
laughing at me, not with me 🙂 And I never would have known if I hadn’t written
Secrets of a Reluctant Princess.
until you stop trying.” – Albert Einstein
is a process, we learn, we grow, we constantly improve our craft. Rejection is
just part of the process. Not a failure.
it today, I’d think it was terrible. But I wouldn’t be where I am or have
developed the skills I possess today without that first book, or the second, or
the third…
trying. No matter how many books it takes, if you truly love writing, you’re
still doing something you enjoy regardless of the outcome.
of your comfort zone. What can it hurt? It will only make you a better writer.









