by Caroline George

First off, I want to say a huge thank you to Belmont University for equipping me to navigate the rather tumultuous waters of publishing with dexterity and grace. If not for professors like Richard Sowienski and Dr. Christie Kleinmann who presented opportunities, encouraged, and cheered me along, I don’t think I would be where I am today.  

What has your path as an author looked like to get you to where you are today? 

Stories have been my passion for as long as I can remember. Before I could pen a word, I told my mom stories. She wrote them down for me, and I illustrated the little books. Fast forward a few years, I became an imaginative child who played make-believe and breathed fiction like air. I suppose it was only a matter of time before writing found me.  

I devoured books throughout elementary and middle school. The bigger, the better. During middle school, I experienced bullying and used writing as an escape. I got my start penning fanfiction for a teen writing website. After a few months, I had over sixty thousand weekly readers. The kicker: I was the main character of my fanfiction.

Hence my wild popularity in middle school.

I showed my work to my English teacher Mrs. Capers, and she encouraged me to write an original novel. (She ended up teaching my high school classes as well. To this day, we are best friends. She reads all my manuscripts, and she also makes cameos in my novels.)

Between eighth and ninth grade, I wrote my first novel. It sucked, but I wrote a second, then a third. I set the goal of being published by age sixteen. Granted, I knew nothing about publishing. I figured I’d release a book, get rich and famous.

Oh, the beauty of ignorance.

Literary agents said I was too young to have an author career, which motivated me to pursue self-publishing. At the time, eBooks were new to the literary scene. Amazon hadn’t launched their print-on-demand services yet. (Wow, this ages me.) I downloaded my very first eBook onto my Dad’s iPad, titled eBooks for Dummies.

Imagine a montage of a fourteen/fifteen-year-old girl trying to learn how to publish a book.

I self-published my first book twenty-five days before my sixteenth birthday. A year later, I released the sequel.

After I graduated high school, I pitched a novel to agents in New York City, then began the querying process. I signed with an agent during my freshman year at Belmont University, and my book The Vestige released from a small press two years later.

My time at Belmont prepared me to take next steps in my career. I majored in Publishing and Public Relations because I figured if I knew how to sell something, I could sell anything. Thanks to Professor Sowienski, I was the first intern at Thomas Nelson, Harper Collins. I also interned with BookGrabbr, The Dunham Group, and Hillsong Publishing in Sydney, Australia.

I could go on and on about the incredible opportunities Belmont gave me.

Following graduation and some hardships, I decided to jump headfirst into pursuing an author career. I worked as a literary agent and conference speaker for two years while writing book after book, getting rejection after rejection.

A few sentences cannot summarize the difficulty, stress, and growth of that season.

I signed a three-book contract with Thomas Nelson, Harper Collins in September of 2019.

February 2021, my YA romance Dearest Josephine hit shelves across the globe, named number one “Most Anticipated YA Release” by PopSugar.

Yes, I might’ve fallen out of my chair when my publicist sent me the news.

My next book The Summer We Forgot releases November 2021.

 Like many things in life, an author career doesn’t have a finish line. I am no “happier” now than I was as an imaginative kid drawing stick figure pictures in her little book. I still have goals, dreams, milestones I hope to reach.

We must love the process as much, maybe even more, than the destination.

 

How did your time studying public relations at Belmont set you up for success in your writing career? 

Most of what I do as an author involves public relations. Writers write. Authors write, develop brands, organize release campaigns, manage relations with readers, stores, libraries, etcetera. I use the PR knowledge I gained from Belmont daily, and I believe my education gives me an edge in the industry. At least, my publishing team seems to appreciate it.

I’m so grateful to Belmont’s PR department for teaching me how to present myself to media, think strategically, among countless other things. I’ll always be a BU PR girl!

To the aspiring authors reading this, study public relations.

 

What has your newest novel, Dearest Josephine, taught you about both yourself and the publishing industry? 

I’ll keep my response to this question short and simple even though I could write a novella on the subject. Prior to Dearest Josephine, I wrote for myself. I relied on my own emotions to motivate my writing. With Dearest Josephine came deadlines and new pressures. I learned to rely on my knowledge of the craft and write because I knew how to write and tell stories. This gave me tremendous freedom.

I believe Dearest Josephine taught me what it means to be an author. 

 

What advice do you have for students pursuing a career in any creative industry? 

–        Intern as much as possible! Connections and experience are invaluable.

–        Practice, practice, practice. Learn from your errors, and never stop creating.

–        Educate yourself about the industry. Being a great artist will only take you so far. You also need to be a great businessperson.

–     Tenacity beats talent. Don’t give up too early!

 

What are three books every Belmont student should read before they graduate? 

Just read. This may seem a lame response, but a mentor once told me “The moment you think you know everything is the moment you become irrelevant.” So, pick up a book. Learn. Soak in the words. Reading develops vocabulary, information retention, communication skills . . .

The list goes on.

 

Caroline George is the multi-award-winning author of Dearest Josephine (HarperCollins) and other YA fiction titles. She graduated from Belmont University with a degree in publishing and public relations, and now travels the country, speaking at conferences and writing full-time. A Georgia native, Caroline aspires to one day host The Great British Baking Show and delights in being best known for writing the phrase, “Coffee first. Save the world later.” Find her on Instagram @authorcarolinegeorge and Twitter @CarolineGeorge_.  

Website: www.authorcarolinegeorge.com 

About the book: Dearest Josephine (tnzfiction.com) (All info via this link.)