Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Caroline Leavitt. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Caroline, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I knew when I was ten and wrote and illustrated my first novel. I was encouraged only if I kept it as a hobby! I was encouraged instead to be a nurse or a teacher. In college, my professor told me I would never make it, and I buckled down and began sending things out, over and over again, never giving up despite the rejections (I had enough to paper NYC.) And finally not only did I get published, but I won First Prize in Redbook Magazine’s Young Writers Contest and almost immediately landed an agent. Through the years I also had regular jobs as a copywriter, and I knew immediately that I did not fit into an office job at all! I am so grateful to be a fulltime writer!

Caroline, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I believe all writers must help other writer–we are all swimming in the same sea and we should all help one another to float and then get to shore! I started the Nothing is Cancelled Book Tour online when the pandemic locked everything down. I encouraged people to send me a one minute video promoting their book. I thought I’d get twenty–I got 200! I was soon inundated and the media came calling. So did NYT bestselling author Jenna Blum who asked if I needed help. Together we began A Mighty Blaze, which helped both authors and indie bookstores and readers We now have over 30 passionate volunteers and every week we showcase authors and bookstores, with links to buy. We also run some book festivals. We have been written up in NYT, The Washington Post, Poets & Writers, and just about every one else. It is my mission to spotlight writers who may not usually get the spotlight.

I also am a developmental editor. I work with whole manuscript, using my experience as both a book critic (People, AARP, The Boston Globe), a writer (I know what it is like to be in the trenches) and a story structure teacher at UCLA (I help writers find what is often missing in their work. Many of my clients have gone on to publication, which makes me fiercely proud!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I always felt I was the last person to run a business of any kind, and yet I co-founded A Mighty Blaze and we are entering our 4th successful year! I realized that I didn’t have to follow the model of working in a company–i.e. going to meetings, but could craft a job I wanted to do and loved. I leave the meetings and strategizing to the others at A Mighty Blaze. The only thing I do is reach out to writers and conduct interviews! It’s incredibly satisfying.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

This is a lesson from my being a writer. My first novel was a sensation, but then my 2 to my 8th were not! My 9th novel, Pictures of You, was actually rejected on contract as not being special enough. I knew that no one else would want it because of my poor sales (but excellent reviews, though not very many yet.) I cried to my friends (You have to be able to ask for help!) and one got me to Algonquin. They got my novel into 6 printings months before publication, and that not special book became a NYT Bestseller its first week out! I’ve learned that timing, luck have a lot to do with success, and that you should just never give up, because NO doesn’t always mean NO down the line.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.carolineleavitt.com
• Instagram: carolineleavitt
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolineleavitt
• Linkedin: Caroline Leavitt
• Twitter: @leavittnovelist
• TikTok: CaroWriter99

Image Credits
I have the rights to all these photos. Photos by Jeff Tamarkin or screen shots from A Mighty Blaze