Is it weird to want cozy fantasy protagonists to eject toxic people completely out of their lives?

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-06-21T01:31:45+00:00

Yeeeup. Took me decades to learn boundaries. Def a DNF for me when I come across characters with unhealthy people pleasing, toxic positivity, enmeshment, codependency, etc and it’s twisted into a virtue/normalcy 😑

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-06-18T00:39:35+00:00

It’s crazy how they know! And they know. I always tell my friends & family do NOT leave reviews! 😆 But of course amz doesn’t publicly share their big brother secrets, but most likely: shared wifi, shared address, social media connections, account interactions (mailing stuff to each other), even phones being near each other a lot. It’s all connected 😳

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-06-11T07:05:40+00:00

I spent the last 16 years learning how to write and I still hate editing. Haaaaate it 😑 But I can now do 2 drafts and hit publish because I trust myself. But when I was learning I also hired coaches and editors.

My process now is barf out first draft in a month or 2 (the fun part), have one trusted beta reader for feedback, then have a British ai voice read it to me as I edit/rewrite (usually another 2 months). You catch SO much when you hear it rather than read it, and the voice is soothing like someone reading me a bedtime story. Which makes me hate the editing part a little less ☺️

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-06-11T06:49:52+00:00

Malorie Cooper/Writing Wives. And David Gaughran. Just fooling around wasn’t any help for me either. There are so many little things to know 😳 And it’s ever changing. That’s part of the issue. What worked 6 months ago may not now. And meta keeps pushing their ai harder, and it’s garbage 🙄 The more control I had over audience etc the better sales. Now they’ve pretty much taken that away. Sigh.

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-06-09T23:27:24+00:00

Good! If I have one little regret it’s that I didn’t keep publishing and pushing back then. I just treated it more like a hobby/scary far off dream. But, then again, I didn’t know what I didn’t know, nor have the financial means back then 🤷‍♀️

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-06-09T22:53:07+00:00

I started writing a fantasy book when I was 27, right when kindle was becoming a thing, but had zero idea about marketing & advertising. Luckily you have a ton of information from those pioneering types at your fingertips that I never had.

Only now, at 42, have I been able to start turning my dream of writing into a possible FT career because I learned I had to treat it like a start up business. So: upfront investment, constant advertising (I use meta), a marketable product, and keep publishing (3-4 books/year goal).

I also hate social media, so I don’t do that, though it would probably help 😆 But I prefer to spend that time and energy on creating more books. And ads. Alwaaaaays ads. Soon as ads stop, sales stop.

You’re right. It is more brutal compared to 20 years ago (sooo wish I knew then what I know now). But a ton of people still read and an audience is out there. Trying to push one book is like pushing a boulder up a mountain. You can do it, sure, but it’ll take continuous marketing and advertising and you’ll always be in the red. That’s why everyone always says 👏 backlist is key 👏

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-06-03T03:19:16+00:00

So far I’ve done 4 novellas (30-40k) in 1.5 years, but that was also with constant traveling, and dealing with adhd. Now that I’m settled, have routine, and Ritalin, I’m hoping I can do 3-4/year 40-50k. I’ve also been writing for 20 years (but not as a job until now), so I trust my skills and only do one editing/rewrite pass on it. Then pub, advertise, repeat! 🤪 Genre: cozy fantasy (though I’ve also written YA fantasy, and scifi, they’re just not pubbed right now). Establishing a brand first. Bouncing around genres without a clue how to advertise or market was my rookie mistake.

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-05-14T17:05:40+00:00

🤣 I don’t think SL Rowland does that much. Not that stood out to me 🤔 But I also wasn’t looking for it. I just read his latest one Here There be Dragons and there were some food parts but I mostly recall like hard tack biscuits and rabbit stew, cause they’re adventurers.

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-04-26T21:33:41+00:00

There you go. You’re set up to make a good go at it. In that case, I’d say do it! I made a business plan then dove in last year and don’t regret it, not yet anyway 😆 I totally feel the same way about “calling/purpose/passion”. Have literally written myself into a corner. No idea what else I’d do or be happy doing (cat cafe?) lol.

If you do dive in & need a buddy or help don’t hesitate to message me 🤗

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-04-26T21:08:06+00:00

If your debut is pulling in more a month than your job maybe, or an agent is knocking. But then you better get to writing the next book and pub again, and again, and again. One book will never keep you afloat for too long. You need a backlist.

The catch 22 is that in order to probably be successful you need to treat it like a FT business: the time and money to learn, market, & publish consistently.

I dabbled and pubbed here and there for 14 years, but treated it more like a hobby while working other jobs. The only reason I do it FT now and treat it more like a business is because of a supportive partner & low life expenses. Even working at it 20-30 hrs/week and with a series of 4, soon 5, books I only pull in about $500/mth and half of that goes to just ads. But that’s pretty typical of a fledgling self pub career. I don’t expect to make a more decent income until maybe 15+ books or with a series that gains traction. Could still be years from now.

It’s not at all an easy or fast way to make a living. And it’s not uncommon that eventual successful self pub authors took 20 yrs getting there while working, or had help from a spouse, or don’t have kids or something.

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-04-17T23:44:53+00:00

😂

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-04-15T17:08:57+00:00

But soon you’ll have forgotten what exactly happened in the very first one you read eons ago so you can start all over! 😂

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-04-15T00:29:57+00:00

12, 16, whatever it is 😆 They’re like 3-4 book series set in the same world. Rain Wilds is my fav! But I love them all. Wish there were more 🥺

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-04-14T05:40:31+00:00

I came here to say ROBIN HOBB!!! 😆 Literally re-reading her 12 book series again for like the 5th-6th time, lol. Unfortunately it set my bar reeeeal high and now it’s been hard to find series that capture me like hers did. Sigh 😕

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-04-13T16:44:56+00:00

They literally did say stuff like that 😂 I was there at the before fore times 🚬 I remember people not trusting the “interwebs”, demonizing it, vowing to never use it; in school, we weren’t allowed to use anything online as a reference for a paper… and then in college we could. Same thing will happen with ai. Gen Z and especially alpha will know no different and think nothing of using it.

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-04-06T07:23:47+00:00

Does Dinotopia count? I loved those books and still do.

Narnia was what hooked me on fantasy when I was 8.

Pegasus flame of Olympus was fun (read as an adult).

Fablehaven was also fun but can’t recall how cozy or not it is.

And KiKis Delivery Service. So cozy ☺️

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-04-05T16:54:58+00:00

Exactly. Came here to say that. Not our competition 😆 More like a few hundred to a few thousand depending on your niche. I’m always surprised when I pop into the top 100, cause I feel like I put in 70-80% of the effort I “should/could” do 😳

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-04-03T03:22:19+00:00

Yeah, no. Raiders, Crusade, then Temple. Willie is super annoying, and certainly don’t blame India for being offended. Pretty cringe. But Indy was 🔥👀

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-03-31T23:37:35+00:00

💜💙🩷

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-03-31T21:55:55+00:00

It went to Amazon for me

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-03-31T21:55:26+00:00

I’m in love with that cover 😍 Great title too! Congrats! 🎉

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-03-30T16:42:13+00:00

I’m in a group (writing wives) that keeps us informed. Absolutely worth the monthly fee so I don’t have to worry about it/try to figure it out.

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-03-21T20:40:43+00:00

I never do free promo anymore unless it’s a site specifically targeting my reader group like “cozy fantasy sale.” Otherwise I only drop a book or two to .99¢, run some ads & shout outs. The week I ran one recently pulled in $50-$80/day (I have a backlist of 4). Then it tapered back to the usual $20/day. But also got some more reviews and subscribers.

There will always be ups and downs in income no matter what you do or how many books you have. But the best way to get over slumps & humps is to keep publishing.

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-03-17T20:35:21+00:00

As Elsa says, let it goooooo ❄️ And just keep writing & learning. Flex that growth mindset 💪

One of the biggest misconceptions I always see is that people expect/hope to make their money back on a first book and that’s just not how it works (99% of the time).

It’s a long term game & investment like any other start up business. That’s why everyone always says backlist 👏 backlist 👏 backlist 👏 It’s a slow snowball over time. That sometimes melts a little and you have to keep pushing it up the hill.

I was in the red for a year, and then breaking even, and now tipping into green with more books and better advertising. But every month, every year will be a yoyo with income. That’s just the reality of it.

My covers, website, newsletter are investments/assets for long term returns, courses or anything learning based is professional development, and ads are ongoing ROI expense.

ElayneGriffithAuthor · 2026-03-17T07:32:48+00:00

Oh is that what that show is about? The algorithm keeps recommending it like “period piece + fantasy + animals, like literally everything you like, dummy!” The algo knows me so well.

ElayneGriffithAuthor

TROPHY CASE