At Killer Nashville 2010, conference founder Clay Stafford asked
paranormal romance author Sherrilyn Kenyon how it felt to have sold more
than 24 million copies of her books. She responded dryly, "It don't
suck." Thus began Ms. Kenyon's Friday morning session "From the
Bottom Up: How I Started From Nothing and Became a New York Times
Bestselling Author." Although she tailored her talk to an audience
comprised mostly of writers and readers, her underlying message signaled a seminal philosophy for anyone to consider.

In a roller-coaster career spanning decades, Ms. Kenyon did what she could during dark times to stay visible and connected in the
publishing industry. She didn't restrict herself to prose but also wrote short stories and magazine articles. She performed copyediting and
taught herself HTML. In other words, she was flexible.

The "downs" of her career include a period of time
when she was homeless with an infant, and a period of mourning after her brother died
at a young age. At one point, her husband's faith in her ability as a writer
wavered. Yet she continued to write and send out query letters. She persevered
with her career.

Vampires fell out of favor in the industry after she
had several books written about them. She renamed her vampires
"daimons" and pitched them as something new, different. The Dark
Hunters series became published because Ms. Kenyon demonstrated innovation
and the capacity for reinvention. This series catapulted her book sales
into the realm of bestsellers.

While the importance of flexibility and perseverance in
attaining goals in any career seem obvious, my imagination was stimulated by
discussion of the importance of innovation and reinvention. Flexibility and
perseverance help you hold down a job. Add innovation and reinvention, and you
might make it to the New York Times bestseller list.

How have you demonstrated innovation and reinvention lately?