Briggs began writing in 1990 and published her first novel Masques in 1993. While sales on her first book were poor, her next book, Steal the Dragon, garnered better sales and more favorable editorial reviews.
Briggs then began writing multi-book stories. Dragon Bones and Dragon Blood share both the same world and the same characters, though both are complete stories. Raven's Shadow and Raven's Strike are a duology, with a single story line spanning both novels. One hallmark of Briggs' books is that each is a stand-alone story, and the reader is never left with a cliffhanger ending.
Her editor then asked her to write an urban fantasy, since the genre was showing promising growth. After signing a contract for three books, Briggs wrote Moon Called, which sold far better than her previous novels, making it to the USA Today bestseller lists. The second book in the series, Blood Bound, hit The New York Times Best Seller list. The third book, Iron Kissed, was a number one New York Times bestseller.
A Mercy Thompson graphic novel was released on August 25, 2009: Mercy Thompson: Homecoming. An edited version of her first novel, Masques, has been republished, along with a previously unpublished sequel, Wolfsbane.