At the age of 25, I built an editorial department from the ground up. I was the youngest manager on the team, and I was one of three females in management.

I didn’t know what I was doing, but I taught myself. I asked my mom a million questions about hiring and managing people because she’s great at it. I learned about profit margins, budgets, revenue, ROI, and what authors want and need. I edited manuscripts. I wrote manuscript reviews. I learned about editorial contracts and marketing. I focused on writing education. I developed an author coaching program, and the list goes on and on. I oversaw that editorial department for 5 years. Everything I learned during those 5 years, I still use every. single. day.

In the past decade, I’ve built my career in publishing. I’ve poured my blood, sweat, and more tears than I care to admit into this beautiful life and career I have. I started with a dream. In 9th grade, I told my mom I wanted to edit books for a living. At 18, I declared English Literature as my major. At 22, I graduated college at the height of the recession, so I worked two jobs—barista and hostess. Then, I failed a typesetting test during my first interview with a self-publishing company, but by the grace of God I still got a second interview and was hired. And here I am, doing exactly what I told my mom I wanted to do. In 17 years, my dream grew to the best reality. It definitely didn’t happen over night.