Business of Writing – Jessie Kwak

[Podcast] Creating Your Own Community with Jessie Kwak – The Indy Author Podcast

Post published:May 7, 2024

I recently had a wonderful conversation with Matty Dalrymple on The Indy Author podcast about creating your own community. Our chat was sparked by the fact that I recently hosted the first Author Alchemy Summit, and Matty wanted to dive into what led me to take on such a significant community-building project. Even if organizing your own conference isn't on your bucket list, the best practices I shared can be applied to all sorts of big projects you might be considering. We covered topics like: Testing your commitment to a major undertaking. Engaging a team of helpers and the importance of delegation.…

[Feature] Writer’s Digest Indie Author Podcast

Post published:February 17, 2024

I sat down with Amy Jones of Writer's Digest to talk about what I love about indie publishing and why finding a writing community can help you succeed as an author.

A look back, a look ahead

Post published:December 19, 2021

I've been thinking a lot about work these past few months. It's in the zeitgeist, as we collectively as a society realize we can't keep hustling at 125% day in and day out while the world goes up in flames around us and we pretend everything's fine. It's on the minds of several of my ghostwriting clients, who are coaching their own clients through burnout and trying to find meaning in their lives. And it's been on my mind as I juggle writing thoughtful posts about burnout for said clients — while kickstarting From Big Idea to Book, racing up…

What I Learned in my 7th Year as a Freelance Writer

Post published:January 26, 2021

Photo by Carl Cerstrand on Unsplash Seven years ago this week, I was snowed in, stir crazy, and fighting off the certainty that I'd just made a huge mistake. And now — sans snow — I'm struggling with that fear again. (But more on the changes afoot here in a minute.) That snowy January seven years ago, my husband and I had just moved to Portland, OR. I'd worked my last shift at the Elysian Brewing Company, said goodbye to all our friends, and hung my shingle as a full time freelance copywriter. I was terrified. One year earlier, I'd worked…

[Video] Productivity and Self-Compassion During Quarantine

Post published:May 22, 2020

Happy ... Friday? I'm told Monday is a ... holiday? Potentially we're still in May, I haven't really checked lately. Anyway, how are you doing? Still in quarantine like the rest of us, wondering what days are and how many ice cream sandwiches you need to eat to make a Complete Meal™? Before this all went down, in the halcyon days of 2019, I published a book on productivity for creative people titled From Chaos to Creativity. But these days instead of feeling like a productivity expert, I mostly feel like I'm hanging in there. Which is why when my…

7 Tips for Getting Your Head Back on Straight During These Here Trying Times

Post published:March 17, 2020

Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash Hey, are you calmly being productive in your work and personal life in these apocalyptic-feeling days? Hats off to you. I am not. The general aura of anxiety that imbues my every day life bloomed into a full on meltdown near the end of last week, where all I could do was scroll the news and share wide-eyed looks of shock with friends. (Now we are sharing those looks of shock over video conferencing software.) As Oregon heads towards what seems like an inevitable lockdown, though, I'm starting to realize that the world is not going to…

What I Learned in my 6th Year as a Freelance Writer

Post published:January 13, 2020

(Welcome to my annual post about what I learned as a freelance writer this year!) Six years! Six years of working full time as a freelance writer, folks. I can barely believe it — it doesn't seem like that long ago I was trying to figure out how to even find a client. Lately when I'm feeling frustrated with life, my husband likes to remind me that I literally made my own job, and have been doing it successfully for longer than I've worked anywhere else. And I'm like, right. That is pretty badass. I'm saying that not to brag.…

From Chaos to Creativity Powell’s Books Reading [Video]

Post published:July 31, 2019

Last Monday, I did something that terrified me: I held a creative productivity workshop in front of about 50 people at Powell's Books. I've read from my fiction before, which is its own version of terrifying. But I'd never stood up as an expert in front of a crowd of mostly strangers and tried to impart my wisdom. And you know what? It was pretty fun. Plus, people seemed to find it inspiring and asked a lot of insightful questions. Honestly, the discussion with everyone afterwards was my favorite part. If you were there, thank you for coming! And a…

Creative productivity workshop! Come with your chaos, leave with a plan

Post published:July 23, 2019

You know how sometimes every waking moment feels like chaos incarnate? Like it's a quiet Saturday morning and you're dying to work on your art, but first you really need to make yourself some breakfast. And before that you need to find the kitchen underneath all the dishes. Which reminds you that you never returned your neighbor's tupperware, and — oh right — you're out of paper towels and so you might as well pick up potting soil for your jade plant because you promised you'd make a cutting for that friend. And as you're emailing your friend you see a note…

How — and Why — to Recommend a Title to Your Library

Post published:May 14, 2019

As a child, I devoured books. In the summers, I sucked them down like Otter Pops from my grandmother's freezer, tucked in the crook of tree branches or sitting on swingsets or lounging on the couch or under my blankets at night. During the school year I carried them onto the playground or read them under my desk thinking the teacher wouldn't notice. My fifth grade teacher — tired of telling me to put my book away — once kept me in at recess as punishment. My punishment? To stay inside and read? It was heaven. We lived out in the country,…