Social Media Break
March is my birthday month, and I decided it was the perfect time to take a social media break. I have some lofty writing goals over the next few months and really want to save my creative energy for those. It was a hard decision because I will miss my Instagram friends while I’m away, and I have some FOMO about missing out on exciting news from them. But I will be back and more excited to build my social platform there.
In the meantime, I’ll be focusing my efforts on writing and taking care of myself and my home. I’ll admit that I’ve lost a bit of my way with my new career change. I worked in career services for ten years. By the end, I was very ready to switch careers and was actively doing informational interviews trying to figure out what it is that I wanted to do next. As an introvert, being a career coach was incredibly draining, leaving little room at the end of the day for the people who mean the most to me. However, it was also incredibly fulfilling. Watching my students have breakthroughs and get incredible jobs meant so much to me. On the flip side, watching the market wreck them was heart breaking, knowing there was only so much I could do to help.
All that to say, transitioning to a new career has been more difficult then the first time around, despite the fact that I’m transitioning back to my first career—book publishing. I interned at the University of Virginia Press my fourth year in college, and when I graduated, they hired me on full-time. Working in design and production was the best way to learn the business because you see every aspect of the book publishing process (I know because I had to coordinate and schedule every single book and check in colleagues/vendors when things were late). There are a lot of reasons that I left that career. One of the main ones was that I actually wanted to be an editor. When I reached out about an internship, the only option available was design and production because their current assistant was leaving. Rather than hire a new one immediately, they had me do the job for a year until I graduated. I knew there wouldn’t be an opportunity to grow at the Press because people tend to not leave, and I also wanted a career where I could help people more—hence, career services. And I did make the right call at the time. I had a wonderful career as an employer relations coordinator, career counselor, and career coach where I met literally thousands of incredible people. Also, the three editors that were at the Press when I left in 2013? All still there! (They’re wonderful people that I still keep in touch with). So, yeah, made the right call switching careers and getting the advancement I craved.
But now here we are in 2025—back in publishing in a few different ways. I’ve written and edited a full-length YA fantasy novel and a children’s book (about careers, of course). I also just completed my Editing Certificate from the University of Chicago and have had a few freelance proofreading jobs. In the next few weeks, I’m going to actively be looking for more freelance opportunities (and already have two scheduled for this spring!). Lastly and mostly why I’m taking a social media break, I’m writing the first draft of my next novel, an adult fantasy. I’m really excited for this one. I’ve been doing a lot of research on both the craft of writing AND on botany, both of which will help make this book shine.
I’m really excited to share more about this one, but instead of writing about it here, I’m going to go get my writing sprint done so that I actually have more to share!
Cheers,
Lindsey