Meet Andrea Kitten” Perry | Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrea “Kitten” Perry and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrea “Kitten”, why did you pursue a creative career?
Creativity and the arts have always been a part of my life, my essence. From my early years as a child, I would love to read and write poetry every chance I got. I knew since the third grade that I wanted to become an author, and I believed I could because a substitute teacher told me that I could. That always stuck with me. I was active in theater and journalism in high school and college. Outside of school, I simultaneously pursued a career as a spoken word artist; I’d travel around the U.S. and Canada, featuring at different coffee houses and clubs and having the best, free-spirited time of my life. I eventually founded my own poetry group called D.O.P.E. Poetz and began producing my own poetry shows and open mics to give other artists opportunities to showcase their talents and make money. February of 2020 was the last live event that I did; it was my erotic show, Slow Strokes. When the pandemic hit, I pivoted out of events and took time to think about what I wanted to do next. Naturally, I was drawn to one of my first loves: books. Because I was guided by a mentor and took his self-publishing course in 2016 to publish my first book, I thought that helping other entrepreneurs who also have the desire to write and publish a book would be the ideal business for me to go into. I started my book coaching business where I help women entrepreneurs to display their expertise though writing, publishing, and marketing their books, and it’s been most fulfilling. Becoming a book coach naturally aligned with my passion for writing and also helping other people to elevate their voices on a platform where they could tell their impactful stories.

What should our readers know about your business?
I’m a Book Coach. I help entrepreneurs to write, publish, and market their transformational books through my main coaching program, Pass the Authoring and other offerings. Though I have clients that are men, my target is women and helping them to tell their stories. High-achieving women experience imposter syndrome at far higher rates than men do, so it’s important to me that I guide them through the process of getting their voices heard through their books. Another thing to note is that I only work with nonfiction writers, so anything from self-help books to memoirs (or a mixture of the two), that’s my jam! My whole life has been a journey, and I think everything that’s transpired thus far has led me to this point. For a while, I didn’t know what exactly I wanted to do business-wise, but once I figured it out, my mindset coach, Bryn, helped me to figure out how to structure my skills into a coaching business. I highly recommend anyone that is looking to go into coaching to have a coach of their own. It’s a must! Along the way, I learned how to improve my programs based on my client experience and what they specifically needed. For example, one of my clients preferred me to walk with him every step of the way and talk it out with him when creating his outline, and another client after him preferred the same thing, so I implemented that as a part of my program, vs. instructing them on what to do and expecting them to be confident they were doing it right. This improved the program for them and also for myself because it cut out time for me having to go back to explain myself. You have to do business in order to improve business. My purpose is helping women to tell their authentic stories, whether it’s through my book coaching program or my anthology series, Yonitry. I know that by helping them, I am able to reach and impact even more people through the value they’re providing.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
On Sunday, we would make it a Self-care Sunday, and I would take her to my sister’s self-care event (if she has one that weekend). If not, we’re starting our morning with brunch at Sage Woodfire Tavern Perimeter; they have such delicious food, great service, and a nice, classy atmosphere. After that, we’re heading over to Serenity Salt Cave & Healing Center; I’ve been wanting to meditate there and have an all-around therapeutic experience. On Monday, we’d wake up early to beat the morning crowd at Breakfast at Barney’s. Then we’d ride scooters on the beltline near Ponce City Market. On Tuesday night, we’re hitting up King Energy’s meditation class, then straight to Kat’s Cafe for the best open mic in the city, presented by ATL House of Comedy. On Wednesday morning, we’d go to the eComplex to visit the set of the Social Proof Podcast live; later that evening, we’d go to The Bakery Cowork and check out one of their cool workshops they provide for women. On Thursday, we’d probably hit up Monticello Lounge or Apache XLR to see live talent, from poets to comedians. On Friday morning, we’d find ourselves enjoying the wonderful fare at Breakfast Boys in College Park and probably spend our evening somewhere where they have a nice Instagrammable atmosphere, like Boogalou or Juiceheads ATL (here’s a secret: they have a dope hidden tea room). On Saturday, I’d take her to the artsy side of town, Little Five Points & we’d vibe and kick it down there with the street vendors and cute shops. If we have enough energy after that, we’ll wind down on my side of town at Chattahoochee Food Works.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have much gratitude for my mentor, David Shands. He was a coach to me years ago back when I didn’t even have an idea of what type of business to start; I just knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. Throughout the years, he’s been consistent at being a great leader. He’s always provided platforms for entrepreneurs to come together, to give back to the community, and for him to pour into others. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned through joining his current community, The Morning Meetup, is to invest in myself through mentorship, coaching, masterminds, and live events where I can meet like-minded people, business partners, customers and clients, and new friends. It’s through this community and David’s live events where I’ve found my mindset coach, Bryn Drescher, and my accountability partner, Donte Washington, two people who have also impacted my life immensely. Being in this community helped to give me the tools to be the book coach and entrepreneur I am today.

Website: www.andreakittenperry.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/andreakittenperry

Facebook: www.facebook.com/theandreaperry

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0xjEnzBNZ0O9Oj3XDBFb-g

Other: https://medium.com/@andreakittenperry

Image Credits
Samuel Reaves DeAngelo of Navy Sky Photography Christopher Morrissey Photography Joshua Mobijohn