We had the good fortune of connecting with Tenesha L. Curtis and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Tenesha L., what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I decided to turn literature into my full-time occupation because I love it so much. Why not get paid to do something you would do for free? I wrote books and poems, and even helped people with their own writing and publishing needs, while I was working as a psychotherapist. But turning a beloved hobby into something that can pay my bills was the best move I ever made. I loved helping people struggling with drug addictions, so switching over to helping people plan, enhance, promote, and publish their work allowed me to use the same skill set in a different industry. For someone living with ADHD, I’ve found that being a business owner has created a much less stressful working environment than I had to deal with when working with nonprofits and governments. Spending my time each day crafting new worlds, assisting others with telling their own stories, or teaching writers about how to get their authorship started is both entertaining and enlightening.
Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I’ve built Writerwerx University as a firm where writers who are new to publishing can get affordable, professional guidance and assistance to help them publish their best work. To this end, I’ve made sure that we always have prices openly available on our website so that people don’t have to guess how much a project will cost them. I’ve also made sure that we offer flexible payment plans. This allows people who might not be able to afford the common industry setup of 50% in advance and 50% after completion to afford quality services for their project. I don’t believe that having a lower income means you don’t deserve to publish your work. When companies demand that the writer make no more than two large payments on their project, this is the message that can inadvertently be sent.
Getting the firm to where it is now was likely as challenging as it is for just about any business. There are lean times and ultra-busy times, especially early on. But now things have settled into a comfortable flow as repeat clients come to us for multiple projects and new clients are being referred to us by people we’ve served in the past. These referrals and repeat clients come from us doing our best to help each author achieve whatever their vision is for their project and their authorship overall.
I think it’s one thing to provide a service to someone, but it’s a different thing to serve, educate, and support them throughout an entire journey (outlining, editing, designing, promoting, publishing, etc.). For the vast majority of first-time authors, getting education and guidance can be invaluable. Getting them to understand why certain editorial suggestions were made or how to find their audience or when to show instead of tell are all part of helping them become stronger authors. I don’t want them to become dependent upon us, or anyone else, to do everything for their authorship. I want to teach and empower them to become as independent as reasonably possible so that they are only paying for services that are well outside of their abilities.
Our approach of providing a full range of services and teaching authors “how to fish,” so to speak, makes Writerwerx University a strong ally for writers entering the world of publishing for the first time.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
For food, we could really just pick a different spot along Buford Highway for every meal and I’d be ecstatic. From sukiyaki to petit fours to burgers & fries or bánh mì & phở, the variety and taste are amazing!
I’d love to visit the bookstores around town such as Kinokuniya, 44th & 3rd, and The Reading Attic.
Strolling through the various nature preserves in the area, shopping at farmer’s markets, and experiencing some larger parks such as Chastain, Piedmont, or Sweetwater Creek would round out a week of delicious food, glorious greenery, and budget-destroying book shopping!
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to give a shoutout to Jill Cobb for thinking to tap me for this opportunity, the Atlanta Writes and Vicious Circle Atlanta writing groups for putting up with me and my baffling story ideas for more than a decade, and all the clients that I’ve served through GetBookHelp.com who make my career a blast!
Website: https://GetBookHelp.com
Instagram: @WriterwerxUniversity
Linkedin: @WriterwerxUniversity
Twitter: @WriterwerxUniversity
Facebook: @WriterwerxUniversity
Youtube: @WriterwerxUniversity
Other: https://ReadTenesha.com