Meet Christine Weimer

We recently connected with Christine Weimer and have shared our conversation below.

Christine, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

I’m unsure if imposter syndrome is a thing that I will ever fully overcome. I think I’ll get better at managing it over time, but I believe it’ll always be with me. I’ve learned over the years that it’s unproductive for me to try and fight against the things that trigger fear, doubt, and perfectionism in me. I’m much better off working with those emotions, sort of allowing them to have a seat at the table. I think those voices need to and deserve to be heard. There’s a part of me that believes those things, and if I don’t listen to what they have to say, I’m never going to see beyond or resolve them.

There’s a lot of healing to be had when I meet myself in the middle and work with both sides of my emotional scale. It boils down to asking high-quality questions that will help me understand those emotions so I can affirm them, nurture them, and give love to them, which then quiets their voice and restores my power.

I’ve worked with over 100 authors and business owners throughout my career and I still hear the voice that tells me what I have to offer isn’t enough and the client is going to realize it, call me out on it, and hate me forever because they know I’m a fraud. Except now I know what to say to that voice. I know how to remind it of how far we’ve come, how safe we are here, and that on the other side of discomfort is everything we’ve ever dreamed of. I know how to feel the discomfort of imposter thoughts and still show up, anyway.

Besides, do any of us really know what we’re doing half the time?

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

This question always excites me and makes me freeze up at the same time. How does one tell their story in a way that properly articulates it? The writer in me needs an outline, a few drafts, and some headbanging on my keyboard before I feel like I can tell it in a way that would, possibly, maybe, make me feel like I did it justice. With all the nuances and complexities of life that have got me to this point, I always fear I might leave something out, some detail that might change the essence of the whole plot, you know?

But I think the simplest way to tell it is to say I am a manifestation of a little girl who knew no other way than to put pen to paper and read books to make sense of and cope with the world around her. That is, after all, what keeps me on this path. Reading and writing have always been a part of me. Pursuing a lifestyle where those things were at the forefront of my life was always the plan. Absolutely none of it went according to said plan and I had a lot of derailments along the way, but it did all come to fruition in a way I never imagined but could not be more grateful for.

Now, I am the owner of an educational and service-based platform for aspiring women writers, Our Galaxy Publishing. We support authors in getting the knowledge, resources, tools, and services they need to write and publish their books and build their author platforms. Our primary goal is to continue to bridge the gender and race gap in the publishing industry by ensuring women are making informed, empowered decisions about their publishing journey.

Education is the backbone of everything we do, along with the promise to keep our services accessible and affordable to aspiring authors. The industry has made massive shifts in the boom of self-publishing and the digital era. That, unfortunately, has paved the way for a more competitive, saturated market, making it more challenging for authors to meet the demands of the industry and get their work seen. We want to make sure authors never feel like they have to succumb to unrealistic financial burdens, extreme burnout, or settling for less than what they deserve just to get their work published.

We offer free workbooks and resources along with a blog for writers to have a place to get insights, but our strength is in mentorship and advisement. Through 1:1 workshops and personalized consultations (like our Author Platform Power-Up), we support authors to get the knowledge they need to keep the creative power in their hands no matter where they are in their writing or publishing journey. Plus, our a la carte services ensure authors have everything they need to get their book from written to designed to published and marketed. It’s been an incredibly fulfilling experience so far, and we’re so excited for the future and the ideas we have for integrating our community and working toward more collective efforts of uplifting each other along the way.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Ooo, I like these questions! I’d say the quality that has most impacted me is that I am emotionally driven. I am so emotionally connected to my business. I honestly dislike it when people say business isn’t personal. It’s so personal. I would not still be here if this wasn’t also a personal venture. Yes, I saw a need I could fulfill in this industry that I could monetize, but it was my deep connection to the women I’ve met and the passion I have for my creativity that kept me going when all the storms came rolling in at once.

Another is that I am really good at meeting people where they’re at. I have the awareness that we’re all working off different, imperfect systems, having our own thoughts, feelings, and experiences that others have a fixed lens to see into and understand. Acknowledging that everyone operates from their unique perspectives has allowed me to facilitate clearer, more empathetic, and meaningful communication. It’s helped me build stronger relationships where people feel heard and valued. As a bonus, it’s elevated my emotional intelligence, a thing emotionally driven women like myself must prioritize.

I’d say the third quality that’s been most impactful is my accountability. I have no problem calling myself out when I am contributing to my chaos. When things go awry in any capacity, I look for my role in it, whether by my reaction, response, or behavior. I am constantly in a state of awareness and choice, trying to remain aware of the circumstances I find myself in so I can make more informed choices about how I handle them. I can’t do that if I don’t get accountable for the ways I handle things that might feed the chaos I meet—whatever that looks like. I am always open to meeting my imperfections with the opportunity to learn and grow.

But to answer the second part of that question, about offering advice to those who are early in their journey, I’d say the only advice I have is to put yourself first. Your mind, body, and soul (if you believe in that sort of thing) need you to acknowledge, understand, nurture, and take care of it individually and collectively. Whatever’s going on inside you is absolutely going to reflect on the outside and ripple onto everything you say, do, feel, and experience. There is no running from yourself when you’re going after your dreams. You’ve got to sit with yourself, look yourself in the mirror, spend time with yourself, and get to know what it actually needs to function in an effective or fulfilling way. If you’re spending your time working on your business at the expense of working on yourself, you’re doing it backward. Simple as that. Also, I know this because I did this, too.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

Oh, gosh, that’s easy. My daughter. She is the reason for it all. I’d still be working in bookkeeping while writing words no one would ever see if it weren’t for her. I became a single mother while pregnant, and in that time, I had to get so real about the type of woman I wanted to be for her. I had to really ask myself if the circumstances of my life reflected that of a woman I’d want her to emulate. At the time, it didn’t. It was that realization that got me to publish my first book, start my business, find a community, and pursue my creativity at the forefront of everything I do.

I will overcome anything to make her proud of me. She pushes me to do hard things every day, without knowing it, because I ask myself the question, “If my daughter were in this position right now, what would I say to her?” And it is that voice that I always listen to. I want her to see me as a woman who fights through every adversity, who loves herself and is so deeply connected to her sense of self, who believes in possibilities and pushes the boundaries of her so-called limitations. That desire gets me through every single challenge I have ever had to face.

And for anyone out there in the void who is not a mother or parent in the way that I am, I beg of you to think of the little version of yourself in these instances. Before you go on and beat yourself up when challenges come your way, ask yourself how you’d respond to the seven-year-old version of yourself. What would you tell that version of yourself who is having a hard time? Listen to that voice!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ourgalaxypublishing.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amindfulwriter