Meet J.M. Celi

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful J.M. Celi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi J.M., thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

Imposter syndrome hits all creatives, I think. Hopefully not often, but the more creatives I talk to, the more people I find who have experienced it. It’s hit me a few times, and it can be tough to plow through it. For me, I do a couple of things. First, I read through my manuscript. It’ll still be in its rough draft, but that’s okay. It’s not supposed to be perfect. But the good bits are all there. They just need to be polished. The second thing I do is hand some or all of my manuscript over to alpha readers to get their input on how the story feels. If me and the alpha readers align in our opinion, then I’m in a good place. Usually I’m beating myself over nothing, and a good read-through let’s me see I’m doing all right.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m a fantasy fiction author. I have four books that I’ve independently published, and I’m querying on a new novella. Querying means that I’m seeking a literary agent who will represent me and my book to a publisher to become what is known as “traditionally published”.

My current published works are in the urban fantasy genre. They depict supernatural or paranormal elements in a modern-day urban setting, In my case, my protagonist is a vampire named Lisa Cooper. For Lisa, I wanted to focus on your humanity as she struggles with the temptations of her dark curse. She’s loathe to walk that dark path, but she’s given up a great deal of power to stay away from it. Her problems arise when her loved ones are in danger from the threats of the supernatural world. She fights to protect them, but in doing so, triggers the dark urges of her vampiric curse.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

For me, I’d say the three things are to go easy on yourself, try new things, and network with others.

If you’re learning something new, be it something creative or otherwise, you’re going to make mistakes, and you’re going to need to cut yourself some slack when you’re learning the ropes.

As you’re coming up to speed, you should try new things. Force yourself out of your comfort zone. Write scenes that are challenging or learn a difficult chord on you instrument of choice. Don’t let yourself settle into a plateau where all you’re doing is repeating the things you’re comfortable with. You’ll never improve.

Networking is the final piece. Find like-minded people and get to know them. Learn from them. Collaborate with them. You can learn many things from books and online videos, but getting together with another person who does what you do is always time well spent.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

Honestly, it’s probably marketing. The goal of any author is to let as many people know their book exists as possible. The reader can decide for themselves if they’re interested, but your book will never be read by anyone who doesn’t know your book exists. One of the biggest goals of mine is get my book “out there” and seen by as many people as possible. I write to share my stories, and I’d love them to be read by as many people as possible.

Contact Info:

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Highlighter Series
What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?

Coffee? Workouts? Hitting the snooze button 14 times? Everyone has their morning ritual and we

Highlighter Series
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?

Our deepest wounds often shape us as much as our greatest joys. The pain we

Highlighter Series
Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?

Culture, economic circumstances, family traditions, local customs and more can often influence us more than