We were lucky to catch up with Kathleen Schmidt recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kathleen, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
When I was growing up, my parents lived paycheck-to-paycheck, so I started working when I was 13. It became clear to me at that age that if I wanted anything, I would have to work hard for it. As I got older and kept working, failure wasn’t an option. I paid for college myself and held down three jobs while doing so. It was a matter of survival for me because I saw my parents struggle. Every time I was knocked down, I knew I had to get back up because no one else would make things happen for me. It’s both exhausting and exhilarating but always worth it.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I hate talking about myself! Professionally, I am focused on working with publishers and authors to create branding, marketing, and publicity campaigns so their books connect with readers. Sometimes, my work includes strategizing about how and when books are published or whether particular books will do well in the marketplace.
My newsletter on Substack, Publishing Confidential, aims to demystify the book industry.
My volunteer work with Women’s Media Group focuses on raising awareness of the organization and funding their educational foundation for scholarships.
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?
Three qualities that have impacted my journey are resilience, creativity, and not taking “no” for an answer. Some people will turn against you in your career because of their shortcomings. It’s important to ignore them and keep going. An important lesson I learned was to pay attention to the people in my corner rather than trying to convert people to be my supporters. Not everyone will like you, and that is okay. Pay attention to the people who like you and cheer for you as you progress through your career.
Creativity will help you become a great problem solver. My late father always told me that no problem was unsolvable, and he was right: Solutions exist; you must sometimes get creative to find them.
To me, resilience is refusing to accept failure as the end of your journey. We all fail. Resilience is the ability to learn from your failures, get back up, and try again.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When I feel overwhelmed, I bake. It’s true! Baking has become a mindfulness activity for me. It helps me refocus and gives me some space to think about what’s overwhelming me and why. Other times, I play with my two Boston Terriers for a while. Both things help my brain calm down and allow me to feel calm.
Other things that help refocus me: Spelling Bee on the NYT app, texting with a friend, and weekly therapy sessions.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kmspr.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleen-m-schmidt/
- Other: Threads: @kathmschmidt
Substack: https://substack.com/@kathleenschmidt?utm_source=user-menu
Image Credits
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