All right, today we have the honor of introducing you to Bobbie Christmas. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation. We’ve shared it below.
Hi Bobbie, 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.
From the time I was in high school I knew I wanted to be a writer, but I didn’t know how I could make a living with only words. Even my father discouraged me and said, “You can’t make a living as a writer. You need to find a career. I suppose my naysayers thought I wanted to write novels, in which case they were right that few novelists make a living from writing. I, however, didn’t care what I wrote, I just loved words, sentences, paragraphs, and structure.. In college I studied journalism. Journalists make a living reporting the news, don’t they? I worked as a news reporter for seven years, and as the best writer on the staff I was named news editor, in charge of editing everyone’s stories before they went to press. Still, in the back of my mind I didn’t consider myself a writer–a true writer–especially in the eyes of those people who said I’d never make a living writing.
I next took a job writing advertising copy for a radio station and loved creating clever lines and passing them to the disc jockeys to record. Still, I felt like I wasn’t doing enough–I didn’t feel like a writer, even after years of making my living as a writer and editor.
One day I was driving down the road and one of the commercials I’d written came on the air on a station other than the station I worked for. My commercial had been duplicated by a different DJ on a different station. Wow! I almost ran off the road, I became so excited. I shouted out loud, “I am a writer! I really am a writer!
From that day on I acknowledged that I am a professional writer and professional editor, and I’m proud of all I have accomplished.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself.
Since the advent of Zoom meetings I’ve stopped giving live presentations and work only through Zoom, and I love presenting my tips and secret hints that make writing sparkle. I also have a technique that helps writers find and refine their writing.
Talks and presentations used to take up more of my time, but today I spend most of my time in my comfortable office at home editing magazine articles and manuscripts for books.
To give back to the writing community that has supported me for the past half century, I don’t charge for my presentations or for the e-newsletter I send out monthly that has news for writers, including tips, recommendations, markets, agents, and contests. It’s easy to sign up for my free newsletter on my website, ZebraEditor.com.
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?
Determination was my strongest quality when I started out. I was determined to make a living with words, and I’ve done it. Trusting myself was my next strongest quality. I trusted in myself when I left the comfortable arms of the corporate world, where I was in charge of the communications department for a huge Fortune 500 company with a good salary and benefits, I started my own business by trusting that I had the skills and self-motivation to make it work, and it did work. Zebra Communications has been in business since 1992, my sole support for all these years.
I’ve already mentioned my third best quality: self-motivation. I don’t need anyone to tell me what to do next or when. I know how to set my own schedule, meet deadlines, and work without the companionship of coworkers.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
Several books have guided me over the years. To start, On Writing Well by William Zinsser and Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style set me on the path of tight, direct writing. Wayne Dyer’s Your Erroneous Zones made me a stronger woman who no longer needed the opinions of others. It gave me the last bit of self-confidence I needed, way back when I was in my thirties. Today reference books such as The Chicago Manual of Style are my best friends.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.zebraeditor.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bobbie.christmas and https://www.facebook.com/ZebraEditor/
