In high school, I was essentially the poster child for angsty, artistic flair. Although my appearance and emotions were the makings of a train wreck looking back on it all, it was during that time that I realized I could draw. So, naturally, I decided that I was destined for the fine art track once I reached upper-classman status.

In college, in our dusty back-of-the-building studios, I felt like I had finally found my place in the world. I learned about color theory, design and art history and soaked up every word from my professors. One thing in particular I will never forget: in my final year, one of my professors announced that an art degree was essentially meaningless without a Master’s degree on top of it. I had neither the interest nor the funds to pursue an M.A., so post-graduation I promptly moved home, got a job in the non-profit sector as a receptionist and began the process of rethinking my entire future.

Long story long, a chance conversation with a friend of mine happened to lead me to a local magazine editor who was looking for freelance writers and the rest, as they say, is history! Paint, words—to me, they’re one in the same. Both mediums take creativity and strong personality, two qualities (for better or worse) I’ve never lacked. And so, it seems, editorial has always been my fate.

While working at the non-profit organization, word got out that I had an artistic background and I was eventually asked to take over the creative design of our employee newsletter and board member communications, too. This was my first introduction into InDesign and Photoshop.

Around this time, as my comfort level with graphic design was growing, I happened to be introduced to the blog Young House Love. John and Sherry were just two seemingly normal people who had a home, loved to DIY and managed a digital space where they were able to share their home-making stories and crafting tutorials. I remember thinking how novel the idea of a blog was and then promptly signed up for WordPress with the username Dream Green DIY. This was back in 2011 and, although I cringe to think back on those early blog posts, I’m so glad that I closed my eyes and took the leap.

I kept my job at the non-profit for three years before moving on to our local newspaper as a page designer, all while maintaining my blog on nights and weekends. Then I was laid off from the newspaper and found myself scrambling, ultimately ending up on the floor of an insurance company call center. Once I realized how little creative thought a job like that requires, it didn’t last long.

Throughout a few more oddball jobs after that, one thing remained constant—my freelance writing and my blog. Eventually, I knew that it was time to give it a real fighting chance and so I quit my office job, trotted downtown to the courthouse and made Carrie Waller Creative (the overarching name for my freelance writing) and Dream Green DIY both legitimate and official businesses. As I’m sure you’re starting to learn, I’ve never been much of a proponent for “pre-planning.” For me, it’s all about trusting my instincts and taking the plunge.

CC’s Photo Director, Mallory Benedict, initially recruited me. Mallory and I have actually known each other since high school—she’s my sister’s best friend—so she was familiar with my situation as a writer and an editor. A few months before CC’s launch, Mallory and Lauren invited me on board to do some general editing. As soon as I opened that first interview and skimmed the copy, I fell hard for the CC mission. I poured myself into each interview and asked to take on more and more responsibility until eventually Lauren asked if I would stay on as Editorial Director. I haven’t looked back since!

Like most bloggers, I didn’t start looking at my site as a business until I began getting noticed by brands. It started small, but having the chance to partner with bigwig companies made the work that I did (the photoshoots, the late-night writing, the hours of graphic design) worth it. After snagging a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be in Better Homes and Gardens magazine, I decided it was time to invest in a site redesign and a new camera.

Fast forward to an exciting nod from Design*Sponge in the same year, and I officially decided that so-so posts just weren’t worth my time anymore, and I really laid down the law. It was at that point that I began to take my blog’s editorial calendar and the collaborations that I agreed to very seriously. Now, I make it a point to invest in quality, professional photography when the shoot goes beyond the scope of my self-taught experience, ace props and high-quality crafting materials. The blog now functions as any normal business would—with taxes, invoices, set weekday hours (at least generally speaking) and lots of running to-dos and deadlines. 

As Ed Director for Career Contessa, I act as a filter for all of the content that you see. I work very hard to maintain a consistent “voice” site-wide, whether that’s in the homepage taglines or our individual Contessa interview introductions. Although I manage a group of four (amazing!) interns, each with her own unique voice, I use the word-smithing skills that I’ve honed as a freelance writer and blogger to make sure that our team has a unique-yet-unified tone between stories.

Although I was just about to answer with confidence that my approach to CC is different from my blog, it really isn’t! When it comes to my blog, I tend to write each post from the heart (please pardon the cliché) and then I go back and hone with two, three, sometimes eight rereads. It’s the same for CC. Aside from the interviews themselves, which only get a grammatical check since we like to maintain the original words of our Contessas, I read, tweak, read and tweak again until the intro/tag/blog post feels juuuuuuust right. I am a creature of perfectionist habit when it comes to this.

Content for Dream Green DIY is largely based on whatever I’m working on around the house. One week it could be all about a new wall color in my studio or repainting the kitchen cabinets, while another week could be all about my latest #thriftstorescore. I’m an avid secondhand shopper and so our home is constantly changing based on my latest treasure (shout out to my favorite local shop, Estates & Consignments!). I keep a running series of Google Doc spreadsheets for my DGD editorial calendar, my hour-by-hour timesheet per project, plus my bills and invoices, which helps me stay on top of everything. The same system translates over to Career Contessa. My fellow directors and I share a number of Google Docs that lay out upcoming interviews, blog posts and promos.

I typically work two weeks ahead when it comes to Dream Green DIY content, and Lauren, Mallory and I work a couple of months ahead for Career Contessa. It’s definitely a lot to manage, but keeping my lists and spreadsheets organized (and color-coded!) gives order to my creative chaos. Keeping things on Google is fabulous, too, because of the mobility of it all. I can access our CC master editorial calendar from anywhere and the same goes for DGD. I also swear by Dropbox for my mobile record keeping, content organization and file sharing.

As I’ve mentioned before, I rarely plan ahead and so don’t often think too long and hard about the instability of my career as a contract-to-contract writer. I think this is partially because I’m the most impatient person in the universe and “just do it,” but I also like to think that I have a fairly good head on my shoulders and that my instincts are usually on-point. 

Sure, there’s uncertainty in my line of work and who’s to say that any one of my freelance roles could end up fizzling out, but the amazing thing about the blogging community and the creative community as a whole is that we have each other’s backs. I know that I can always reach out to my fellow blogger pals for advice or for a recommendation for freelance work and someone somewhere will have a lead. I’m lucky that I haven’t had to tug on this lifeline yet, but it’s reassuring to know that I’m not alone.

As for my strategies for remaining active, I am constantly communicating with pros in my network. From magazine editors and brand representatives, it’s a daily to-do to stay on top of the relationships that I’ve had the pleasure of forming, and I do my best to put myself and my work out there so that I’m not just another face in the crazy-crowded blogging world. 

In my opinion, specializing in a certain area is imperative. Without some kind of discipline and a genuine interest in what you’re writing about, your work will lack expertise, and that’s what your peers, readers and your managers will be drawn to—and what will keep them coming back for more. Hone in on topics or angles that you are really passionate about, not necessarily on what you think people will want to read. Your disinterest and lack of real world experience in a so-called “pop culture-approved” topic will bleed through and your voice won’t be sincere.

Only when you have crafted your own unique voice (and established your confidence in that voice) will you be able to logically and intellectually be able to manage the editorial tone for a brand or publication. And in terms of landing said roles, put yourself out there any way you can. From social media (yes, even your Tweets count!) to your local magazine, getting published is getting published, and the scope of the publication is directly related to your ability to humbly-but-consistently get the word out that you’re a writer.

This absolutely is the hardest thing about being a blogger, or being a writer in general. Everyone from your editor to your best friend to your reader in Australia will have an opinion and many don’t mind speaking their mind—good, bad or ugly. The bad ones sting and I don’t think that feeling will ever go away, but the support, encouragement and enthusiasm offered by our readers (you guys!) makes what I do each and every day worth it and gives real meaning to our mission statement here at Career Contessa.

As for the ignorant and rude comments on Dream Green DIY, where everything that’s published is as personal as it gets for me, I’ve found that a simple “Thanks for the feedback!” reply suffices. It’s tough and I don’t mind admitting that I’ve shed a tear or two following a particularly harsh comment, but in the words of you-know-who, sometimes you just gotta “shake it off”! 

On Career Contessa, we try to maintain a sassy-yet-sophisticated voice, whereas I can be much more informal in my posts on Dream Green DIY and eHow. For B by Brandie’s blog The B Seen, which I also manage, I tend to take on a bit more of a formal tone, while my contributing features for Glitter Guide are cheerful, light and carefree. As for my digital features in the style and décorsections of Better Homes and Gardens, I don my “big girl” voice and write with a more mature audience in mind.

Although I certainly have moments when I need to start over and rethink a line or a paragraph to better suit a specific site’s style, it really comes down to this: speak to your audience as though you were having an in-person conversation. Would they mind an extra exclamation point or two, or would they balk at your friendly enthusiasm? Would they prefer thoughtful, logical step-by-step instructions, or a general real-world account with anecdotes and asides to match? Would an expletive throw them over the deep end, or would it draw them into your confidence?

Sure, overthinking a story could kill the tone (not to mention your creative edge), but there’s always something to be said about considering your audience and knowing when too much (or too little!) is going to hurt the finished product.

I look forward to building my brand and seeing where this once-experimental, now-legit business takes me! Although I have always had wistful dreams of being a full-time creative, I never thought that it would actually be my everyday, so I’m going to embrace each moment and work my tail off to ensure that I’m able to keep this colorful dream-come-true career going. 

Being my own boss, PR rep, admin assistant and financial analyst on top of the writing, the photography and the ideation has been a big wake up call for me this year as I step into entrepreneurship, but I’m learning to celebrate the milestones, ask for help and to give credit where it’s due. Go Team CC!!