JRW: Which genre are you most passionate about?
KD: So far, I’ve written one children’s book, but I also have ideas for travel writing. I am open to anything the future brings!
JRW: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
KD: I didn’t realize it at the time, but even as a kid, I always wrote in journals and liked creating scrapbooks. When I got to college, I took some journalism courses and worked at my hometown newspaper. While I veered away from news writing, I still always enjoyed and wanted to write on my own.
JRW: How has being an editor influenced your work as a writer?
KD: I’m a senior editor for a financial services company! I started working as an intern when I was in grad school for a master’s degree in publishing. I thought I wanted to pursue book publishing but I kind of fell into this editor role and they offered me a full time position — this was in 2010 so the job market wasn’t great at the time. Even though the content is different, my work as an editor has helped me realize writing is a process, there is always room for improvement, and you cannot be your own editor! It’s also sometimes difficult to get out of editor mode and just write. I have had to work on not editing myself as I am writing.
JRW: What is one of the most surprising things you learned while publishing your work?
KD: Writing a book is one thing, actually putting it out into the world is a completely separate endeavor. It’s so easy to be hard on yourself but publishing a book is something to be super proud of! Also, your biggest supporters will be the most unexpected.
JRW: What advice would you offer new writers?
KD: If you don’t know where to start, simply get your ideas down on paper or start a Google doc with your ideas. The writing doesn’t have to be perfect, but getting them down and out of your head will get the ball rolling.