We were lucky to catch up with Lauren Eckhardt recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Lauren thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
It all started when I became a mother, after twelve years in the field of Human Resources. I realized that if I wanted my boys to pursue their dreams, I had to do the same. So, I finally buckled down and wrote my first book (I actually wrote five in one year!). I’m so grateful I finally made the jump, because it opened my dream so far beyond writing a book or series of books (which was originally my only goal). I self-published all of my books, and once I did, I started to get little nudges to help other writers finally pursue their dreams of authorship, too. That’s when I founded Burning Soul Press.
I fully believe that pursuing your dream also expands your dream as you reach various milestones, and it’s beautiful to see our path unfold when we’re aligned with our purpose!
The name Burning Soul originally came from a collection of essays I wrote when I was only 9 years old. The collection included my thoughts on all types of topics ranging from bullying to marriage to racism. I called it “One Burning Soul” because of a vision I had of someone caught in a glass box, screaming and pounding as people walked by, dying to be seen and heard for who they truly are, yet being ignored.
I believe everyone’s story is worthy of being written, recorded, and shared, because our time here matters. We primarily work with authors who are writing memoirs, self help, and other nonfiction genres. That’s why I chose the name Burning Soul Press; I knew my purpose was to help aspiring authors share their life stories with confidence.
Lauren, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am many, many things! I am an award-winning and bestselling women’s fiction and nonfiction author, the founder and CEO of Burning Soul Press, a book coach, ghostwriter, book publisher, and course instructor. More importantly, I am a dedicated mom to two sweet boys, lover of animals and adventure, and learning addict (I’m always discovering something new).
I get to help authors through every single stage of the author journey. From ideation, brainstorming, and planning to writing, plotting, and story development; from editing, publishing strategy, and distribution to promotion, marketing, and author events. I get to do it all.
Through Burning Soul Press, we offer courses for authors who really want to go DIY, whether that’s with writing, self-publishing, or author promotion. We also offer book coaching and book editing right up to publishing packages where we handle and project manage the publishing tasks so authors can focus on promotion and creating a presence.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I think a very common piece of advice I hear often encourages writers and entrepreneurs alike to just dive in and figure out the details later, and I don’t think it’s necessarily bad advice, but I think there’s something else that comes first: knowing what the heck you want to say or what difference you want to make!
This is a tip I use with my clients, but it goes for creative entrepreneurs, too: Identify your true message (what I call your soul’s message, the one that’s your purpose to bring into the world) that can then feed into your mission. If you aren’t doing something that truly lights your soul on fire, you will reach burnout, lose focus, or just plain lose passion for your writing or work.
It can get murky and choppy in the waters of creative entrepreneurship quickly, especially when it feels like there are sharks swimming all around you; if you trust your own light in guiding you to where you are headed, you’ll be set up for success so much more than most people who don’t have a clear vision of what that is before they begin.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is that what I’m doing every single day feels 100% aligned with who I am. My surefire measurement of my alignment is when the right people and right opportunities continually fall in your lap as a result.
I deeply appreciate that I can see the impact I make on the world every day–all through the effect our authors have on their readers. I don’t believe we will ever truly know the impact we make in this world; there are too many variables and ripple effects.
All I want to do is intentionally serve with the gifts I’ve been given and trust that it’s contributing to the positive change in the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BurningSoulPress.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laureneckhardtwrites/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laureneckhardtwrites
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BurningSoulPress
Image Credits
Joaquin Films Co.