We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Courtney Kelly a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Courtney, thanks for joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

I first got the idea to write my book, Celeste Saves the City, in 2017 while driving back to Dallas after visiting my parents for Thanksgiving. Somewhere along the course of the seven-hour drive, I decided that my story was worth telling and that if told, it could help encourage other girls of color to become civil engineers and manage construction projects like me. In the months that followed, I developed a manuscript and shared it with my friends and family. Everyone thought it was great, so I sent it off to a few publishing companies, only to be rejected.

Three years would go by until I got serious about figuring out how to get this book out into the world. This time, I wouldn’t try to get someone else to publish it. I would instead go it alone and self-publish. Since it was a children’s book, that required finding an illustrator. I reached out to a few people and received no response. Deflated, but not defeated, I tried my luck with someone who had drawn an image of a dog that looked strikingly similar to my pet bunny, Albus. Maybe that was a sign – after sending a brief email to an illustrator named Erin Nielson, she kindly replied back and we have been working together ever since.

With an illustrator on board, the work of finalizing the manuscript, finding a company to print and distribute the books, and setting up a website began. This also involved developing a plan for marketing the book and determining things like what the packaging would look like. Luckily, I had just gone through a similar process when establishing a small business selling treats for bunnies. I was able to lean on the lessons learned over the months of starting that business and apply them to everything I was doing for the book.

Getting the book released was only the start of the journey. Now, I spend a lot of time continuing to spread the word about the book through social media, trade shows, and other book events. With the release of foreign language editions in French, German, and Spanish a new realm of opportunity has opened. The challenge to figure out things like how to schedule an author event in Germany for an upcoming trip in March is daunting, but I’m up for it!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I like to describe myself as a little Black girl from New Orleans who grew up to manage construction projects and can now add “author” behind her name. Before Hurricane Katrina hit, I wanted to be a veterinarian. Something about the fact that my family and countless others had to leave their homes because of the hurricane didn’t sit right with me. I was a sophomore in high school at the time, and in the summers that followed I attended STEM camps at colleges across the nation. Civil engineering seemed to stick as a means of discovering the solution to the problem of flooding in New Orleans.

After graduating from high school, I attended Southern Methodist University (SMU) and studied civil engineering and math. I then went on to get graduate degrees in civil engineering and business. My career has mainly consisted of managing heavy civil projects like airports, bridges, roads, and underground utilities. I’ve also began managing commercial projects and even had a chance to renovate the first residence hall I lived in while attending SMU.

Throughout my career I have usually been the only Black woman in the room. Although I participate in many forms of outreach and advocacy, the release of my children’s book, Celeste Saves the City, has allowed kids of different backgrounds to be exposed to the ideas of civil engineering and construction management. It also instills the message that it’s okay for people of color or women to be in positions of leadership. Circling back to the reason why I pursued this path in the first place, the book showcases the importance of wetland restoration and protection – two crucial components in the resilience of coastal cities.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Being a self-published author isn’t for the faint of heart. Essentially everything has to be done by you or “subcontracted out” – a nod to management of construction projects. This includes quality control of products before sending them to customers.

One story, that is still quite recent, came about when I tried to get ahead of the curve and order a shipment of books in bulk. The books had started selling regularly, so I thought it made perfect sense to get a larger quantity and also capitalize on the associated pricing discount. I placed the order for 250 books and patiently awaited their arrival. When the boxes came, a big portion of the order had issues. My staircase had books on it for days as I went back and forth taking pictures of each book while working with the printing company to figure out what went wrong.

During this process, which took a few weeks, I wondered why I was putting myself through this experience. I didn’t “have” to be doing this. I didn’t “have” to keep going. Just when I was ready to throw in the towel, something good would happen that lifted my spirits and allowed me to press on through this experience.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I honestly wasn’t a big user of social media until I started selling treats for rabbits. After setting up my Etsy shop, I quickly realized that I would need to raise awareness of my products in order to generate traffic. This was especially the case since Etsy places a lot of emphasis on how many sells and 5-star reviews your shop has received. For this task, Instagram was the best means of increasing exposure. Customers would buy treats and post stories of their bunnies eating them, which led to their followers buying treats, and the cycle continued.

Reaching potential customers for Celeste Saves the City was a little different. I’ve had the most success through LinkedIn, which I attribute to the target audience of the two platforms. I hadn’t posted much on LinkedIn before, but over the past few months I have posted almost every day a week at some points in time. I’ve found the platform to be much better at turning interest in a post into sales in comparison to Instagram since my LinkedIn network consists of people in the architecture, construction, and engineering industry who quickly connect with Celeste.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.courtneykellybooks.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/courtneykellybooks
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/courtneylynnkelly