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

Hi Kirsten, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Throughout my childhood and adolescence, I shied away from trying new things over the fear that I would not fit in or would not be good at the thing I was interested in trying. My family encouraged me, signed me up for things, and challenged me to be scared but do it anyway. It wasn’t until I found myself navigating a wedding day “fail,” public scrutiny in my hometown, and trying to find healing from the abuse that I had endured that I realized that “failing” isn’t all that bad. It was then that I realized that I wanted to live a life marked by empathy, generosity, and courage. In the moments that I felt most alone and most misunderstood, the motivation that I had for healing was in the belief that my story could be one that helped others feel less alone than I had felt. There had been several people that came alongside me and burden-carried just because they cared, several writers that shared words that gave me a soft place to land as I navigated my emotions. Through them, I learned just how much that can mean for someone that is struggling. And so, I began writing and sharing the things that I was learning about healing after abuse with the people I was connected with on social media. It wasn’t always well received – I remember getting messages from those that had not lived through the same things I had lived through that told me I shouldn’t share, that I should “let go” and move on, and on and on. And I ignored them because for every message like that I received, I received a message from someone that had struggled in silence that told me they felt seen by my words. Those words had never been meant for the high school sweetheart, picket fence crowd- they were meant for the brokenhearted, the “when will it be my turn,” the ones out picking up the pieces of what they thought their lives would look like. I continued to write – about the good things, the bad things, and all things in between. In time, these writings looked less like blog posts shared with friends and more like poems hidden away in a journal. It was in the Spring of 2021 that I realized that these poems, though written as individual pieces sometimes minutes and sometimes years apart, told a story of hope and of healing. I felt so strongly, upon realizing that, that this was a story I needed to share. After that, I hired a designer for the cover, began having editing meetings with my English major sister, and did a lot of reading about the process of self-publishing. The heart behind my book was to be scared and share anyway in hopes that these poems would find the people that needed them. I didn’t dream that this would be a large project – it just felt like something that I was supposed to do and the hope was that it would be found by those that needed it. I remember the day that I announced that “Words Like Water” was available for purchase. As soon as I posted the announcement and saw comments rolling in, I questioned if I had done the right thing. I was nervous. I was afraid. It had never occurred to me that people that I had known all my life would read the most vulnerable parts of me printed in ink. The parts of me that lived in fear of rejection, of judgment, and of being misunderstood resurfaced. And then I remembered an important truth: if one single person felt less alone because they connected with the words I shared then every bit of fear was worth it. There’s a lot of healing that takes place when you realize that the thing that hurt you most can lighten the load for another hurting heart. In those moments, there is a fulfillment of purpose and that fulfillment would not exist without choosing to be scared and take the risk anyway.

Kirsten, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Kirsten, a South Carolina native and a poet. Writing is something that I’ve done to help me process the big and small things in my life for as long as I can remember. Through every season I’ve lived, there were few consistencies, but writing was always one of them. As a child, sleepovers with my best friend consisted of writing elaborate stories on sheets of notebook paper and carefully tucking them into binders for safe keeping, only to be revisited years later. As a teenager, I doodled thoughts in spiral notebooks for no one else to see. As a young adult, my computer was a place for studying, journaling, and writing little poems. As a way to find healing after surviving an abusive relationship, I shared my words with others for the first time in hopes that my journey may help someone else with theirs. Now, my living room bookshelves are filled with journals of scribbled poems, diaries from my travels, and ink-smeared prayers. Writing has given me an outlet for expression, for celebration, and for healing. Sharing my poetry with others is sometimes anxiety-inducing, but I’ve learned that I grow best when I challenge myself to stretch beyond the borders of my comfort zone. Because of that belief, I published my first book “Words Like Water” in 2021 and am nearing the release of my second book later this year. In addition to writing poetry, I also do illustrations for my books and have used those illustrations to create merchandise like beanies, prints, stickers, and whatever else I get requests for. It was never my intention to release merchandise after releasing my book, but I found myself in the center of a really incredible community of people online that requested that I turn my illustrations into gifts for themselves and others. From that, my little Etsy storefront was born. I think that is the main thing that sets me apart in my approach to this business: I share my poetry with people, but I also engage with them. I want them to know that I do care and I do appreciate them taking the time to support me and my work. If there is a request for merchandise, I want to provide that. If someone leaves a comment or sends me a message, I make it a priority to always respond because I want people to know that just as I am a real person who just happens to write poems, they are a real person that just happens to read them. My goal with sharing my poems, from the start, has been to cultivate a sense of belonging among the people that read them – I wanted them to feel less alone in their heartbreak, less isolated in their mental health struggles, and more like they had just been out for coffee with a long-time friend. I think it is important to not just create things that spread that message, but to also interact with people in a way that puts word to action. I want people to read my words and know that their story matters, but I also want for my life to be a living reflection of that truth.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I have made it a priority to let the people that choose to support me and my poetry know that I truly do appreciate them. I recognize that there is no shortage of businesses, poets, and creatives out there and yet there is a group of people that has chosen to invest in me and this dream that I had. The people who read my poems, follow me on social media, and write to me are just as busy in their lives as I am in mine and still they choose to take the time to encourage me and share my work. Saying “thank you” goes a long way I think in establishing brand loyalty whether that be through doing giveaways, sending handwritten cards with purchases, or just taking the time to send thoughtful responses to direct messages. I want people to know that I am genuinely grateful and that I genuinely care about them not just as “clients” but as people. There are places that I choose to eat, shop, and/or spend time that I choose because of the atmosphere. Similarly, I hope to continue for my little corner of the internet to feel the same way – cozy, welcoming, and come as you are for whoever finds themselves there.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I think it is important to share that you can be a regular person with a regular income and still start a business as a creative. While I am happy for anyone that was fortunate enough to grow up having a well-established future because of the investments of prior generations, that is not my story. My grandparents came from humble roots in rural farming and mill communities. My parents came from humble beginning in a small South Carolina town, sold baseball cards to buy milk in the early days, and worked really hard to stay afloat and build the life they have now. My business is a small one and didn’t require an extraordinary amount of money to start up, but it did require a leap of faith. When I decided to publish, I had to buy a laptop because everything I had written was on my phone. I viewed each dollar I spent as an investment into myself because I knew that there was purpose in what I was pursuing. I pulled money from my small savings account to pay for my copyright, to pay for a cover designer, to stock an Etsy shop with merchandise, to do giveaways, etc. Was it a sound financial decision? Maybe not, but I remain thankful that I did it because I knew it is exactly what I was meant to do.     

Contact Info:

• Website: msha.ke/kirstenmorgan
• Instagram: kirstenmorgan.poetry
• Facebook: kirstenmorgan,poetry
• TikTok: kirstenmorgan.poetry
• Book Link: amzn.to/4400wTJ

Image Credits
Personal Photo by Anna Duncan