Today we’d like to introduce you to R.A. Ellis.

Hi R.A., we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

I decided I wanted to write professionally when I was in my 20s, but I lacked confidence and I felt I lacked knowledge. Juggling life as a single mother was still relatively new, combined with my disabilities and my children’s disabilities, made me believe it was a farfetched dream. I decided there was no harm in learning. Building my skills and knowledge base, and learning to accept feedback and criticism, took about a decade. I needed to learn the art of accepting rejections. It wasn’t until my mid-30s that I felt ready enough to try. I planned to start by submitting short stories to different publishers as I worked on my longer projects, so I did. Once someone introduced me to Medium, I thought it was a great place to test the waters as far as how to build readership, and gave me a place to play with genre. Mostly, I put stories and poems there that I wasn’t sure what to do with. After that, I received an acceptance from a small publisher for a short story to be included in an anthology. During this time, I also worked to gain professional editor certification through ACES and Poynter. The publisher published the anthology, fulfilling a major dream of mine. Not long after, I self-published a gothic poetry collection. I’ve had one paid editing client, but I mainly use those skills to help myself and the writers I’m close with. Feeling that I wanted to work in publishing eventually, I decided to go back to college to finish my BFA. I have about 1.5 years left and I feel more confident and passionate about the craft of writing as a whole and helping other writers bloom more than I ever have. I am currently working on a book series and a few standalones as well as maintaining my Medium page. I am accepting editing clients through my website, please email to inquire.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

No, I think if something is too easy or comes too smoothly, I have likely done something incorrectly or missed a step. All good things require work, work to build it, and work to maintain it. Work can be simple but rarely is it easy. It has not been a smooth road. Building confidence in yourself and your abilities can be difficult. Learning who you can trust with your work and to give you actual feedback is a delicate dance. Learning about how to keep boundaries in business when your clients also are personal friends was a big lesson as well. Choosing the right way to present yourself and how you show up on Social Media was difficult and slow for me to learn. There is a lot to learn, not just about writing and editing, but marketing, building brands, and websites, and engaging with readers. I am still learning as I go, which can often be rocky, and I make frequent mistakes, but I also improve regularly and remind myself that writing, editing, and helping others are always my main goals.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?

I specialize in fiction writing and editing, multi-genre, as well as poetry. I am very proud of my short story recently published by Wild Ink Pub in the Ten Penny Dreadfuls Anthology titled ‘Die Pretty’. It is one of my favorite pieces and one I am most proud of. It is transgressive horror. I am extremely proud of my gothic poetry collection, titled ‘Hope & Despair’. I designed the cover from a template I purchased and did all the formatting myself. It was an enormous learning experience for me. I think what mainly sets me apart from others is my personality and disposition. I network a lot, I support other writers even ones I do not know. I want everyone to win and I always try to help where I can. I have a very positive presence on Twitter and other socials. I try to say things I have needed to hear when life is hard or what have you. It resonates with others and I’m glad that it does. I never want anyone to feel how I felt in the past and be alone with those feelings. I’m glad that they know they aren’t alone. As far as writing and creating, I have a large drive for it. I am passionate about it and love to learn all I can about it. Passing that knowledge on to others to help them is a big motivation for me. I currently do that individually with editing clients, but have considered making a series of articles on Medium to help others as well.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?

Risk-taking is a huge part of art, I think. You have to be okay creating for yourself, which risks losing the audience you’ve built already. You’re also taking a risk when you share your art with others or submit it to publishers. I considered more calculated risk-taking, as it is necessary, but you have already determined the stakes to a degree. As an artist/writer, taking risks helps me to grow and pushes me out of my comfort zone. If a publication or several didn’t accept my piece, maybe it is time to rework it or try again somewhere else. Either way, it is a risk. Or the content of my story could be a risk possibly, as the topic may be taboo. Doing interviews is still pretty new for me and that feels like a risk. Taking an editing client, especially when starting out, feels scary and risky, but there is the opportunity for growth and experience that outweighs those anxieties. I think it is about your mindset more than anything. Risk-taking can be scary, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t positive and worth going through the fear to triumph.

Pricing:

• 0.10 per word-Developmental Edit
• 0.02 per word -Proofread
• Free- ARC & Review
• 10.00- Poetry Commission

Contact Info:

• Website: https://raelliswrites.wixsite.com/raellis
• Instagram: https://www.threads.net/@raelliswrites
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/18MDpQW1GB/
• Twitter: https://x.com/raelliswrites
• Other: https://medium.com/@raelliswrites

Image Credits

@riotgirlerin-main photo