We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Allison Buehner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Allison , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think it takes to be successful?
I don’t think there is one recipe for success. I do think there is a special balance between following your intuition and making logical decisions. I think if you can strike the synchronicity between rationality and risk-taking, you will be successful – in whatever you do and also in whatever way you define and measure success for yourself.
Allison , 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 the Growth & Strategy Director for Burning Soul Press and Burning Soul Collective, two sister companies that serve authors in the hybrid publishing and book coaching spaces. In this role, I handle client relations and partnerships, marketing and branding of the company, and I’m also the book editor for all of our clients. And, because I love a side hustle and I’ve had one for the last five years, I am a freelance book editor as well.
I am passionate about helping writers polish their story and make it the best they can be. I was always the annoying red-pen-happy classmate no one wanted to swap papers with in English class, and I’m the (likely even more annoying) reader who can’t help but catch typos in every book I read for fun. I’m just naturally wired to catch literary issues and inconsistencies. I think that natural inclination, coupled with my experience working for a book publisher, is what makes me a great book editor.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I started my career in Public Relations and Government Affairs. I did this work from every angle: large agency, small firm, and in-house for a Fortune 50 company. I really worked hard to make my way up the corporate ladder and realized several things. The first is that most companies have policies in place that really limit your growth, both monetarily and title-wise. This made me feel very held back. I was always taking more on in an effort to prove myself (and was encouraged to do so), only to get the little 3% inflation increase when I was actually performing duties two levels above my title. The second thing I learned is that in order to make bigger career jumps that kept up with my growth and evolving skillset, I had to apply to new jobs, nearly every year. It’s exhausting to pitch myself and then re-learn a new team and company every 18 months just because these companies couldn’t keep up with my value to them. I realized I wasn’t climbing a ladder, I was on a hamster wheel.
So, I reevaluated what I really wanted out of life. I always loved books and in high school believed my dream job was to be a book editor, but when it came time to pick a major in college, it didn’t scream “girl boss,” and I was sucked into that corporate grind mentality, even in college! I was still working at the huge corporation when an old mentor let me know of an opportunity to work for a small start up book publishing company, so I jumped at it. I started out part-time as a PR manager, working as a publicist for our authors and our CEO. Within 8 months, I became the company’s first full-time hire, helping to run the organization, manage team members, and yes, edit authors’ books. It was a risk to go from a Fortune 50 company to a startup, but it’s been almost three years since my transition and I haven’t looked back.
The risk paid off big time, because I nearly doubled the salary I had at my corporate job in the first year. I love book editing so much, I even freelance as a book editor on the side, too! Sometimes, the risk is worth it!
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn that working harder than everyone else was the only way to get ahead in your career. There are three things that are more important and more effective than overworking yourself to “get ahead”:
1. Lean into your natural skills and passion, because it does matter if you enjoy the job.
2. Find an employer who truly values you or start your own business. Your time and your contributions are valuable and in some way, you directly affect your company’s bottom line. If you are not valued, your career will not progress.
3. Learn how to *actually* balance your career with the rest of your life. Sure, if you want to say it’s all just “life”, you can, but I personally need the separation from my hours spent working and time for true rest. For me, that differentiation helps me from staying up working too late! When you take time to rest, you are ready for work when it’s time to get to it, and typically perform much better.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://allisonbuehner.weebly.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/albee.words/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allison.buehner
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonbuehner
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/allison_buehner
Image Credits
Photo credit for all of the photos (except the one I’m wearing the bandana in AND the one in front of my monitors – no photo credit for those images): Karla Schwaegerman