We were lucky to catch up with Amanda Maggiore recently and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?

Writing a book was never on my radar. Ever. Never did I think I would sit down to write my story, but here we are. Let’s start from the beginning. I graduated college in December 2020. A terrible time to enter the workforce and the real world. We were at the height of the pandemic, no companies were hiring, and the entire world was at a halt. Post-grad life was looking a little rocky. There was an abundance of large life changes endured during a short three-month time period that prompted me to begin to write. In the beginning, I look back and think that it was therapy for me. There was only so much I could take, I had to get it out. At the beginning of post-grad, I didn’t have any friends, so writing was my way of speaking what was on my mind. In the summer of 2021, I began really writing. I had the insane idea that maybe I should take what I am saying and turn it into a book. That to me seemed very far-fetched. I had never published anything nor did I know how. When ideas came to me, I would quickly jot them down in my phone, or on my laptop. In the beginning, it was a long document with a bunch of random stories and paragraphs. Ideas would keep coming to me at random times, so I would continue to write them down and elaborate. Even when an idea would come to life, I would use my voice dictation feature on my phone to speak the words in my mind.

But writing is not a straight path, and neither is post-grad life. I went through a lot of highs and lows in 2021 and 2022 that caused me to not write for some time. There were moments I would sit down to write, knowing I “needed” to, and all I could do was stare at the blinking cursor. I can’t express how many times this happened and the disappointing feeling that came with it. I felt that I had nothing to say and no one would read my story. I would go at most three months without touching the book, and then one random day, I would come back and write chapters at a time. This on-and-off writing habit took me to August of 2022, when I sat down, stared down the large document in the face, and said, “It has been long enough. I need to finish this before the end of the year.” Frankly, I had spent way too much time, effort, and brain power to let what I wrote go to waste. I kicked into high gear.

Began writing every day, little by little. I began to edit and design my book at the same time. I found free book creation tools that allowed me to put in the exact dimensions I wanted. I spent weeks putting the exact wording into place as I slowly edited and added to what I had already written. I edited the book 3 times on my own before hiring a contract editor to look over it for me. I was nervous that someone with 25 years of experience would just rip me apart with edits. But that was not the case. She was very complimentative and didn’t suggest many major changes at all. I was grinning ear to ear knowing that I had impressed someone that was well-versed in the industry. My idea was beginning to come to life right before my eyes.

But just like post-grad, there are a lot of pieces that go into writing a book. I had to research what to do when you are self-publishing. I knew from the beginning I did not want to go with a traditional publisher as they would own the rights and profits of my book. I researched all over Google to figure out what I needed to do before launching the book. From October-December of 2022, I quickly and strategically built my own website, set up shipping arrangements, opened the proper business bank account, ordered ISBNs and barcodes, applied for my sales tax license, found a graphic designer for the cover, found a printing company, and finished designing my book page by page. There is a lot that goes into writing a book and with so much to do, I was worried I would not make my end-of-the-year deadline.

Well when push came to shove, my hard work paid off. Somehow I was able to get my first hard copies of my book on December 5th, 2022. Tears of joy streamed out of my eyes as I ripped open the box and packaging. I had done it. I was holding all of my words, thoughts, and emotions in my hands. This indescribable feeling was one of the best moments of my life. At 24 years old, I was a self-published author about post-grad life.

Now, I didn’t tell anyone that I was writing a book for fear that I would not finish it and look like one of “those” people, judgment from others, and people’s unwanted opinions, and I thought if I could keep this secret for a year and a half, the surprise would be outstanding. My family members were shipped a signed book. I filmed each of their reactions, and they are priceless. The shock and surprise that came from everyone was incredible. This will forever be one of my favorite memories and I rewatch the video time and time again to bring a smile to my face.
It was a long road to get to the final point, but talking about What College Didn’t Teach Me in the post-grad world was something I felt I needed to share.

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

My name is Amanda Maggiore and I am the author of What College Didn’t Teach Me. I felt the need to write about life experiences after college, that school never prepared me for. So many young twenties individuals come out of school expecting to know what the real world is like when in reality, it can be a lot harder than it seems. What College Didn’t Teach Me is a novel about the early years of post-grad life. The story is told from the perception of an older sibling or a friend who has been through the beginning of post-grad life. Life after college is not easy, and there is no true guide to prepare you for what the real world has to offer. What College Didn’t Teach Me talks about relationships, careers, mental health, friendships, moving away from home, mindset, and so many more aspects of life after college, that no one talks about. The book has 19 interactive pages that readers can make their own. The reader can reflect on the topic and fill out the pages in a way that relates to them. Every chapter tells a story about what I experienced and what I learned from it. I want to provide people with examples of real-life scenarios where not everything goes your way, or where you mess up and realize you have to change your life for the better. This post-grad, survival guide is a necessary tool to be able to navigate the twists and turns of life after college.
What College Didn’t Teach Me provides a different perspective on the post-grad world. Post-grad has not been widely talked about until recent years. Many college students struggle to find themselves, choose their career path, if there is even one, and know where they stand in this world because there is no clear direction. Colleges did not take the time to teach things like this because we are expected to figure it out on our own. What College Didn’t Teach Me shines a light on topics that are not commonly spoken about and allows people to think deeper about what they want to make of their life and how they want to spend their precious time and money. There is so much pressure on people in their 20s to have their life figured out and that should not be the case. We are still growing and learning and navigating a new reality that we have never been in before. The world has had a system that we have followed for the last 18 to 22 years of our life. It takes time to adjust to adulthood and really take ownership of all responsibilities we possess.

I am most proud of how much detail went into this book. I did not hold back, and I told my full story of everything that I experienced after graduating college. Every page has so much meaning between the words that you were reading and the quotes at the bottom of the page. Heck, even the page numbers were designed one by one so no details were missed. The cover of the book symbolizes a few different things. First, the color green resembles new beginnings and growth, which so many people go through in post-grad. You change a lot once you are out on your own making key decisions. Second, the bicycle is moving forward, symbolizing that it’s time to move on to the next chapter of life. You can keep the past in the past and focus on what is ahead of you. Lastly, the book holds so much value that readers gain as they flip every page. People can relate to the stories told in the book. It is a time to reflect and think about what you have endured and how you are going to adjust your life moving forward. I hope that people even outside of their 20s enjoy my book because I think they will find some critical yet relatable information.

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

There are many different stories I could share about resilience, but I think the biggest one was finishing the book after a year and a half of doubting myself, and thinking there is no way it could possibly be done. Putting yourself out there in a written form for the world to see forever is a very daunting thought when you were writing your life story. I never truly thought I would have the guts or the knowledge to be able to publish what I wanted. Sitting down to write a book took more brain power than I ever thought it could. I always knew I was decent at writing, but I never thought that I would have something tangible that demonstrated my skills. There were countless times that I wanted to give up writing this book because it was taking too much time, it was too hard to think about what to talk about next, or I thought that I did not have good information that anyone would truly care about. While I was writing the book, I went through, so many life changes, both good and bad, that changed the course of the book, and also changed who I was as a person. When you change as a person then your entire way of thinking begins to change too. The book started in one direction, but it ended up with a completely different path by the end. For someone so young, I feel that I have demonstrated great resilience, finishing what I put my mind to and continuing to grow what I have built. It’s hard not to put more pressure on myself because that is just who I am. But, when I look back at everything that I accomplished so far, I feel motivated to keep pushing my book out three, knowing that it will help people and potentially change the mindsets of others.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My mission is to tell people that college does not teach them everything. We have this perception in our world, especially in the United States, that you need college to thrive in the real world. That is far from the truth and my book exposes that. I show all of the life skills, lessons, and events that someone needs to know about that college never taught. Sitting in a classroom all day learning nonsense textbooks, does not prepare someone to be financially stable when they are wanting to retire one day. Or taking hard exams does not help someone learn how to take care of their body both mentally, and physically. There is so much more to life than grades, degrees, and all the time and money wasted on school. Colleges need to have more real-life, situations, and real-life lessons. Everything that I do today for a living, and even just in my day-to-day life, I taught myself or learned from the others around me. College never taught me how to do any of this, and I feel that others probably have experienced the same thing. I would like everyone to feel that they are prepared when entering into the real world. No one can truly prepare you for the unknown, but at least people have an idea of what to expect, and what they will encounter when they enter the post-grad world. Post-grad is scary and I want to provide light and some support when people go through the nerve-racking transition.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.whatcollegedidntteachme.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatcollegedidntteachme/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatcollegedidntteachme
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-maggiore-b99243140/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/collegedidnt
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd_lLRs6NXGWBkXsfgamYBg
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@whatcollegedidntteachme

Image Credits
Amanda Maggiore