We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ashley Hasty. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ashley below.

Ashley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

Before I dive into something new, I ask myself: “Do I really want to peek under this hood? Do I really want to know how this sausage is made?” Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes it is no. The one time I didn’t ask myself this question, I ended up really disappointed in my career.

I was the student who *loved* school. I loved school so much I went straight through all the way to my Ph.D. without a break. Then, as many Ph.D’s do, I began teaching at a university. This was my first “peek under the hood” so-to-speak and I did not like what I saw. I was really disappointed in how academia operated, the culture of “publish or perish” that was cultivated, the lack of understanding from administration about what different departments did, how people were rewarded for longevity, not necessarily the quality of their work. It completely changed the way I saw school and I was really bummed about it.

The first time I stopped myself from “peeking under the hood” at an industry was when I was looking to leave academia. My second-favorite place to be is art museums, specifically historic costume collections. I applied to several before a friend told me a horror story about working in museums. After giving it some thought, I decided losing my love of museums was not work the risk, so I withdrew my applications and thought again about what it was I wanted to do next.

This is when I became a business owner. Even while I was still working at the university, I started a website called HastyBookList.com – at the time it was a purely creative outlet where I could interact with the people I wanted to talk to, write about the things that interested me, and research the things I wanted to learn more about (without the pressure of publishing in an academic journal.) Eventually that website grew and became a business.

A second time I paused to ask myself if I really wanted to know “how the sausage was made” was when I decided to write my own novel. For years I’d been promoting other people’s novels and I wanted to give it a shot myself. But before getting started I asked myself, “Do I really want to know what it is like to write a novel?” At the time, I decided yes. I do want to give this a try. Writing a novel is so much more difficult than I could have imagined back then. I could stop at any time, and I have taken a number of breaks, but I keep getting drawn back in. I don’t regret diving into that industry, not yet anyway.

Every once in awhile I step back and ask myself, “Is this still making me happy?” I don’t have to wonder what it is like to have a so-called “regular” job, I know what that is like. I do sometimes miss that life, mostly how regular the paychecks were. It is nice knowing exactly how much you’re going to make each month. But my lifestyle is so different now. I can work from anywhere, I set my own hours, no one is harping on me (expect myself) if I miss an arbitrary deadline. If I didn’t enjoy working with someone, I simply don’t work with them again. If a small aspect of my job is no longer bringing me joy, I see if I can eliminate it or make it more fun in some way. I have so much control!

But being a business owner can often be lonely. So lately I’ve started looking for ways to collaborate with other business owners and entrepreneurs. I teamed up with an author to co-host the Best of Women’s Fiction podcast, I reach out to authors to conduct author interviews, and I’m always looking for ways to incorporate new interests into my website.

If you aren’t happy being a business owner, change the way you’re operating that business. Just because that is the way you’ve always done it, doesn’t mean that is the way you have to keep doing it. But rest assured, besides that regular paycheck, having a “regular” job isn’t all it is cracked up to be.

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

For seven years I taught fashion history, visual merchandising, and branding to upperclassmen at a major state university. I adopted the flipped classroom approach and designed courses that encouraged students to actively engage in their learning by getting up out of their seats and visiting the many galleries and special collections on campus and in the community. I still have a strong passion for teaching, but these days I’m taking a more nontraditional approach through HastyBookList.com.

My interests include reading (obvi), visiting art and history museums, eating out at new restaurants, and traveling. My last major trip was to Spain, including San Sebastian, Malaga, Barcelona, and Madrid.

Hasty Book List started as a hashtag on Instagram so I could keep track of the books I’d read and refer back to it when my friends asked me for recommendations. As my list developed, I received requests to expand my reviews beyond a few sentences and to add ratings.

I now work with over 200 publicists to promote the latest novels, I’ve interviewed over 500 authors, I feature book jacket designers and audiobook narrators, and I’m in the process of editing a novel of my own, a piece of historical fiction about the rise of American fashion. So I haven’t forgotten my original interest in fashion history that led to where I am today.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I am often asked by authors who are just starting to build their social media presence how to build their audience. I say this as a marketing professor as well as a user of social media, just post what you’re interested in seeing. The more I focused on “strategy” for building my social media following, the less my social media following grew. I honestly don’t give it any thought anymore. I just post things that I like, things that interest me, and I interact with those who are doing the same.

It is so obvious to me when someone is on social media just playing the game. They are absolutely no fun to follow and they aren’t posting anything of interest to actual humans. The only thing they’re interested in interacting with is the algorithm, which is so fickle. So if you want to be on social media, then make it a genuine interaction with other people you find interesting on social media. It is just like real life. When someone is only your friend because they want something from you, they’re less fun to hang around. Be the kind of friend who gives and takes equally – share things you love and love things other people share. The audience will grow with time.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

The two things that helped me build a reputation within the literature market are: patience and organization.

Patience – my blog was not an overnight success. It started small, I gave it attention when I had the time, and it grew slowly and steadily. In other words, I gave it time. I built my network of book publicists over time. I reached out to authors to do interviews one author at a time. Eventually, through word-of-mouth and my own patience and persistence my blog began to grow. Authors would refer other authors to me, publicists would tell their colleagues about me, and my knowledge of SEO grew so that readers could find me more easily.

Organization – I am nothing if not organized. My blog may not be the flashiest blog on the internet. I may not be the world’s best writer, or book photographer, or have the most insightful reviews. But I am very easy to work with. When I make a promise, I deliver. I keep all of my “promises” or agreements to feature books or authors very well organized in a spreadsheet so that I don’t miss a due date. I work ahead to make sure posts are pre-scheduled, I remain in contact with the publicists and authors I’m working with to make sure they know they’re still on my radar. More than anything, I think my reputation for being organized, professional, and easy to work with made my reputation in this market.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hastybooklist.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/ashleyhasty
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hastybooklist
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AHastyLife