We recently connected with Barbara Brutt and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Barbara, thanks for joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Success is such a shiny word, isn’t it? Our news sources flash with stories of “success,” and yet, rarely do people reach that level of success.

When I consider the word “success,” I think it’s essential to determine an actual tangible definition of that success.

As a child, I took years and years of dance classes, but I never considered myself to be a dancer because there were so many other dancers who were better than me. So there goes a decade of my life that was spent as a dancer, and I never felt like I was successful enough to be called a dancer.

A few years later, I began to write, and someone asked me if I was a writer. I wanted to shrug it off, but then I realized that I could claim the word “writer” even now when I didn’t feel like I was good enough.

When I consider the word “success” now, I try to create smart goals, meaning that I’m not leaving myself with a vague idea of what success is. I know. I know that success was having my stories being traditionally published by Vinspire Publishing.

Barbara, 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 believe stories heal. Whether written, performed, or read, stories have a way of building a bridge from the heart to the mind. My storytelling explores the art and act of being human. I consider myself to be an eclectic 30-something hope-in-progress bent on growing despite the gritty, pot-holed road of being human.

My love of books started in childhood, and my love of reading turned into a love of writing. I’ve held a smattering of jobs including Pittsburgh’s Pastries-a-la-Carte shop girl, nonprofit project manager, legal blog and web copy writer, and digital content specialist with a healthy dose of nanny, doughnut maker, Pittsburgh Aerialist and Instructor, and house-cleaner. Basically, I’m your Jane of all trades. And this wealth of experience absolutely feeds into my writing.

My most cherished dream (besides traveling the world) was to become a published novelist, and I did so with my first novel, Teal Paisley Tights, in December 2018. And then, in November 2020 with Vinspire Publishing, I wrote (in 2 months?!) and published Take a Right at the Mistletoe, a Vienna Christmas story novella. Both of these books were such dreams come true for me, and it really emphasized that dreams CAN come true.

Since then, I’ve continued to explore my writing, and I self-published a collection of microfiction called Notes on Being Human in 2021. I continue to love storytelling, and I hope to have more books to share soon. My work-in-progresses include a sequel to Teal Paisley Tights and a series of romance novellas.

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

Resilience is a sneaky thing because you get better at resilience the more you need it, but I don’t think resilience is something that happens alone.

I view resilience as the idea that you choose to do something, and you continue to charter towards that goal, even as you face barriers, accept side quests, and manage the other parts of life.

When I decided that I wanted to write a novel, I don’t think many people believed that I would do it (my mom did), but I know that there were folks who wanted me to get a real job (I eventually did). Writing books takes time, and it requires sitting down and just doing it every day. It’s not easy.

I started writing Teal Paisley Tights when I was 20 years old, and it was published eight years later. I lived in 3 different states, 2 different countries, and I kept chipping away at this dream. I rewrote that whole book at least once, and I hired a writing coach who I paid by working at a Dunkin Donuts. I remember asking that writing coach at the end of our time together, “Do you think I have what it takes (to become an author/get published)?” and she said to me, “I don’t know if you have what it takes, but your story does.”

And then, my story was rejected over and over and over and over again. I kept sending my story out though.

Was I resilient? Maybe. But I have to point out that I was not resilient on my own. When I received a rejection letter, I had friends who accepted my big emotions, and when I wanted to work on my writing, I had family members who fed me.

Teal Paisley Tights (and the books following it) is a testimony to my stubborn desire to not give up on my dream, and I didn’t do it alone.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

One thing I wish I had truly grasped earlier in my creative process is that I do not ever need to go the process alone.

When I first started exploring my creativity through writing, I was so terrified of people stealing my ideas that I steered away from accepting help. Why did I have such a small view of ideas? Did I really think that ideas were finite?

When I began writing Take A Right At The Mistletoe, I faced a really tight deadline. My publisher wanted the novella in a month (thankfully, they extended the deadline by another month), and I knew that there was NO WAY that I was going to be able to do this whole story by myself.

I turned to my community, and I asked friends to brainstorm the story concept with me. I asked for friends to read the story as I wrote it. I asked my sister to go to Airbnb with me so I could write fast. I asked others to help me come up with a title. It was the most fun I’d had ever with writing a story. It was communal. It was our story. Sure, I did a lot of the work, but I tapped into the people around me and it made ALL the difference.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.barbarabrutt.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/cordiallybarbara/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraBruttWriter/

Image Credits

Jonathan, Jeronimo Creative