Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chelsea Lockhart. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Chelsea, appreciate you joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I feel like every creative person leans toward wishing they’d started doing what they’re doing now at a younger age and I’m really no different in that regard. I started writing stories as a child and fell in love with it. There’s truly never been anything else I wanted to do, but growing up, I listened to the advice to pursue something “practical” with my life and career. That, obviously, didn’t work out for me! And I’m glad it didn’t because writing, podcasting, and helping people publish their books is what I love doing.

And I can admit that had I started my creative career sooner, I’d be much further along in it. However, the detours I took taught me a lot about life and people that I use every day when interacting with others. So, I’m grateful for the experiences I’ve had that have shaped my career, but if I could take what I know now and go back to seventeen, I would definitely follow my gut instincts and pursue a career in writing from the very beginning.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

My name is Chelsea, and I go by C. M. Lockhart on book covers and most other places on the internet. I’m an author who writes stories about Black girls who aren’t all that nice. My debut fantasy novel is titled “We Are the Origin” and released June 2022. The sequel, “We Are Dying Gods” releases August 2023, and the third book of the trilogy is currently being written. The series follows a group of assassins as they work together to save the gods and their realm from destruction.

Aside from being an author, I’m also the host of the Written in Melanin Podcast, a space that offers a candid glimpse into my life as an indie author as well as interviews with other Black authors. The intention behind the podcast is to give advice and insight into being an indie author and to share the ups and downs of my own creative career in the hopes that other people might be able to learn from my mistakes and replicate the successes in their own way. Other authors are invited on the platform to discuss their books and careers for the same reason, because no two creative journeys are exactly alike and getting outside perspectives is important.

I’m also the owner of Written in Melanin LLC, a company that was created to support Black authors. I started this business because, as a Black author, I was discouraged in the beginning of my journey by just how few resources there were available. As I began navigating my own career, I wanted to ensure that what I was learning would be able to help others as well. So, I began offering services through my website for editing, formatting, and mentoring.

I’ve learned that there is great value in being able to talk to a person rather than feeling relegated to dealing with an uncaring system, and that is why I always make clear communication and expectations a priority in every service that I offer. Being able to ask questions and learn from a process can be just as important as the end result, and I’ve found that most people want to know things for themselves rather than solely relying on someone else. And for me, I love helping people understand more about the technical and business side of writing. Because for most authors, writing the story is the easy part. It’s making it available to the world that becomes the challenge, and that’s where I offer my assistance where I can.

I’m grateful to say that everyone I’ve worked with has been satisfied with my services and that my books have been well-received. The reason I do what I do is so that I can help others and write stories that people connect with. Knowing that I’m able to do that is what makes me proud to be an author, podcaster, and entrepreneur.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

The best way to support artists is to acknowledge the value they bring. Being a creative isn’t easy and making any kind of career out of it is even harder. Recognizing the effort it takes to create something, share it, and then continue doing it would help the creative community as a whole.

Especially with conversations of AI circulating the internet and dominating conversations, it’s important to remember that there has to be a human aspect in order for something to be considered art. Humans are creative by nature, and given the chance, most people will admit that if all their needs are met, they would pursue some kind of art themselves. So, it’s important to not devalue that aspect of humanity.

Art is necessary and so are the people who create it.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I talk about this frequently on my podcast and YouTube channel — it’s something that most authors have questions about and struggle with in the beginning — and my advice is always the same: be authentic.

In this world that we currently live in, it’s easy to get swept up in the idea of replicating what we see on the internet, especially if the people we see have gained the kind of success we want for ourselves. However, it’s important to note that what worked for one person won’t work for everyone. And, for authors, a lot of us are introverts who don’t naturally gravitate towards social media to begin with. So, trying to imitate someone else or following the popular advice and “rules for success” on certain platforms can lead to getting burnt out.

My advice for authors just starting out is to be authentic and true to yourself. Find and utilize platforms that you enjoy. If you hate logging on to Instagram, then don’t build your primary audience on that platform just because some generic advice says you should. Build your audience on the platform that feels the least like work. Post however often you feel like for a few weeks and note how frequently you can do it without stressing yourself out — if that’s once a week, then go with that! Consistency is the key, whether it’s once a month or once a day. People want to know what to expect from your platform.

When I started my journey, I was all over the place trying to follow “tried and true” advice. I got burnt out so quickly trying to post multiple times a week while engaging on the platform and learning about the new features. It quickly became a full-time job and I found myself spending more time thinking about how to promote myself on a single platform rather than writing my books. It hurt my morale and made me feel as if I was doing worse than I actually was whenever my engagement was low — especially if I’d worked hard on the post.

I’m not a social media manager. I can only manage things the best way I know how. And, for authors, I recommend keeping things in perspective. Readers want books from you, not glitzy posts and funny skits. So, keep that in mind as you’re trying to grow your platform. You are an author and social media is just one tool of many.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.writteninmelanin.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/CLockhartWrite/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CLockhartWrite
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/WrittenInMelanin
• Other: https://podcast.writteninmelanin.com/ https://shop.writteninmelanin.com/ https://melaninlibrary.com/