We recently connected with Crysta Coburn and have shared our conversation below.

Crysta, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

I feel the most comfortable doing creative work. It’s where I am the most confident. I have never had an office job, but I have worked plenty of retail and other customer service jobs. I’ve tried full time and regular hours, and it just isn’t for me. As I’ve gotten older, my chronic illnesses have become more pronounced, making it hard to leave the house some days. I do sometimes wonder what having a “regular” job would be like, but mostly so I can write more realistically about them in my stories.

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 back background and context?

I have been writing for longer than I can remember. There is evidence of me trying to write before I could spell. Everything is written phonetically. I have mostly written fiction, but even as a child I enjoyed researching topics and writing about them. It is through writing fiction and blogging in my spare time that I got my first magazine writing gig. I won my first writing award when I was 16, and I went to college for writing. Blogging eventually led me to podcasting, first with my husband, then with my now cohost Kay on Haunted Mitten. I am still researching and writing, separating the fact from fiction, I just write scripts and record with Kay rather than post to a blog.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I’ve always been told the importance of networking, but I never knew where to start. Writing is generally a solitary activity. So is blogging and podcasting. I started to meet other people in my field by going to conventions. Because I had published a few short stories in the steampunk genre, I was invited to speak on writing panels at local steampunk conventions, where I met other authors. We followed each other on social media and recommended places online to find more gigs, connect with others in the industry, and invited each other to Facebook groups specifically focused on networking. At these same conventions, I also began to meet podcasters. I have since been invited to several events to speak about my podcast Haunted Mitten and do essentially live episodes in front of an audience. Twitter was always a great place to find fellow creatives, but with that breaking up and people going in different directions, it’s not as great a resource. Facebook groups and Discord channels are great places to connect, though.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

My parents always supported my creative pursuits. My father had a masters degree in writing with an emphasis on poetry. My grandfather was an artist and professional photography. Other adults in my life, however, were less supportive. They couldn’t understand why I would put so much effort into something that didn’t pay the bills. I worked a lot of hours at part time jobs to make ends meet, but I never gave up being creative. If I weren’t creating, I may as well be dead because there would be nothing left for me. I wish more people understood how vital creativity is to some people. It’s as important as drinking water or breathing clean air. People who aren’t creative have always struggled to accept that about me. And honestly, I don’t understand them either.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.crystakcoburn.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crystakcoburn/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrystaKCoburn/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crysta-coburn-b899558b/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/crystakcoburn

Image Credits
Crysta K. Coburn, Greg Pizzino, Kay Gray, Kristin Anne Danko