We were lucky to catch up with Danielle Anderson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Danielle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

I deeply and wholly believe that everyone has a story worth telling and that when we are brave enough to tell our stories, it makes the world a richer, more compassionate place to live. There is power in telling your story and in hearing others share stories that illustrate the depth of the human experience. I believe it’s my mission, while I’m on this earth, to empower, encourage, and support the telling of stories—to help people go from a place of pain, struggle, hurt, and heartache to a place of healing, beauty, catharsis, and love. Telling stories does that. Telling stories is magic. After I’m gone, I hope to leave a legacy of authentic storytelling. I hope to be remembered for the passion and joy and love I’ve brought to this work, and to life as a result.

I want the world to remember me as a mad woman, as someone who fought vigorously against the grain of the system that has been designed to kill creative, free spirits. On my last day, I will look back and know that I weathered the wind and the rain and the wrath of the storm. I will stand tall in my brilliant madness as the woman who quit her stable career to start a business that made her soul smile for miles, and the woman whose bold energy amplified voices that raised the vibration of the entire human race.

Danielle, 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 was one negative pregnancy test away from becoming a lawyer.

It was indeed what I had set my sights on when I first jumped into the legal field as a paralegal. Starting college only a few weeks after my son was born, I knew I needed a quicker way to provide a more stable paycheck, and seven years to “lawyerhood” was not going to cut it. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t take a small detour. The way I saw it, I could get my bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies, then shift into law school with that as my undergrad.

And all had been going according to plan until the day I visited a local law school orientation. On the drive home, I thought through all I had learned that day. The school was perfect; it would provide me with the flexibility I needed to be a working student, a mom to a busy youngster, and a new wife. But first, a bit of business needed to be conducted. My cycle was late and I needed to get that off my mind before I could make decisions about my legal career.

I walked into the living room holding the test and gave my fiance a look that said, “Shit. It’s positive.”

I knew then that law school was not in the cards, not with a growing family. It would be the irresponsible choice. Too much work, too much stress, not enough payback.

And as time went on, I enjoyed my career as a top paralegal, earning a reputation for being one of the sharpest and hardest working paralegals at every firm that employed me. But that soon rubbed like sandpaper on my heart; it was wearing me down. It wasn’t the law, per se. It was the environment, the working world, the role as “employee” with little flexibility, little control, little say. When I went to work for a global corporation with over a quarter million employees, I became officially lost in the sea of humans. I meant nothing to that company. I was just an employee ID, a replaceable button presser on the ever-revolving hamster wheel chasing the big cheese that I would never reach.

And it was killing me.

The only thing keeping me alive was books, and not just reading them.

You see, I’ve been a hustler since I was in the single digits, always looking for a way to earn money, always working hard to earn my keep. Years before I walked away from my legal career, I picked up an editing gig for a local real estate broker proofreading and formatting her lengthy opinion reports. She took a gamble on me—she saw something in me that would take me years to see for myself. I worked hard for her, and she was impressed.

One day, she sent me an email asking if she could give my name and number to her yoga teacher who was writing her memoir. She needed a good editor, and my client had sung my praises. She truly believed in me.

Alexandra’s memoir was my first book. It was a story about survival and finding herself under the agony and heartache of an eating disorder. My heart was fully in it, and we worked so well together that it was a mutual lovefest. I’m sure I made pennies per hour for as much as I worked, but I didn’t care. It was magical. Something happened to me in that process, and there would be no turning back.

It would, however, take me nearly a decade to fully accept my role in the world of books. During those years, I was a full-on side-gigger, working evenings, weekends, and lunch breaks, whenever I could to continue my work on books. Both because I loved it and because I needed the money after my marriage ended and I was left scrambling to cover the second income our family had come to rely on.

As my love for this work grew, the toxicity in my career also grew, perhaps faster and more ferociously, eating away at pieces of my soul that I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to find again. Books kept me from completely losing myself—this work kept me alive, I am sure of it.

Even as I walked away from the law and my stable income, it took me almost another year to fully own my rightful place in the world of books. Stumbling upon a book coaching certification program the summer after I quit my career was a game changer; it validated everything I had been doing with my clients for so many years.

It forced my hand, and I had no choice but to declare my truth: I am a book coach.

Now, as a book coach and head editor, I run a team of passionate women who believe that everyone has a story worth telling, and every story has the power to change the world. We’re proud to be able to offer cover-to-cover coaching, editorial, and publication services to those writing memoir and narrative nonfiction in the self-help or personal development genres. In short, we help people achieve their dream of becoming a published author and sharing their story with the world.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Two strategies have shone through as most effective in my marketing: writing and storytelling.

I consider writing an act of self-exploration and self-evolution. The pen in my hand is a direct route to my heart’s whispers, and only through writing am I able to clearly and fully embrace what she wishes to say. Writing is how I learn to know, understand, and accept my true self; it’s how I process, vent, and sort through all the busyness in my head; it’s how I maneuver through the voices of worry, doubt, and ego-driven fear to find the real story underneath. My journals have been my closest confidant most of my life, and looking back on my own writing allows me to see the full spectrum of my existence.

I’ve always been drawn to stories. As a story lover and memoir coach, my expertise is in the area of storytelling. As a memoir book coach, I help people write their life stories—stories about deep, meaningful experiences. I love hearing about how people identify themselves, what criteria they use to define themselves, and the unique perspective through which they choose to share their stories with others.

As a business owner, I’ve seen how storytelling in marketing can be extremely effective if you know how to use it. I have consistently used storytelling in my marketing (mainly through social media and email marketing) to connect with potential clients.

This works particularly well for me as it also allows me to display my writing skills, which is an added bonus when you’re looking to hire a coach to help you write! The stories I share range from moments that illuminate lessons I learned through my book coaching work, reasons I love what I do, how I became a book coach and started my business, client success stories, and personal stories about who I am and what I’m about.

For example, I once shared a story on my personal Facebook profile about the time I ran a 5k in the rain. I wasn’t in the greatest shape, but running had become an important emotional outlet when my marriage hit rocky waters. I was determined to run this race and at least not come in last. The story included some intimate details about my struggles and the emotional rollercoaster I rode through that experience. I had such an amazing response to that story—so many people could relate to the vulnerable emotions I shared. A handful of people sent me private messages sharing how thankful they were to read my words—words they had been unable to say for themselves thus far.

My business is about people and connection and trust, and the way I market my services is through consistent, honest sharing. The more they know me, the more they will trust me; the more they trust me, the more they will be interested in working with me. The sacred work we do in book coaching cannot be done without a certain level of trust, and I build that trust through storytelling.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being creative?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve felt different. Out of place, off kilter, a couple clicks off center. Enough for people to think I’m, perhaps, a bit crazy. And enough for them to feel slightly threatened by me.

I guess it’s true. I frequently color outside the lines, and I’m often misunderstood.

At my core, I am—and always have been—a fire starter. Whether by instinct or intention, I have followed my truth, and this has a way of rocking the proverbial boat that we humans are told to row steadily ahead at all times, eyes down, no questions asked. All that I do in life is drenched in a glorious shade of “Danielle.” And yes, it can be abrupt, brazen, abrasive, and brash… and downright uncomfortable for those dutiful boat rowers. But I simply can’t help it. That’s what I do; that’s how I am designed; that’s who I am. My own mother reminds me of this frequently, although when she does, it comes with a worried tone and one of her signature deep sighs.

“Danielle, you’re so disruptive. It’s like you want to just stick out! Why do you have to make things so hard for yourself? You need to learn to follow the rules.”

It’s true, Mom. I do not blend well. And I’ve never been any good at following “the rules.”

Living within the boundaries has never been my style, and neither is working in them.

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a creative and drawing from my strengths to start a business is just that—the ability to create a business that is fully capable of supporting and embracing someone who willingly walks against the grain of society. I love designing procedures, systems, and structures that support me and enhance my ability to serve my clients rather than stifle my flame and keep me small. I love being at the helm of my own ship and fully owning the responsibility of determining the direction of my fate. As William Ernest Henley so aptly wrote in his poem “Invictus,” “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.”

This way of life, for me, is not a fad or a phase—I will not grow out of it. In fact, I’ve only just begun to occupy my rightful space in the world. Being a creator will allow me to continue living authentically as I’ve been designed to do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://inkworthybooks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inkworthybooks/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.inkworthy.anderson/

Image Credits
Abby Johnson & Sarah Gust