Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gina Marie Agderian. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Gina Marie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
One of the best things my parents did for me as a child was reading to me every night and encouraging my love of books. I learned to read by the age of three by memorizing all my favorite books. My mother would read to me and I would correct her if she changed or skipped a word. Memorizing my favorite stories helped me recognize words on a page and what sounds certain letter combinations made. I loved when my parents would read to me – it was my favorite activity as a young child.
As I got older, most kids my age were asking their parents to take them to the toy store – I was asking my parents to take me to the bookstore or library. My father was a police officer and worked nights, so he would take me to the bookstore during the day in the summer while my mother was working as an administrative assistant and would let me pick out any books that I wanted. I would peruse the entire bookstore and imagine my name on one of the books. It seemed like such a faraway dream for someone to purchase a book that I wrote and enjoy it.
When I self-published The Letters in the Old House many years later, my parents encouraged me and told everyone they knew that their daughter had written a book. They had always told me I could do whatever I wanted to do if I just put my mind to it, and they were right!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a self-published author and content creator. My love of books started as a toddler and grew as I got older. As a child, I was really into the Babysitter Club series. I began to write short stories as a child that I would share with my family, and my aunt gave me my first journal when I was nine years old. I began journaling about everything: what I did at school, what my friends were doing, my family…anything that was important to me at the time. As a teenager, I would read whatever I could and continued to journal. English was my strongest subject in school and I was one of the few kids who actually enjoyed the assigned reading. I always imagined myself becoming a writer but never knew where to start or how to actually publish a book.
I continued to read throughout my adult life and earned a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Language along with an MBA. I began working in corporate America and while I enjoyed what I was doing, I still had the dream of becoming an author. I started seeing self-published authors popping up on social media and began digging into their journeys and how they published their book through Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) on Amazon. I thought, “Hey, I could do that!” I created an outline of my first novel’s plot and wrote the first draft. The novel then went through revisions and edits, and my husband Adam helped me create the cover. I published the book through KDP and made announcements everywhere I could on social media. I cried when I first held the book in my hands – it was a dream come true! I’ve recently finished writing the first draft of my second novel and am currently making revisions, so I’m hoping to publish that sometime in 2023.
I truly enjoy the writing and self-publishing process, from outlining the concept of the story to publication, and everything in between. Self-publishing gives me 100% creative control over every facet of the project. I don’t have to wait for approval of my cover design or what character names I’m going to use. Plus, royalties are higher when you self-publish through KDP vs. going the traditional publishing house route. All decisions are mine alone, which works out well because I’m an extremely decisive and Type A person.
I feel so lucky to be living during a time when self-publishing has been made accessible to so many creatives. Authors no longer have to wait for a publisher to choose them or deem them worthy enough to be published. We can now create our own reality and maintain complete control over our creative projects.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Being a writer allows me to tell all the crazy stories that my imagination spins. I love having an outlet to be creative and share my work with others. The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is when someone reaches out to me and tells me that they enjoyed my work. I was once recognized by a reader while I was in a store that sold The Letters in the Old House. The woman was so kind and even asked if she could hug me. It was overwhelming to connect in person with a reader who enjoyed my novel!
It is truly such a gift for me to share my work with others, and I am so grateful for every book purchase, book review, and social media share that I receive. Art is a great way for humans to connect with one another.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
Creatives do not fire on all cylinders 100% of the time. There have been times in my life when I have felt highly creative and have done a lot of creative work, and then there have been times when I had next to zero creative energy and would go weeks without writing a single word. One would not expect an athlete to perform at 100% every single day, and creatives are the same way. We cannot always come up with ideas on the spot or instantly turn on the creativity. Sometimes, there are outside factors that hinder our creativity, such as focusing on our day job, our relationships, or a stressful life event. Scaling back on creative endeavors does not mean that one is no longer a creative; it simply means that they are taking a rest.
Something else that non-creatives may not understand is that creativity is work! It may seem frivolous to some for me to sit at my laptop and write a novel or write in my journal, but these actions require a great deal of mental focus. When I write, I’m focusing on creating something for myself and others to enjoy. Creativity takes an enormous amount of brain power!
Contact Info:
- Website: gsellsseashells.com
- Instagram: @gsellsseashells
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GinaMarieAgderian/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@gsellsseashells