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

Jennifer, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

First and foremost, I think it is important to determine what success means for you. For some individuals, it could be climbing the corporate ladder until they reach that coveted corner office with a view. Others see success as having the time to spend at home with their family. For most people, success probably lies somewhere in the middle of these two scenarios.

Once you have taken the time to define success and envision what your life would look like once you achieve it, then you have to be brave enough to reach for it. Success rarely comes from the faint-hearted. In my experience, you have to being willing to risk failure in order to truly obtain the level of success you desire. Whether that comes in the form of applying for the job you’re not quite certain that you qualify for or by throwing caution to the wind and starting your own company, risk is inherent if you want to be successful. You have to be willing to forge ahead and create your own path even when others are doubting you. You have to be willing to take the chance.

Jennifer, 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?

For as long as I could remember, I have always wanted to be a writer. There was a part of me that knew someday I would have a published work under my name. I didn’t know how I would get there, but I knew that was something I wanted to achieve.

Unfortunately, I spent many years in a less than positive marriage. There was quite a bit wrong with the relationship, but suffice it to say, we brought out the worst in each other. By the time that marriage was in its final days, my self confidence was almost nonexistent and I was battling terrible depression and anxiety.

Writing became an outlet for me. I began freelancing for various businesses and organizations. It took quite awhile for me to find my voice. That process was so cathartic overall. One of my biggest accomplishments was finishing the draft of my first novel. The book was terrible and will never see the light of day, but that didn’t matter. I had finished a novel. I had proven to myself that I could do it.

From that point on, I knew that writing would always be a part of my life. I ended the marriage and filed for divorce. Those were definitely some dark days and still, I kept writing. In many ways, writing was the only outlet I had for the multitude of emotions I was dealing with. It took a good bit of time for things to start looking up.

Fast forward through a couple of very difficult years, and Christmas of 2014 was looming on the horizon. I wanted to give my mom something nice that she didn’t already have. The idea hit me like a bolt of lightening: a novel about her and my dad. From start to finish, I spent about eight weeks on Beneath the Mulberry Tree. I gave the rough draft to her and my siblings that Christmas. It was published at the end of the following January.

Not having a background in publishing, I was completely lost in the process. My budget was almost nonexistent so there wasn’t an option of outsourcing the work. I had to learn everything from the ground up. I had to rely on myself and learn the hard way through trial and error. Looking back that foundation was vital for everything that I’ve done since that time. I soon published a second novel and a collection of short stories.

Thankfully, as fate would have it, I met two incredibly creative individuals around that time. We began working on book projects together and were able to bounce writing and book ideas off one another. Having never had that type of creative partnership before, it was completely unexpected. It was also more rewarding than anything, other than writing, that I had done before. Local writers began to take notice of our work and sought out our advice and services.

The creative rapport and processes we established soon became the foundation for Southern Willow Publishing, LLC. Our main goal is to help independent writers delve into the publishing realm by the resources authors need to successfully publish their works. We truly believe that words can change the world. Thankfully, we have the opportunity to bring some of those words to life.

How’d you meet your business partner?

Southern Willow Publishing has three founders, Jaimie Miller, Victoria Hawkins, and me. I actually met Victoria first in a somewhat unconventional way. Through happenstance, we joined a local fencing club around the same time. We quickly developed a friendship that has lasted much longer than our membership in the fencing club. Victoria met Jaimie through a local church. Victoria introduced me to Jaimie and we became friends fairly quickly.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

It may seem like a fairly simple thing, but most people over a certain age learned to type in high school. As the person who generally handles the interior design for the company, I’ve had to unlearn several of the lessons I learned in that class because they don’t work with modern fonts and word processing programs.

For example, everyone used to learn in high school that there were two spaces after a period. There was no leeway. It was mandatory that these two spaces must be placed after the period. I can remember vividly fighting to keep these two spaces well into my writing career even when editors would inform me that there should only be one.

Then I sat down to format my first novel. I soon realized exactly why there should only be one space after a period now. With the new fonts available on computers, two spaces completely changes how the sentences and paragraphs are seen on the page. The extra space throws everything off, especially when there dozens of them on a page.

That was a difficult lesson to unlearn, but rest assured, I am now staunchly an advocate for a single space after a period. Sometimes, you have to relearn the fundamentals.

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