We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jessica D Washington a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jessica D , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?

Social Media, I managed my own social media accounts. I like to have full control over my own accounts. its kinda how my day starts and end it almost all the time. But I have learned that controlling my social media gives me an opportunity to see and know what being posted, liked, or viewed

Jessica D , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My life has never been easy. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon and a nice, healthy family. My home,Houston, was a harsh teacher. My mother was an addict and I endured abuse at the hands of my family. I was placed into foster care and for 8 years and the best thing that came from those years was my opportunity to have a free education at Texas Southern University. I juggled school and being a single parent and I eventually relocated to Atlanta.I learned so much in Atlanta. I became a photographer and ended up photographing some well respected celebrities. Atlanta is also where I fell in love and met my ex wife but with her being a veteran and dealing with ptsd among other mental illness was a strain and caused a separation. During that time I found myself journaling consistently and felt this strong urge to write a book – which has always been a dream of mine. My story grew into something larger than me. it became my purpose, my drive and my goal was to share it with the world. I moved back home to Houston and my book ‘When Love Isn’t Enough – Life After Dealing With a Narcissist” picked up by a local black/queer/woman owned publisher by the name os Ignited Ink 717. I am now divorced, a published author( with books internationally distributed) and so much stronger and wiser!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I was never into social media at first, I was always one of those people that watched other people and posted from time to time. But two years ago at the mid point of the corona virus pandemic, I found myself watching tiktok non stop. And one day one of my sons suggested I make some videos. I was very hesitant about it at first because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to put myself out for whole world to see. But I got on tiktok and I made a view videos and they had a few views. One day I made a video with the help of my 13 year old and it went viral, and then I made another video and it went viral and thats when I knew I wanted to make content, and since then I have went viral over and over again, with a total of 70k followers and well over 15 millions views. My advice to anyone wanting to become a social media star, you can’t stop at one video, don’t worry about the negative comments, be yourself and deliver good content.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is I get to connect with people from all over the world the notoriety gives me hope, and it makes me feel like I am on top of the world. People see me out in public and they tell me that they know me ,or they love me, and they watch my content makes my heart melt every time. It makes feel good to empower other people with my joy and love.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jessicadwashington.com
• Instagram: @authorjessicadwashington
• Facebook: Jessica Jess D Washington
• Twitter: @whenlovesint
• Other: Tiktok @jessddagreat1

Image Credits
Roy T Williams Pure Image Hou