We were lucky to catch up with Julie Artz recently and have shared our conversation below.

Julie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?

Because of the ongoing challenges the publishing industry faces (supply chain issues, labor disputes, rising cost of paper and shipping), authors face a lot of economic pressure that makes the idea of hiring a book coach or developmental editor impossible. And yet, as agents and editors also feel the pressure, they have less and less time to offer authors the help they need to put the best books possible into the world.

It’s necessarily expensive to work one-on-one with a coach, so rather than continue primarily working one-on-one with clients, I’ve launched The Wyrd Words Workshop, which provides many of the benefits of working with a coach at a reduced cost due to the group setting. This ongoing workshop is a combination of the craft materials I provide to my one-on-one clients, monthly opportunities to learn from me and ask questions real-time, weekly write-ins that help establish a consistent writing practice, as well as the support of a moderated community forum filled with other writers.

The most risky (and ultimately innovative) thing I’ve done with the workshop is to not limit it by genre and age category. Our first cohort included writers creating stories for the middle grade, young adult, and adult markets, and even a couple of memoirists on the nonfiction side of the creative house. Ultimately, we’ve proven that story is story, and have found many beautiful craft connections between all the various stories that are part of the cohort. It’s my favorite part of the workshop and something that makes it feel extra magical both to myself and to the other writers.

For example, this month, we’ve been talking about scene structure. You might think there aren’t too many similarities between a scene from a memoir set in 1960s Peru and a middle grade fantasy set in modern-day Portland, but we’ve found so many beautiful synchronicities between the character journeys in these two very different stories. It drives home the universal nature of story, and also the way that writers can learn from the experiences of others in this group setting.

My commitment to serving writers from traditionally underrepresented communities extends to the workshop as well, as I offer a sliding scale and scholarship opportunities to make this accessible to all.

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?

Growing up, I was that kid who always had a book in hand, who spent more time than normal sneaking into wardrobes searching for Narnia. So I shouldn’t be surprised I ended up in publishing, though I took a lengthy detour through the tech world before I got there. My work as an author, editor, and book coach fulfills me in a way that my work in tech never did—this is definitely what I was meant to do.

An active member of the writing community, I have volunteered for SCBWI, TeenPit, and Pitch Wars and am a member of the EFA, the Authors Guild, and AWP. I’m an Author Accelerator Founding Book Coach and teach regularly for Authors Publish, IWWG, ProWritingAid, and others. I help writers who dream of a life spent telling stories that matter slay their doubt demons so they can send their work out into the world with confidence. Social and environmental justice are themes not only of my clients’ work, but of my business as a whole: I believe climate change is real and that no human is illegal. That love is love, that women’s rights are human rights, and that Black Lives Matter. And that children deserve diverse books. As a result, I devote my attention and my intention to creating, promoting, and publishing books that reflect these values. Because stories change lives.

My clients range from beginner writers who take advantage of the many courses I teach throughout the year to experienced authors looking to change genre or age category or level-up their storytelling with the help of a support craft-wonk. I’ve helped authors self-publish, hybrid publish, secure agents, and publish across the spectrum of traditional publishing from small and university presses to the Big Five. My clients have gone on to receive starred reviews, win awards, and publish additional books with me cheering whole-heartedly from the sidelines.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

There’s a lot of courses out there on how to jump-start your business and achieve six-figure success your first year out. That was not really my approach. I don’t begrudge anyone their own path, but I do want to normalize building a business organically over time. I was very much a part time coach for the first five or so years of my business. I took on freelance editing and copywriting jobs and continued my work as an ESL teacher for quite some time until my coaching business took off. That allowed me not only to feel confident in my knowledge, but to put some solid successes out there before I tried to scale. Now I have a team supporting my coaching and have been able to launch several large programs with confidence because I took the time to identify who my ideal clients are, because I grew my business with care over time, because I scaled slowly, and because I made space to figure out what I most wanted from my business before I went out there to sell all the things to all the people.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

My business was primarily one-on-one coaching for the first decade. More recently, I’ve made a shift toward group coaching and teaching. This allows me to be more selective in my one-on-one coaching, but has also allowed me to help more people at lower cost to clients as the market continues to tighten, while still delivering the kind of powerful successes my clients saw in their one-on-one work with me. I’m excited about this pivot and find the group energy to be really fulfilling both to myself and to my clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: julieartz.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julieartz/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJulieArtz/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@coachjulieartz
• Other: pages.julieartz.com (newsletter), https://substack.com/@julieartz?utm_source=profile-page (Substack)

Image Credits
Krista Fleming