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

Hi Julie, thanks for joining us today. Let’s talk about innovation. What’s the most innovative thing you’ve done in your career?

When I got my first book contract with a big publisher several years ago, it was the fulfillment of a long-time dream. Surely, I thought, this would now mean I could take my writing full time instead of making writing fit into all the nooks and crannies of my busy life with eight kids and a career in a ministry non-profit. That first book was a best-seller and did very well. But I quickly learned that in the publishing industry, being an author isn’t just about the craft of writing. It’s marketing and promotion and networking, and book advances and royalties that are modest. For a lot of people, their vision of being a full-time writer doesn’t match the reality of publishing today. I myself dreamed of retreating from the world in a mountain cottage, creating stories that would somehow magically make their way to readers. But the reality of taking your writing craft full-time is very different. It wasn’t until I accepted the true business of writing, versus the romance of it, that I was able to develop a business that allows me to create and write at the next level. Sometimes the most innovative thing we can do for our businesses is to reframe the dream and embrace the actual industry. Many books later, both under my own name and as part of my ghostwriting services, I’m writing, speaking, and creating content for a variety of clients across multiple industries. It’s fast-paced, sometimes glamorous, sometimes grind, and always growing and changing.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I was on my way to becoming a psychologist when I accidentally became a radio and television personality. True story. Someone heard me give a presentation, decided they liked my voice and asked me to audition to become part of their radio team. I’d always been a voracious reader and wrote like a fiend as a kid. In the radio and television space, I was able to hone that storytelling muscle, with an eye always on what the listener or viewer needed to know and what would capture their attention. My love for writing and reading found a toehold in the broadcast industry, and the broadcast industry seemed to appreciate the way I crafted and told the stories their audience wanted and needed.

Once my husband and I started our family, I scaled back my on-air duties but continued to develop ad copy and special video projects and also provided narration for audiobooks and various products. I spent several years working in the nonprofit space, developing and sharing the stories of those organizations. After the publication of several books under my own name, I was approached by publishers about ghostwriting for clients. That portion of my business grew very quickly, and today, I usually ghostwrite two to three books per year for a variety of publishing clients.

I also consult and speak for businesses and organizations about how they can best capture and tell the stories of their industries and their unique space within those sectors. I work with entities in healthcare, data management, nonprofits, entrepreneurial, social media influencer, faith, finance, specialty, and luxury goods. I consult and develop content for a number of podcasts and podcast networks. I also MC and deliver keynotes for industry gatherings and conferences.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I’m a creative who was raised by a rocket scientist father and an accountant mother. Even though both of their careers were seated in STEM before STEM was even a thing, they were both remarkably creative people. Think about it; a rocket scientist has to think in wildly creative ways to create transportation systems to take people where humans have never been. That was my dad. My mom, in addition to keeping pristine books, also painted and played the piano and could sew like a dream. So I learned to be what I call a functional creative from them.

Fast forward to the work I do now, and I think it’s an important message for creatives to hear: you build your reputation not just by the level of creativity you bring to your work but also by your dependability. I lay out timelines, deliverables, and a variety of other resources for my clients. Yes, they’re getting my brainstorming and best writing, but they’re also getting roadmaps and tools to show how we will get there. Invest in learning the best methods for bringing your creative work to the table. If that’s in writing, learn how to navigate Word and Google Docs and Scrivener, and all the rest well. If it’s in the podcasting space, teach yourself the basics about audio capture and editing. And then show up with the goods when you say you will. Over time, the word gets out that you can bring both the artistry and the reliability. For those of us in creative spaces, that’s how a reputation is built.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I believe bone deep that everyone has a story in them that is a treasure. I want to help people connect through their stories, whether it’s a story about their brand or their journey or their mission. Interestingly, I often find with my clients that it’s the very stories they dismiss that are the very ones they should be telling. Too often, we want to tell the story of our greatest challenge or our biggest accomplishment when, in reality, it’s often the smaller moments that mean so much. Yes, we need to tell the stories that set us apart. But we also need to tell the stories that show our points of connection and shared experience. When I can help individuals and companies do that, to help them find their best stories, to help craft those stories well, and then to use those stories to create connection with others, then I feel like we’ve really created something powerful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://julielylescarr.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julielylescarr/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julielylescarr/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julielylescarr/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JulieLylesCarr