We were lucky to catch up with Katelynn Jasper recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Katelynn , thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Most kids growing up wanted to be princesses, President of the United States, or any other fantastical job you can think of but growing up I wanted to be the one who wrote about those fantastical people. Most of my early years were spent feverishly writing poetry, fantasy, and even the occasional haunted house story to escape from the small town I grew up in. Then, in the sixth grade each student had the opportunity to enter into a writing competition for the American Legion. I ended up winning first out of my grade and going on to win third overall in my county. My hometown’s American Legion was so impressed they even asked me to read my essay during the town’s Fourth of July Parade. Realizing that my words had the power to help me make something of myself, and experiencing how I could impact others with my writing lit an undying fire in me to pursue a path that would always keep me close to writing and books.

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?

When life gives me lemons I create lemonade perfect for sipping while reading my favorite books. I have a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Sonoma State University and a master’s degree in Publishing and Writing from Emerson College. In 2021, after working as the lead children’s bookseller at the Harvard Coop bookstore I accepted a position as a publicist at Page Street Publishing for working on their nonfiction titles. It is in this role I spent the next two years honing my craft as a writer, publicist, and marketer till I was promoted to Director of Publicity and Marketing overseeing kids, YA, horror, and nonfiction titles that Page Street publishes. During my time outside of work I run a small but successful bookstagram and TikTok account, @buzzingaboutbooks, that focuses on uplifting diverse voices in the horror genre. I enjoy helping authors reach a wider audience and readers find their next all time favorite books through book reviews, comedic content, and exploration of literary topics geared towards encouraging readers to give horror a try. I also write for Read’n Magazine on the suspense team where I write a HORRORscope column that is a play on traditional horoscopes in early Y2K magazines but with a twist of recommending horror books based on the 12 Zodiac signs.

I am most proud of the way I have grown both my TikTok and Bookstagram to a combined 5K followers and have made meaningful connections with incredibly talented horror writers like Paul Tremblay and Cynthia Pelayo. I am also proud to be a queer writer who recently had a short story titled Tithe published in the literary magazine Redivider.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think society needs to take more chances on smaller names and new creatives. In a world that seems to be driven by how many likes and followers you have it can be hard for creatives not to cave to creating art that is viral instead of art that is genuine to them. I often try to read books by authors that are either self published or published by smaller, indie publishing houses because those voices matter too. It means stopping to listen to the musician busking on the sidewalk and even giving them money should you like their stuff. It means going to an author event for a local author you’ve maybe never heard of before. It means buying that art piece from the artist vending at the farmer’s market even if it the artist’s work might not be worth anything in the future or hanging in a museum. It is so important that society doesn’t create an oligarchy of only supporting certain names and to remember that there was a time when their favorite creative was just starting out as a nobody too.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I built my audience by trying to me as authentic with my content as possible. There are many times when I review a book that isn’t trending but it’s still something I enjoyed and at the end of the day what I want to talk about. I worked hard to genuinely connect with other creators in my nice of horror by supporting their work and content in the space and by becoming a reliable reviewer for authors.

My advice is to not be afraid to do your own thing. It can be tempting to follow everyone else and hop on trends and while that is definitely a good idea in some ways, I think constantly coming back to why you chose to begin sharing on social media is the best practice. I also think it’s important to get to know your audience and realize you might not be for everyone just like how not every book will be loved by every reader.

I live by the thought “What’s the worst that can happen they say no?” So go out there and request that ARC coming out from your favorite author or reach out to that brand you want to collab with. All no’s will eventually lead you to the right yes’s

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buzzingaboutbooks/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katelynnjasper
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@buzzingaboutbooks

Image Credits

Katelynn Jasper