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

Alright, Krys thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I think it takes grit, hard work day in and day out, dedication and passion. You have to have thick skin to make it as a business owner, specifically. Stick to your convictions and drown out the noise that won’t help you be successful. You have to believe in yourself and instead of getting discouraged when you hit a rough patch you keep moving forward and pinpoint what you have to do to keep going.

Krys, 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?

I graduated from CU Denver with my bachelor’s degree in communication studies while also extending my education to a master’s program in Journalism at the University of Arizona. I’ve been in the journalism industry for about eight years now. I reside with my husband and black lab Monkey in Greenville, SC. I’ve always known I wanted to be a writer, pretty much since kindergarten, and now I not only get to be two types of writers, but I get to help others struggling with their writing goals succeed.

how you got into your industry / business / discipline / craft etc:

I had gained editing experience during my time in the journalism industry, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, I started freelance editing indie authors’ manuscripts.

what problems you solve for your clients and/or what you think sets you apart from others:

My clients know if they have any issues, they can come to me, and I will talk them through it. Being a writer, specifically an author, is a lot of work and it’s even more work to prepare that book for the world to see. My clients and I work through problems together, from making sure their book publishes on time to finding additional mistakes after publishing and having to upload the manuscript again into KDP, to finding innovative and new ways of marketing their book. I’m with them every step of the way, and I think that’s what sets me apart from others. To a lot of people in the publishing industry, this business–much like any business–is about making money, and I don’t see it that way. I realize I didn’t get into this industry to make money but because I genuinely love what I do, and I want to make their books the best they can be before a mass amount of people see it.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

There was a time in my life that I was–by definition–homeless.

I was getting out of a physically and emotionally abusive relationship and just packed up my car with my two dogs in the middle of the night and started driving to Arizona without a solid plan on how I was going to make it. I ended up linking up with a girl on Craigslist to rent the second bedroom in her apartment with the little money I had left. Two days after arriving, I found a job and applied to the University of Arizona’s graduate journalism program. I was able to get back on my feet, and not long after, I landed my first full-time journalism position as an editorial assistant and special sections editor for the Bismarck Tribune in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Many times I had to pivot in my career–and life.

I worked my way through college by holding a full-time position as an assistant store manager of Claire’s, yes where you probably got your ears pierced. When I graduated college, I continued holding these types of retail management positions, because it was hard to get a position in journalism when I didn’t have time to do internships like my peers due to having to work. In 2015, I was working at Ann Taylor and a local publication dropped off their magazine to the store. I reached out to them to see if I could become a freelance/contributing writer–a position they told me was reserved for college students–but they gave me a shot anyway. I continued this up and down wave of if I wanted to be in journalism or not. It took a while to get my first full time position at the Tribune, but I did so by picking up these freelance writing positions at different papers. I have more experience in retail than I do in journalism, and last year I left journalism again to try the marketing and communications route. But I came to the realization, just last year, that journalism is what I’m meant to be doing in the time being. So, I’m taking that and running with it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.impressmillennial.com
• Instagram: @impressmillennial | @krysmerryman
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/krys-merryman-0785a4213
• Twitter: @krys_merryman

Image Credits
For the main photo with the manuscript, credit is to Chelsey Ashford Photography.