We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Liana George a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Liana, appreciate you joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
Most definitely! Every since I was a little girl I dreamed of being a writer and published author. I pursued it passionately in high school and even started out as a journalism major in college. However, fear and imposter syndrome wrapped their spiny tendrils around my heart and mind and I left my writing dreams behind. Although I went on to other careers (teacher, stay-at-home mom, professional organizer/business owner), I never stopped writing. But in 2017, as I was on the precipice of turning 50, I decided it was now or never to make my childhood dreams a reality. Tired of playing it safe, I began working on my novel. It took 3.5 years, but on December 31, 2020 a small press offered me a 3-book contract. My debut novel, Perfectly Arranged, released on October 26, 2021 and I was able to add author to my list of careers. While I wish I wouldn’t have been a prisoner to fear for so long and started writing books earlier, I do believe that everything happens when it should. I’m in the perfect seasons of life to focus on writing full-time and to handle the challenges authorship throws at you. But that doesn’t stop me from encouraging others to follow their dreams early on!
Liana, 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’m a wife of 31 years and a mom to two adult daughters and one dog who lives on a small farm just outside of Houston. When I’m not scribbling away, you can find me reading, watching tennis, or planning my next dive trip or beach vacation.
I owned By George Organizing Solutions for 5 years before becoming a writer and author. Rather than give up my love of organizing, I took a job with Mission 2 Organize as their Content Creator (writing blog posts, social media content, and video scripts). But my main profession is novel writing. My first book, Perfectly Arranged released on October 26, 2021, with Scrivenings Press. It’s the story of a down-on-her-luck professional organizer, her eccentric client and their adventure to China to uncover a family secret. The subsequent books in the story, Perfectly Placed and Perfectly Matched will release on July 5, 2022, and April 4, 2023, respectively.
My goal as a writer is to share stories with humor and heart so that when people finish reading the last page they will have been encouraged, enlightened, entertained, and edified.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I think one of the reasons I delayed writing a novel was because I simply didn’t know what to do. I was clueless how to start or even structure a book and when I tried to research the information, it was all too overwhelming. I wish I would have known that book coaches were available to guide you through the process! Once I discovered that people actually offered that service and hired one, my writing journey took off and I’ve never looked back. Even though I’ve written two full-length novels, I still have my writing coach and have no intention of leaving her anytime soon.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
When I started my organizing business in 2013, I spent a lot of time building my online presence and platform. While I never went viral or had a large number of followers, I did have a small loyal tribe of people who faithfully supported me. When I stopped organizing, I emailed all of them and let them know about my career change. I did see a drop in my numbers, but nothing significant. I believe that’s because I did a few things that I would highly recommend to anyone just starting to build an online presence: 1. Remember it’s about relationship. I am very open and authentic with my followers and when I communicate with them I do it as if we were sitting at a coffee shop chatting. There’s very little talk of “buying” (except at launch times) or spam.
2. Be consistent. I drop into their feeds or inboxes regularly (posting on social media 3-4/week and emailing them monthly). They know that they will hear from me and I hope they look forward to it!
3. Give more than you get. I’m constantly finding ways to give back to my community and get them involved in what I’m doing (helping me name a character, picking out a book cover, or just holding giveaways). They really enjoy it!
4. Don’t be obsessed with large numbers. I’d rather be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a large pond. A tribe of 100 or even 1000 rabid fans is gold!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lianageorge.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lianaygeorge/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LianaGWriter/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liana-george/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB8n4ov17hQo9LN9fRRTTgQ (By George Organizing)
- Other: YouTube Author Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf9yjXiFnOS_wTe3dVDKCkw Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21850379.Liana_George Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Liana-George/e/B09HJG39KW/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1 BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/liana-george-5a193403-457a-44f5-8e8b-3087edf455b6