We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lisa Hodorovych a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Lisa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
My mission is to help fellow writers live their dream of being a published author. Why? Because I have always loved telling stories, I have always dreamed of publishing my work, and I know there’s so many others like me out in the world who are having the same dream but are finding it difficult to live it.
My story truly starts in 2009 when I graduated from college. During that time, we were going through a recession, and no one was hiring. I wanted to work in the publishing industry, since I fell in love with it while working for my college’s literary journal, THE LITERARY REVIEW, but I couldn’t even get an entry-level position. I couldn’t even get a job in retail, at the time, so I took whatever job I could get to make ends meet.
Fast forward to 2015. Just before my then boyfriend (now husband) whisked me away to Salem, MA to propose to me, we were sitting down with our good friends (then neighbors) and just talking about life. My one friend mentioned she was going back to school to get a double major in teaching and special education. She also mentioned how nervous she was about all the papers she would have to write. Well, I saw that as a perfect opportunity to tell her that I have my bachelor’s in creative writing and that I used to work for a literary journal where I did some editing and proofreading. She asked me if I could edit her papers for her and, I guess you can say, “the rest is history.” She would go on to graduate with a 4.0 average and her professors constantly commenting with her grammar, punctuation, writing, and citing being on point.
Fast forward, again, to 2018 where my business became an official L.L.C. and it started to grow from just editing and proofreading to formatting, cover design, and more. In the last four years, I have helped numerous writers publish their work and/or help them prepare for publication. I also launched a yearly anthology in 2020 to help writers with short stories and poems be seen.
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?
Hello, everyone!
My name is Lisa Hodorovych. I am an author, a small business owner, and a proud Jersey girl.
My business, Quoth the Writer, L.L.C., is a publication production company where I help fellow writers’ dreams become a published reality. The services I offer range from editing, proofreading, writing, formatting, cover design, and even helping with the publishing process, if you’re self-publishing.
I got into this industry while I was in college, working for its literary journal, THE LITERARY REVIEW. I fell in love with the process of publishing, like editing and/or proofreading work to make sure it’s perfect for publication. As I started my business in 2018, I began to learn about the other “parts” of publishing like formatting (a.k.a. typesetting) and cover design and I fell in love with it even more. It’s funny because I follow fellow authors on social media and see their posts about how much they hate either editing or formatting their work, meanwhile I think it’s so much fun to do!
I think what really sets me apart, though, is the fact that I not only publish my own work, but I truly sit with every client and not only explain to them the publishing process – from what I’ve experienced – but help them the best I can by answering any and all questions they may have. If a client wants to learn more about a certain printing/distribution company, I will do the research and show them that it may be better (or worse) than the other companies out there.
Not to sound overly conceited, but I am truly proud of the fact that I published my own book with an absolutely gorgeous cover (thanks to my dear friend, Mark). I have also been marketing it on my own by showcasing it on my social media and by doing different book signings, author events, book festivals, craft fairs, etc. that I booked all on my own (but had help finding from various friends and fellow authors) and it has been selling. I am so happy that I am living my dream and I’m not done!
I think the main takeaway that I want everybody to understand is that I put everything into my work! Whether it’s for me or for my clients, I put my all into it and I make sure it’s either perfect or that you understand how things work. It’s confusing and it’s not easy, but I stand by my clients and do the very best for them.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
As an author, the most rewarding part is when you see a review, good or bad. When it’s good, it’s an excellent reminder for me that I’m on the right path, that I’m doing what I should be doing. However, when it’s bad, it doesn’t deter me and make me say, “That’s it! I knew I should’ve never been a writer! I was so stupid to think I could do this!” It’s actually the complete opposite. It motivates me to be better, especially when the reviewer says what they didn’t like about my book. However, I will admit, my favorite reviews are the ones that praise my work, but also say something like, “This section needs to be worked on because of…”
Authors constantly say that reviews are their bread and butter, and we mean it! As much as we love seeing our books sell and the royalties coming in, it truly means the world to us when someone took the time to leave a review – again either good or bad – to let us know what they thought of our work. It truly builds us up in one way or another!
Also, meeting new readers is such a joy! I love being at an event, someone coming up to my table, asking, “What is your book about?”, explaining to them what it is about, and having their faces light up as they exclaim, “Oh, that’s my type of book! I want it!” And then them praising me for writing it, publishing it, and so much more. It truly warms my heart and brings the biggest smile to my face. Again, it’s a wonderful reminder that I am where I need to be!
How’d you meet your business partner?
You may think this is corny (and some of you may think this is a bad idea), but my business partner is my husband. When I started Quoth the Writer back in 2018 – and even to this day – I asked him question after question of what I should do, if a particular idea I had was a good one or a bad one, what ideas he had, etc. From day one he has stood by my side, cheered me on, been my rock, and has truly been the voice of reason.
I met John back in August of 2010 at a bar. He was working for a local radio station at the time, and he was at the bar running an event. A mutual friend of ours introduced us and we talked for most of the night. We exchanged numbers, but we didn’t really talk or see each other until around Halloween. Back at the same bar, he was working an event and I was attending it with some friends. We decided we would try to hang out the next day – as I was going to a horror convention – but we did set up a date for a few days later, and, again, “the rest is history!”
We told each other of our dreams and instead of bringing each other down, saying, “That’s a horrible idea! You’ll never make it,” we built each other up. We stood by each other’s side and we BOTH lived our dreams! Whenever we felt like maybe we were going in the wrong direction and should pursue something else, we always lifted each other up, reminded each other of how far we’ve come, and to never stop. Even when others discouraged us from following our dreams, we never did. And now we’re constantly bouncing ideas off each other, building our dreams ever so higher.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lhodorovych.wixsite.com/author; www.quoththewriter.com
- Instagram: @thewriterslife87; @quoththewriter18
- Facebook: @LisaHodorovych; @QuoththeWriter
Image Credits
For the personal photo, that was taken by Barbara J. Dickinson. All the other photos are mine.