We recently connected with Nadia Pupa and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Nadia, thanks for joining us today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.
It all started when I was about five years old. My mom was watching the 1939 movie Wuthering Heights with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon. I remember begging her to turn off “the old boring movie that made no sense.” Without conceding, she gave me an abridged version by periodically pausing the movie to give a brief recap every 15 mins, or until I would ask, “What’s happening now?” Her facial expressions and inflection in her voice created a high-stakes situation that captured my full attention. I ended up watching the whole movie and even had a crush on Heathcliff. For the rest of my life, my mom influenced my deep appreciation for classic literature and old films. When I graduated high school, she bought me Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, among many other books, and to this day, it’s still one of my favorite books of all time.
When I was about 12 years old, I became an extremely shy kid. When my mom saw this, it concerned her. My mom’s problem-solving skills are truly impeccable, and I believe it’s because she’s a nurse. Nurses have the ability to identify and diagnose symptoms before they become long-term issues. That’s what she did for me. She signed me up for drama class and I’ll never forget how angry I was with her. Eventually, I warmed up to the idea of speaking in front of an audience, and later, I participated in a series of speech contests where I had to memorize monologues and essays and recite them in front of a panel of judges. By pushing me out of my comfort zone and ignoring my numerous meltdowns and protests, my mom changed the trajectory of my life.
My dad influenced my career path by being a great leader and public speaker. He is also a great storyteller. He had a specific way of giving just enough details in his stories, coupled with intentional dramatic pauses, that captured our attention. I am the second oldest of five kids, and my dad was always consistent in the way he raised all of us. As kids, when we started talking about our future aspirations, my dad always stressed the importance of not depending on our spouse for income—no matter what. He also made us think wisely about our career choices. His advice not only made me feel empowered, as a woman, but it also made me look forward to someday raising my own kids and passing down the same mentality to them. He immigrated to the U.S. in the early ’80s and has such an amazing success story, that I am encouraging (and pushing) him to write a book about his experiences.
If I had to pinpoint one of the best things my parents did, it would be the fact that they were always laughing about something. They always found a way to insert their sense of humor even if things weren’t going the way they planned. It rubbed off on me in many ways. When I think back to my childhood, I have many memories with my siblings of laughing so hard that our stomachs would hurt.
Having a sense of humor in life is so important. People take things too seriously; they need to lighten up, let loose, and not be afraid to make mistakes or say the wrong thing for fear of looking stupid.
This directly relates to my path of being a podcast host on The Editor’s Half Hour. I am constantly making a fool of myself! I sometimes stumble over my words or giggle a little too hard during interviews, but I am simply being myself. My goal is to keep my interviews natural and not rehearsed. As an editor and graphic designer in the publishing industry, I can guarantee that editors—regardless of whether they’re introverted or extroverted—are the most hilarious, witty, and clever people I’ve ever met.
Nadia, 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 got into the publishing industry when I was just a college kid. I mustered up the courage to apply for the editor-in-chief position for the college student newspaper. I didn’t think I’d get it, but when I did, it gave me the first taste of what it takes to be a good leader, decisionmaker, and delegator. It forced me to think about the bigger picture and how each writer contributes to the newspaper’s success. I was functioning like a mini-CEO in the making and didn’t even know it.
I had a turning point in college when I realized I didn’t want to be a journalist and changed my major to English. My Dad went into panic mode and said, “What are you going to do with an English degree? You already know how to speak English!”
He pushed me to want to prove him wrong. I saw a flyer on the college campus for an editorial internship, so I applied right away, bought my first real business suit, and nervously showed up for the interview. I landed my first job as an editorial intern and writer. This was a major milestone in my life because it jump-started everything I know in the publishing world. I learned how to edit—like really edit. I tracked my way around hyphens, en dashes, em dashes, commas, and semicolons while also observing and taking note of typical office politics.
Most importantly, I gained my first experience collaborating with subject matter experts. I learned how to guide them in the writing process, organize their content, and help them structure educational material. Without knowing it, I was functioning like a high-level developmental editor, consultant, copyeditor, proofreader, and project manager. I was making strategic, big-picture decisions with writers.
I met my husband Phil Pupa while I was in college. He was the one who told me I should learn page design. I resisted hard because it wasn’t my idea. I wrongfully adopted a snooty mentality that graphic design work was below that of an all-powerful editor. I ended up falling in love and marrying Phil. He continues to motivate and inspire me every day. His advice was the missing piece in how I discovered the power of content and design. I firmly believe one does not supersede the other.
Phil is also the co-founder and lead designer at Pique Publishing. He also came up with the company name, and the logo, and the website, and the podcast name, The Editor’s Half Hour. (Originally, the podcast was supposed to be “The Editor’s Hour” until he said, “No offense, but an hour is too long! You should use one of those editing marks and insert the word ‘half’ before ‘hour.’” My jaw practically dropped to the floor as he walked out of the room like it was no big deal. It was a genius idea!)
At Pique Publishing, I lead our editorial and design team to tackle two types of client bases: corporate clients and authors (aspiring and established). Our corporate clients primarily consist of nonprofit associations, academic institutions, and private corporations (large and small). We thrive in working with subject matter experts to create educational content that must be clear and concise. Experts are exactly that—not writers. It’s my job to help experts and leaders get their messages in front of a general audience without being disjointed and unorganized.
For authors, we provide coaching sessions, manuscript evaluations, and all the publishing support they need. Establishing a collaborative, safe space for authors to be their authentic selves is a powerful thing to witness. Meeting people who become clients, and then seeing them go from being aspiring writers to published authors is also powerful and enriching for me as a business owner and editor. All of our clients succeed in their writing because we help them get through the hurdles and mental blocks. We establish realistic goals and deadlines. We celebrate when each milestone is met. We make it our mission to help clients publish with personality (our company tagline).
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
I met my co-founder, business partner, and husband on Facebook in 2006. This was back when Facebook was for college kids only. We were both students at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign. We connected through our similar tastes in music. We stayed up late and chatted on AIM, which by the way, was officially discontinued in 2017. My friends and I nicknamed him “the musicman” because I would collect all the mp3 files he would send me and burn them on discs. (People back then still used CD players even though iPods were a thing.) I also hadn’t met him in person yet, so everyone joked that he could be a serial killer! Back in 2006, it was still considered a little weird to meet someone online. (This was way before apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge existed.)
We started talking on the phone and finally decided to meet for coffee at Espresso Royale. Everyone in my social circle knew I was meeting him at 6:00 pm. The instant we met, we talked for hours! It felt like I’d known him for years. He was funny, charming, and authentically Phil. I didn’t get home until 9:30 pm! On the walk home, I realized my cell phone had several missed calls! I called my sister back, “Why did you call me so many times?” She shouted, “For all we knew, you could have been dead in a ditch somewhere!” Eventually, everyone got to meet Phil and simply adored him.
Phil has seen me grow from being an opinionated know-it-all college kid to a mother of two little boys. We’ve been through so many challenges throughout the years, but he has always been there to support me in my career decisions.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
Yes, my side hustle most definitely turned into my main, full-time business. We were living in Boston at the time. I was a full-time editor working remotely for a nonprofit organization headquartered in Chicago when I started to notice that textbook sales were remaining stagnant and on a slow decline. I also noticed that there were little to no marketing plans in place for the books I was developing. My entrepreneurial spirit—which naturally gets suppressed as a staffer—was ignited when I saw the writing on the wall. I decided to look for freelance work.
Phil and I put our heads together and created Pique Publishing. We started by designing the company logo, which then led to designing the website. We went to a coffee shop in Beacon Hill and sat there for hours talking about my vision for the company, drafted the website copy, and determined how we would establish the company brand.
I started to get small editing gigs and book design projects and juggled the side hustle while working full-time. This was way before we had kids, otherwise, I don’t know how I would’ve been able to keep up with everything. We eventually moved to San Diego and I kept the full-time editor job, but I continued to ramp up my client list. The biggest milestone was when I decided to join the San Diego Professional Editors Network (SD/PEN) in 2017 because it changed everything. I served on the board and eventually served as president from 2021–2022. Being in a leadership role forced me to facilitate, speak, and engage with members on a deeper level.
In 2019, the nonprofit organization officially switched gears and put a halt on marketing its textbooks. They announced a wave of layoffs, but I already had a full-functioning company that was officially incorporated in California. I had no choice but to put all of my focus and attention into growing my company. I experienced exponential growth in 2020 when many people thought about writing and publishing their own books. I also gained excellent referrals through SD/PEN and secured high-profile corporate clients.
The biggest milestone happened recently when I was named a winner of the San Diego Business Journal’s 40 Next Top Business Leaders Under 40. It was a night I’ll always remember because I was recognized for the positive impact that I’m making in the publishing industry through hosting the podcast, The Editor’s Half Hour.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.piquepublishing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/editors_half_hour
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/piquepublishing
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pique-publishing-inc
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/piquepublishing
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@piquepublishinginc.764
Image Credits
Sarah Morgan Photography