We were lucky to catch up with Nikki Rhoades recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Nikki thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Defining success is a challenge for so many writers, and it’s something I struggle with myself. Is the marker of success an exceedingly long client manual that you knocked out of the park? Is it a few thousand published articles? Is it the first novel you finish, or the first dollar you make? Truth be told, I think success looks different to every individual. I think defining success should be a personal mission, and whatever standard we decide to set should be something we each individually strive to meet.

For me, it takes happiness to be successful. I need to be happy with my work, and my readers need to enjoy their time consuming my material. Whether it’s a travel article highlighting things to do in Cleveland, an addition to the workplace newsletter about inclusive language, or a product description for a landing page, I strive to entertain, educate, and delight my readers.

In the professional world and in my personal projects alike, a successful project is one that makes me happy. As I’ve grown in my career and personally, I’ve found that happiness is the high I’m always chasing. Sure, I want a comfortable life with basic needs met, but I’ve found that being happy is at the top of my hierarchy of needs.

Nikki, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a writer by trade, and this means I’ve worn many hats over the years. From working in journalism to writing for magazines, travel blogs, startups, and corporations, I’ve allowed myself to dip my toes into every discipline in the writing world that has been presented to me.

Personally, my passion is fiction and nonfiction novel writing. I write novels in my spare time, and I’m currently in the process of building a variety of offerings that I can publish when I feel my brand is vast enough to roll out. I’m biding my time and monitoring industry trends to ensure I curate my launch for success, and I plan to kick it off in the next couple years.

Professionally, my passion is people. I write people-geared content for clients and my day job, ranging from SEO-rich blogs and landing pages to trade show materials, press releases, product guides, and even technical manuals. My specialty is developing voice and brand, or enhancing and building upon those areas if they’ve already been laid out.

At the core, I love language. I appreciate how something as simple as words can be so powerful if wielded correctly.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson every creative type must learn is to love and cherish the things they create. But on the same token, I believe every writer, designer, and creative type has to learn not to be too precious with their work… so they almost have to unlearn that lesson. Especially in collaborative environments, different perspectives and petite tweaks can take something that’s already great and turn it into something remarkable. That’s the power of collaboration… allowing yourself to be vulnerable and open to changes can create something truly special.

I’ve worked with graphic designers, product managers, engineers, and business owners to curate stories. When you are open to different perspectives, you can learn a lot and create a tale that’s deeply personal rather than surface-level and cold. When looking at a brand, you’ll immediately notice how plugged-in its writers, designers, and creative directors were during concepting. Allowing your work to be as fluid as it needs to be can make or break the success of the piece you’re writing.

One of the most jarring reminders of this in my writing career was actually with one of my novel manuscripts. I was absolutely being precious with the work, insisting that each development was needed to create a concise picture of the scene I was trying to paint. After all, I had spent hours creating character analyses and crafting thoughtful dialogue. I always recruit beta readers for each story, and my sister was the first beta for this particular project. She called me after reading 50 pages or so and said, “Hey… this story isn’t good.” I was taken aback. I asked for her critiques, so she helpfully outlined what she liked and didn’t like about the manuscript. I revisited it with fresh eyes and realized that she was right in her analysis… it needed work. A lot of work. I poured a glass of wine, cracked my knuckles, and set to work correcting the tone of the piece and trimming out parts that ultimately did little for the storyline. When it was finished and passed to the next beta reader, they praised it extensively. Being open to criticism and critiques paid off.

That experience ultimately turned into a lesson for me. Both in the workplace and in personal projects, collaboration and outside perspectives infuse life into any creative piece.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

A creative’s journey will inevitably rely on self-confidence and inspiration… and those can be difficult to find early in a burgeoning career path. There is a time in every creative’s career where they must simply peel back their reluctance and trust the process. Growth takes time, but the good news is that time also fosters expertise. Sure, your creative-type friend might be working three part-time gigs right now to make ends meet, but they’re growing their resume and pushing the boundaries of their comfort zone along the way. They’ll reach success in no time, but they’ll have also worked hard for it.

I was recently watching reruns of Man Seeking Woman, and one episode narrowed in on Lucy’s career as a burgeoning graphic designer. She was enduring nagging parents disappointed at her lack of immediate success, jokes about how nice it would be if exposure paid student loans, and creeping self-doubt. At any point, she could have backed down from her path. I’ve seen many of my peers in the industry step away at this point, because it truly isn’t easy. However, the very next episode follows her working with a high-paying client, enjoying fancy dinner parties, and achieving success.

Every creative that starts their path from scratch will have a period where they’re figuring everything out. After all, many find themselves forging their own path rather than climbing the corporate ladder. Finding yourself, discovering your expertise, and having fun is part of the process. Success likely won’t be an immediate thing, but it comes with time. That same sentiment is true with so many career paths… it’s important to cheer your friends on as they figure out what’s right for them.

Contact Info:

• Website: onlyinyourstate.com/cleveland
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikki-rhoades/