We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ruksana Hussain a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ruksana, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Looking back, what’s an important lesson you learned at a prior job?

I talk a lot about the importance of learning to say no and actually say no as a business owner to opportunities that come our way that don’t necessarily serve us well in the grand scheme of things. One of the lessons I learned early on was not to simply say yes to everything that came my way, which actually goes against what a lot of business owners do. An editor reached out to me on my website through a simple search for freelance writers and asked if I’d like to contribute to their quarterly magazine. It was a reasonably good pay rate, the job was easy and they gave me a lot of time to work on it, plus they contacted me through my own website which to me showed that I was doing a good job maintaining a website online. I did not, however, know the subject matter or the industry well, and just so happened to be going through some medical issues at that time so the correct answer would have been to decline the opportunity. But I chose to say yes and figure it out as I go. And that backfired bigtime. Not only did I not do a good job of it, I submitted work late and it wasn’t of the caliber expected by the editor. And it still took me a long time to complete given my ill health. All this to say, after working with me a few times (and I will give the editor credit for their patience and understanding during that time and totally accept their decision), they stopped assigning stories and I lost a really great opportunity for a long-term relationship that could have been a beneficial connection and an introduction to a lucrative industry overall.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a Los Angeles-based freelance journalist, writer and editor working with print and online outlets locally and globally covering a variety of topics. I am also a publisher, producing a monthly digital subscriber-only travel and lifestyle magazine called Traveler and Tourist and I am a speaker on podcasts and panels, spotlighting freelance work, solopreneurship and success in the media publishing industry as a woman of color.

I moved to the United States in 2006 as a 25-year-old bride. I couldn’t work until 2008 for legal reasons and once I could be hired, the recession was in full force and nobody was hiring. I ended up taking on 5-6 different gigs in the next 5+ years, including childcare and owning a handicrafts business, trying to figure out my ‘place’ in the work arena. One of those gigs included freelance writing and editing. And that survived the 5 years as everything else fell by the side. So in 2011, I went full-time freelance and by 2013 I had enough clients to know this was the way to go.

Most of my work is in editing and proofreading, providing the final set of eyes that approves copy for final print or publication, and ensuring everything is per magazine style or industry standards depending on the editing style a certain publication or organization uses. For companies, I create content for website copy, newsletters, blog posts, marketing materials, etc. For media clients, I work on articles and any other story assignments.

In the process of establishing my writing and editing services business, I also started doing a lot of travel journalism and that led to the launch of my own digital magazine – Traveler and Tourist. I publish 11 times a year and share a lot of inspirational content and travel resources. It was a fully self-funded effort from the first edition in 2020 but in 2022, I received a journalism grant that helped do a lot more in terms of content, including additional video content and accepting submissions that year from freelance writers. Next year will be the 5th anniversary and there’s lot of surprises planned so folks should subscribe if they haven’t already on www.travelerandtourist.com

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Books, yes, many! I read a lot and self-help, professional development, or inspirational books are very much my current realm of interest. One book that really spoke to me was Chris Guillebeau’s Art of Non-Conformity, which when I read sometime when I was exploring multiple gigs, was an eye-opener. I come from a South Asian background, was raised Muslim and told more often than not that girls couldn’t do the things I wanted to do. Much of my life was spent conforming or trying to conform to norms (much as I may not have wanted to) that my family, society, or community directly or indirectly imposed upon me. So that book was a breath of fresh air when I needed it. Another is Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg Mckeown which speaks a bit to my general philosophy in life, which is to focus on what’s important and edit out the drama! But ask me in two weeks and I might have a whole other set of books to recommend.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

There have been multiple times since moving to the United States when my ability to write in English or edit copy in English was questioned simply because I had just arrived from India or my name was not one that could be easily pronounced. One time when that really affected me was when I applied to study for my masters in a pretty well-known university and while I did receive a notice to pay my fee in advance, prompting an early celebration of acceptance, I next found out my application had been declined. And the same counselor who had been praising my fluency in the English language the whole time, now suddenly stated that I might have had some errors in my emails and other documents that made them question my ability to complete the entire course with English being the language of instruction. It broke my heart. I cried. I had so much riding on that hope that I would make it. But I chose not to let that get to me. And prove them wrong. I set about establishing my business in writing, editing, communications and continue to pursue what I truly loved and beleived in. I learned to send introductions, network, build relationships and use that to find projects I could excel in. I’m glad I didn’t let that one naysayer get in the way of my persistence. I have a thriving business today and continue to work in the exact same field that I was told I might not do well in if I pursued it!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ruksanawrites.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ruksanah
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/travelerandtourist
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ruksanahussain
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/ruksanawrites
• Other: magazine – www.travelerandtourist.com

Image Credits
Ruksana Hussain