We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Susan L. Lipson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Susan L., thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
I am a nonconformist entrepreneur who aims to enlighten and uplift those I serve as a creative mentor by challenging and also enhancing traditional methods of creative learning. This goal applies to my teaching of creative writing workshops and private lessons to students of all ages, and to my own inspirational writings of poetry, educational materials, fiction, and songs that I sing and teach to various faith-based communities.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I list myself online as “Susan L. Lipson, Words and Music,” and consider myself both a creative artist and a teacher. I have been self-employed for decades, with a background in the publishing world as well as in education. My skills range from creative to editorial to educational to inspirational—whether I am working as a writer, teacher, or community leader.
After publishing my first children’s novel, Knock on Wood, in 2000, I visited many schools and bookstores throughout San Diego County. Each visit led to requests for return visits as a writing teacher, and each school-site workshop led to private students signing up for weekly lessons. I specialize in teaching poetry as a springboard to all genres of writing and to enrich critical thinking abilities. I published a second book, for teachers and students, called Writing Success Through Poetry (Prufrock Press, 2006). My writing classes grew as a result of that publication, even leading to my educational presentations for teachers.
Over the years, I have paired and grouped private students into shared weekly classes that continue till today, though the lessons are now online. The pandemic required some restructuring of my weekly home-based workshops to a Zoom-based format in which students shared their drafts via Google Docs. Instead of limiting my work as a creative writing teacher, the online format ironically expanded the possibilities for a more efficient writing and revision process; it also enriched the potential of my students, who now receive my ongoing directive questions and comments via private chats, before sharing their drafts aloud with the group, thereby boosting their confidence because of the encouragement they receive via our private “chat conversations” peppered with words of praise and guiding questions. The online classes have enabled me to expand my student base geographically, as well. I have students from other time zones and cities, often friends and relatives of local students. Referrals have also led me to facilitating some adult poetry workshops online for various groups, as well as to perform my own burgeoning poetry collection (including one poetry book published in 2019) at online and in-person literary readings throughout the pandemic years.
In addition to poetry, I have always written songs. My style is eclectic, ranging from folk songs about social issues to inspirational pop-style songs, to religious songs. For decades, I have shared and led my religious/spiritual songs at various synagogues and interfaith gatherings. My own religious community considers me a kind of “resident composer,” and our choir has sung my songs for many years. In 2022, I mustered the courage to record a full album of 12 of my songs, titled “Songs for Divine Conversations,” and released it on all of the major online music streaming platforms. I am now slowly marketing myself and my accompanist for visiting performances and music-leading at services for Jewish and Interfaith congregations. My songs now appear in music catalogues, and other musical prayer leaders have begun to sing and perform my songs—news that I find very fulfilling. The value of shared words and music lies in the strength of the connections they build between minds and hearts of composers and authors with listeners and readers.
My focus as an artist and a teacher has always been on connections. (One of my most-loved published stories—a short memoir of a life-altering, supernatural experience—was even titled “Connections”!) Whether I connect with you via my prose, my poems, my songs, my lessons, or my online nature photos tagged with haikus or poetic pondering (Instagram: @susanllipson), I always aim to inspire memorable images, universal ideas, and an appreciation of mundane moments.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I had to unlearn the concept of credibility being based on formal education. I never considered myself a musician because I had no formal music education, yet I continually hear songs—lyrics and melodies—playing in my head. I have always sung my songs into recording devices, quietly uploading them onto my SoundCloud page. Today I record them, tap them out on a piano in my plodding way, and send the vocal recordings to a transcriptionist. Today I sing them in public and upload them to YouTube and even record my songs in professional studios. Today I have many musician friends to jam with and work out my songs. I am more confident calling myself a singer-songwriter/composer. Find my songs under “Susan L. Lipson” wherever you stream music.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I have built my reputation by focusing all of my creative efforts on eliciting clear and meaningful interpersonal communication to evoke collective personal growth. My students feel my passion for empowering them to continually set and advance their own standards for success, and my readers and listeners feel my passion for uplifting awareness of our humble, human place in the vast, diverse world we inhabit.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @susanllipson
- Facebook: Susan L Lipson, Author/Writing Teacher/Singer-Songwriter
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@Susan-L-Lipson?si=q9J8K0hG9O3tZk_M
Image Credits
All images taken by me or my family members.