We were lucky to catch up with Tenita Johnson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Tenita, appreciate you joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
I thought I’d work in traditional journalism and retire from a high-end newsroom. With a Bachelor of Journalism, my plan was to be a reporter and/or copy editor for a newspaper, work my way up to editorial director and eventually start my own magazine. Well, we see the state of the newspaper and magazine industry today. It’s almost obsolete, to say the least. Instead, I found myself working for 10+ years as a contractor for several companies in their corporate communications department or performing internal communications roles for companies such as Volkswagen/Audi, Mercedes Benz Financial Services and DTE Energy. July 4, 2017, I was laid off for the last time from a corporate position. I’d had my business since 2010, but it was always a side business. When I was let go in 2017, I had to make a hard decision to not apply for anymore jobs and solely focus on my business. It was scary. It was different. No one in my family was an entrepreneur and I didn’t have the blueprint for success. At the time, I was offering so many services a la carte that a client could come to me to get a professional bio for $100 or a speaker one sheet for $375. But I soon learned that the best way to run a business is to package and leverage my expertise into packages to simplify service offerings and deliverables. I served many clients through my business, but my business wasn’t serving me. I started my business in 2010 solely editing manuscripts for self-published authors. Today, we’ve scaled to offer full publishing services, done-with-you book coaching services, as well as ghostwriting services. My business shifted when I hired a business coach to help me do the mindset work and money mindset work to break free from the mentality of trading dollars for time and/or hours worked.
Tenita, 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?
Transforming pain into purpose is a gift that authorpreneur, speaker and book coach, Tenita “Bestseller” Johnson gives to everyone she encounters. She is a warrior of words with a fierce passion for guiding authors to expand their brand by showing them how to earn multiple streams of income from just ONE book. As the author of 18 books, seven of which have been Amazon bestsellers, she is living proof that sharing your story leads to your destiny. Familiar with rising from numerous fires and coming out unscathed, Tenita has triumphed over suicidal thoughts, depression, low self-esteem, marital storms and blended family woes. She has also endured miscarriages and the still birth of twins the day after she married her husband. Each of these tragedies has added indelible layers to her resilience. With more than 25 years in journalism, writing and editing, she has a knack for creating narratives that are authentic and raw, yet endearingly relatable. She is a vessel with the ability to change lives and impact the world, thus she is a proud “book bully,” who relentlessly urges others to, “Write the book and get paid for the pain!”
When Tenita speaks, people listen with their ears as well as their hearts and souls because her transparency transcends pretense. She is a bold beacon of hope who inspires others to seek their highest peak. One of her proudest and defining moments was her appearance on Kirk Franklin’s Praise Sirius XM channel.
As the founder and CEO of So It Is Written Publishing, she has helped hundreds of authors birth their books in record time. The 12-year-old company excels as a one stop shop for the complete book process from conception to completion, not just editing. The editorial guru successfully helps people to pen books that will boost their brand, accelerate their paydays and bust open doors of endless opportunities. So It Is Written won The Sunrise Pinnacle Award for Diversity Company of the Year, in 2020, from the Rochester Regional Chamber of Commerce in Rochester, Michigan. For six years, Tenita hosted the Red Ink Conference in Atlanta, Detroit, Charlotte and Chicago. Over 600 attendees received invaluable information from industry leaders on how to write, edit, market and publish their next bestseller.
Beyond her books, her versatility shines in multiple areas, including her role as the executive producer of the hit stage play, When the Smoke Clears, which was based on her book, When the Smoke Clears: A Phoenix Rises. The play ran in 2017 and 2018 to sold-out audiences in downtown Detroit. She also served as the editorial director for Career Mastered Magazine and Hope for Women Magazine. Currently, she is the national president of The Aspiring Writers Association of America, a writers’ organization that works with writers worldwide to pen their next literary masterpiece.
Tenita’s passion for delivering bestselling books is matched only by her devotion to helping women and men heal from the drama, trauma and baggage of sexual abuse. Her 2021 anthology, HUSH: Breaking the Cycle of Silence Around Sexual Abuse, features eight women
who lost their innocence and identity to life-altering trauma. She is a huge advocate and mouthpiece for those who have been sexually abused as she empowers them to release their pain instead of suffering in silence.
Her future plans include the release of HUSH II, producing her short film What Happens in This House, and completing the script for her feature film When the Smoke Clears. As a catalyst for positive change, she is a woman who has learned to live an intentional life of purpose while unapologetically fulfilling her God-driven assignments.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I like to think my straight-talk, no-chaser presentation skills and conversations on social media draw people to me as a person, which in turn prompts them to support my business over others in my industry. As a bold, outspoken author and speaker, I talk about the subjects that many consider taboo (sexual abuse, molestation, addictions, suicidal thoughts, etc.). I post daily motivational posts on social media and empower others to live a life of purpose and fulfillment.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn the story I was told as a child: That money doesn’t grow on trees, and money is for needs, not wants. The truth of the matter is there is no lack of money in the earth. We simply need to learn how to generate wealth legally and consistently. I had to shift to the mindset that I am a problem solver in the earth and people pay me top dollar to solve their problem they’ve been trying to solve for 10+ years. I help people write books in 30-60 days; some people have written devotionals in 48 hours after attending my trainings. I simplify the process that many see as a maze of confusion.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.soitiswritten.net and www.TenitaJohnson.com
- Instagram: @TenitaBestseller
- Facebook: Tenita Bestseller Johnson
- Linkedin: Tenita Johnson
- Twitter: @TenitaJEditor
- Youtube: Tenita C Johnson
Image Credits
Photos by Tyrone Holmes