Being Curious

Marjorie Turner Hollman helps authors self-publish their books. She is also a disability advocate, sharing information about Easy Walks (not too many roots or rocks, relatively level with firm footing, and something of interest along the way) in open space. Link to get in touch.

LISTEN:

You’ve likely heard it before: Follow your passion. It’s often framed as, “Follow your passion and good things will follow,” with the not-too-subtle implication that your passion will result in prosperity. I have always felt skeptical about this, since I’ve witnessed many frustrated folks who “followed their passion” only to discover that what they loved offered no particular value to anyone else.

Nothing wrong with that. The tragedy is that while some have found financial success by following this path, others have experienced disillusionment, disappointment, and sometimes, overwhelming debt.

I came across a different perspective recently that made more sense to me. Rather than “following your passion,” Anne-Laure LeCunff, author of Tiny Experiments, writes about following your curiosity. She suggests that we pay attention to what we’re curious about, then see where it takes us.

Ever since I can remember, I have been the one who was always asking those pesky questions: Why this? Why that? How does it work? What’s inside there? What happens next?

This level of curiosity is not always welcome, but it’s pretty standard for young children. Asking “why?” is a great way to get adults’ attention, at least until they wear out and snap, “Because.” A wiser strategy might be to turn the question around. Rather than attempting to answer endless “whys,” it might work better to ask, “What do you think?”

My children, and other neighbors, young interrogators, often came to me with an idea or were brimming with their own thoughts. We often found we had a lot to discuss, especially about what that little one was thinking.

Crisis and curiosity

Long ago, in another lifetime,  I faced a true moment of crisis. My marriage was falling apart and I had no money, no job, and no car. Staying at a friend’s house to give me a place to breathe, I spotted a book on their bookshelf, Don Azlett’s You Too Can Start a Housecleaning Business. (I am unable to find this exact title in print, but he has written multiple books on the theme.)

I was skeptical, but curious. Skeptical because I had never figured out how to clean my own house, much less attend to someone else’s. Curious, since I had little to lose by checking it out.

Pulling the book off the shelf, I turned to the first page and began reading. What I found suddenly began to sound interesting, and I became more curious. Acting on my curiosity pointed me in the direction of founding my first business, and that enterprise helped support my children and me for seven years.

While running this business, I stumbled into another enterprise while following my curious nose.

It didn’t start out as a business. It was just a way to get involved with my daughter at her school. Previously I had visited my son’s classrooms and read stories to the children. Something different occurred when my daughter entered kindergarten.

A slip of the tongue launched me into a world that changed my life and continues to affect my work to this day.  Rather than promise to come read to the children, I offered to come tell them stories. How did that happen? A friend, also a professional storyteller, pointed me to some resources and I pulled together some songs and participatory stories.

After my first storytelling visit the teachers invited me to return the following month. Since I would be facing the same audience, (two classrooms combined, that is, 50+ wiggly 5-year-olds), I needed new material. So, again being curious, I looked around and found storytelling festivals nearby and attended one. With this one step I became immersed in a world had I never known existed.

Being open to new possibilities

Seven years after my divorce, a benign brain tumor and the ensuing surgery stole my mobility and stamina, but thankfully my mind (and curiosity) remained intact. As I found my way into a changed life, I learned that writing could be a creative outlet when so many other doors were tightly closed.

I began sending short emails to family and friends detailing my kids’ antics and other amusing anecdotes. I also began documenting the challenges of learning to live in my altered body with its constraints. This was in the early days of email, when each message received was an occasion to celebrate. My readers wanted to hear more, so I kept writing.

A conversation with our local newspaper editor gave me the opportunity to ask if she needed any writers to cover events in our community. (“Just curious,” you know…). She read some of the simple stories I’d written and agreed to have me cover an event. The partnership with this editor has lasted for nearly thirty years and is ongoing.

I learned along the way that writing is a skill, not a gift. Month after month my writing skills developed with practice. I was curious about how to make my writing better. My editor offered her support and feedback. (Good editors exist to help their writers look better, I heave learned.)

My hard-earned storytelling skills helped enrich my writing efforts as well as workshops I presented (and still offer). I became curious about how else I might find opportunities to write personal profiles, a niche I was becoming known for. Local publications expressed interest in my writing. Magazines for professional organizations needed content for their journals. Each opportunity began with my being curious. I would ask, “Would you like…” or, “Could I help…?” Often the answer was “yes!”

Much later than my initial bookshelf revelation, on another book shelf, I found at our local Public Library The Well-Fed Writer, by Peter Bowerman. He argues that writers who pursue copywriting work can make a decent living from their efforts. Maybe I could earn substantial money beyond what my freelance newspaper and journal pieces were paying. If one book could help me start a housecleaning business, perhaps another might help me figure out how to launch a copywriting business.

It’s true that I did not know how to clean my own house when I started that business, but I asked questions, failed spectacularly at times, and kept learning. To launch a copywriting business, I was ahead of the game, since I had become a confident writer.

In retrospect, I now know there are myriad branches of writing. I am good at some, but others are not a good fit. Starting (and failing at) a copywriting business was not the end of things for me. It got me to create a website. I chose a business name (my own name) that would stay with me, even if the business focus changed (which it did).

Throughout my quest to understand how best to use my writing skills, I stayed curious. Peter Bowerman pointed me to a free writing and marketing newsletter written by Ed Gandia. He offered a webinar of “out of the box writing careers.” Was I curious? Yes ma’am.

I cannot recall any of the other ideas from the webinar, but when I heard, “Jennifer Campbell says you can help families record and preserve their family stories and turn them into books,”   I knew this was my next step. Within the week I found a nearby professional conference, joined an international personal historians’ organization, and launched yet another new business.

Because of my years as a journalist, I was already a skilled interviewer. Transforming interviews into readable narrative came easily. Our professional listserv group offered great opportunities for me to ask questions and get replies from experienced (and generous) professionals from around the U.S., as well as Canada, England, and Australia.

Managing difficult clients was intimidating. Setting fair pricing rates took time to figure out. The formatting and uploading of a manuscript onto an online platform was unfamiliar. Self-publishing through Print on Demand (POD) online platforms was still in a developmental phase (and it still is!).

Then there was the marketing. Finding clients willing to pay for the vast amount of time required to complete these projects was challenging. Lots of folks were happy for me to take on their project for free. But for pay? Not so much.

I persevered, and along the way fell into self-publishing my own Easy Walks local trail guides. I discovered a need, was curious to find if there was a market for these very local books, and doors kept opening. Indeed there was (and still is) interest in these local publications. Through the years of self-publishing my own books, I acquired experience in the self-publishing world. I continued to create personal histories when I found paying clients.

Then something interesting happened. My sister told me of a woman who had written her autobiography. She realized it needed something, but wasn’t sure what. We met by Zoom and I offered to review her manuscript. She later became my first self-publishing support client.

What an enjoyable process it was to work with someone who wanted to write, but needed guidance to get her project finished. I wondered if this was something I could help other writers do. Without deliberately planning it, other writers found me and we created more self-published books together. The more I did, the more obvious it felt that this was good fit for my skills and my still-compromised energy level.

When I heard some other publishing professionals describe their work, I realized we both offered the same services, but they called themselves publishing professionals. Nothing on my website said anything about what I could do for writers. My focus had been on my own travel writing and Easy Walks self-published books. This was all good, but I really wanted to work with writers to help them get self-published.

Before I started yet another business, I spoke with the editors and book designers I had referred previous clients to. Would they be willing to be part of my business? Yes, was their answer. Would my husband agree to take on administrative tasks? Yup, he was onboard. Were my contractors willing to leave the contracting process and management of the projects to me? Indeed they were. I would continue providing manuscript reviews and developmental editing, and project management.

Taking the work seriously, I have incorporated as an LLC. We’ll check in next year to see if it’s worth continuing in this direction. I’ve learned that the answers I seek do not always reveal themselves right away. I am curious, for sure, but sometimes, I just have to wait, and discover the inevitable following questions yet to be asked. 

Marjorie