Welcome to the Business School for Writers podcast!
In this epic first episode, I (Lauren Marie Fleming) introduce myself, share a bit of my journey from law student to a successful writer, and walk you through WHY I started this podcast, and what you can expect from it.
If you’re wondering how the heck you can make a living as a writer and build a thriving career, you’ve come to the right place!
I want to know who you are and where you’ve been! Come hang out with me in the Writers Squad Facebook group and over on Instagram @laurenmariefleming. I can’t wait to chat with you there!
You can also stay tuned for new weekly episodes @businessschoolforwriters, and if you want to spread the love even further, consider subscribing, rating and reviewing!
Lauren Marie Fleming
Lauren Marie Fleming helps writers ditch the starving artist cliché and thrive.
A storyteller since birth, Lauren has written for prominent publications like VICE and the Huffington Post, and spoken at prestigious conferences and colleges including Yale and BlogHer.
For over two decades, Lauren has coached writers and other storytellers to make more money telling better stories, working with some of the world’s most distinguished speakers and authors, including Tony Robbins.
A graduate of both film school and law school, Lauren’s goal in life is to encourage entrepreneurs to be more creative and artists to think more like entrepreneurs.
Lauren is a nomad at heart, but currently lives in San Diego with her sister, one dog, two nieces, and countless books.
Transcript:
Welcome to Business School for Writers where we help storytellers like you ditch the starving artist cliché and thrive.
I’m your host Lauren Marie Fleming and I am obsessed with the power of stories. I’ve seen the way stories heal writers, readers, and whole communities.
But I’ve also seen the way we silence marginalized voices and discourage people from pursuing a career as a writer.
Which is why I’m here today, helping you to ditch the lies you’ve been told about whose story matters, and embrace the truth that the world needs your story now more than ever.
I am living proof that it is possible to build a thriving career as a writer, and I created Business School for Writers to show you exactly how you can write more, publish more, and make more money as a storyteller.
If you’re here, it’s because there’s a little voice inside of your head saying “hey, what’s up. How’s it going? Um, maybe you could like, be a writer or something? Yeah, that would be cool! What if you were a writer? Wouldn’t that be amazing? Would that make your heart happy and your soul soar? Being a writer would be pretty cool.”
But also maybe, there’s another voice in your head, put there by somebody else, saying “Psssh writer? That’s not a legit thing to be. How would you even make money? And who the heck would read what you wrote? Nah, it’s safer to keep these stories locked up, away from the trolls on the Internet. It’s much better for you to stay where you are. Keep playing it small. That’s the best way to go.”
If you’re like me, those two voices are constantly fighting each other in your head. Well, my goal with Business School for Writers is to put another voice in there, the voice of experience and expertise. My voice. My friend’s voices. The voices of writers who have made it and can show you how to make it as well.
We’ll be bringing in successful self-published authors, literary agents, authors who have gotten six-figure book deals, writers who have found a way to start a side hustle while working a day job, busy working moms who somehow found the time to finish a book.
Most importantly, we’re bringing you the stories of marginalized people who have been silenced for too long. We’re gathering together a community of writers dedicated to helping amplify each other’s voices and support each other on the road to success.
Now, you might be asking, who’s this Lauren gal and what the heck does she know about my life?
Chances are, I don’t know much about your life, but I do know what it’s like to struggle as a writer. To spend decades Googling and going to conferences and buying books, trying so hard to get published and make money as a writer.
I’ve gone through the traditional publishing process and been turned down for being too gay. I’ve been told I don’t have a big enough following online to justify taking a risk on my story. I’ve been asked to change a plot line so it was more “mainstream” aka didn’t include queers and people of color.
I know the reality of the publishing landscape is often a harsh one for minorities and marginalized voices.
And I know what it’s like to have a story inside of you dying to get out.
I also know a thing or two about business. I’ve got a film degree, and a law degree. Yes that’s right, I went to law school and then decided to become a writer.
After I graduated, I attended a wedding of a fellow law student. At that wedding, a judge’s wife – who was white, and old, and I assumed rich from the massive rings on her fingers – asked me what I’m doing with my law degree. I told her I’m a writer.
She proceeded to lecture me on how irresponsible it was for me to go into debt and not put my degree to use. She said I wasted a spot at my prestigious school that could have gone to someone who would have helped the community out by being a lawyer. She asked me, point blank, how I ever planned on paying my debt back to society.
This is just one of many examples I have in my life of people trying to invalidate my choice to have a career in the arts.
And while I’m not here to play the comparison game, I did point out to that woman that out of my table of recent law school grads, I was one of two people who had a job, and I was making as much, if not more, than most of those who’d found employment.
And, most importantly of all, I was happy. So friggin’ happy. I was following my passion, my heart, my soul. Every day I woke up excited to go to work, something none of my law school friends could say at that time.
Business School for Writers is here to help ditch this idea that writers have to be starving and tortured. I don’t want you putting your head in a gas oven or drinking yourself to death like the writers we all too often idolize.
I want to help you thrive. I want to help you write more, publish more, and make more money.
I want us to work together to abolish the idea that writing isn’t a valid profession.
I want little girls like me to be encouraged to follow their literary dreams and to know that they can make it in this world as a writer.
But, it’s not all easy. It takes a shift in mindset. You must go from thinking of your writing as this precious thing to protect, and understand that you’re basically an entrepreneur, creating a product to share with others.
That mindset, the skills it takes to create products and then get people to buy them, that’s what we’re going to teach you here at Business School for Writers.
Because your story matters and the world is waiting to read it.
I am waiting to read it.
So, welcome. Welcome to a place where you don’t have to pretend or silence yourself or play small. Welcome to a group of people, just like you, who believe in stories and want to help get more of them out into the world. Welcome to a writing revolution.
Welcome to Business School for Writers.
We’re glad you’re here.
