girls' weekend

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

There are two things I know about that question. One, I’m not the first person to ask it. Two, the answer. Today.

This is my first ever blog post.

KJ Lewis Books has a new look and I’m excited to share it with y’all.  There are so many things I have learned in my first year of being an author. The most important of them? Deciding what I want my brand to be. Your brand is who you are, what you want  What I want it to look like and how I want it to represent me.

To do that, I had to get over what I affectionately  frustratingly call… overthinking quicksand. Even now I’m wondering should I put… or just a,?  Anyone close to me will tell you that I give zero fucks if I look stupid trying something new. Life is short right? I want to be able to look back and say, “At least I tried.”

But this last year has been filled with firsts for me and I have found myself stuck in overthinking quicksand more times than I care to admit. I went from being a rapid fire decision maker (still am in all things outside of KJ Lewis books) to wondering if this font on a teaser is too thick. A teaser! Let me assure you, no book teaser has ever changed the world.

I might give zero fucks about looking stupid, but I found myself wanting my branding to represent me the best way possible and there are times it probably cost me more than it helped me.

Some things I’ve learned:

My knowledge of grammar is “atrocious”.  I put quotes because more than one person has made that observation. I’m sure there are no less than twenty grammatical errors in this post alone.

It’s okay to do something different than how it’s usually done, even if you are new at this. When I first started, everyone hated my teasers. Too simple. Not sexy enough. And even though I swayed a little, I stuck with my true aesthetic and stayed focus on the branding I wanted to represent.

I’ve learned patience. I’ve learned how hard this really is. I’ve learned to always respect those that have come before me and pay it back to those coming behind me.

So, I’m trying something new. I’m going to post and not worry about grammar, if it sounds silly, if anyone will find it interesting. Nope. I’m just going to do it.

time disclaimer: this post took one hour and thirty-seven minutes.

5 complete rewrites, multiple graphic versions before deciding on the final one, 11 minutes just on searching out quotes and one call to Kelly to ask her how to post again, after she’s shown me at least a dozen times. Like I said. I’m still learning