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Welcome to the Sustaining Creativity Podcast.
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I'm your host, Mari Reisberg.
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Over the past several years, I've combined my degrees in acting and somatic psychology to share my sustaining creativity techniques with performers.
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And now I've decided to share it with a bigger audience that includes you.
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I believe we are all creative, and this podcast is all about that.
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I'll be interviewing people from all backgrounds, ages, and creativity experiences to share just how creative we all are.
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Today I'll be chatting with Jessica Sorrino, author brand strategist.
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Please enjoy Jessica Sorentino.
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Welcome to the Sustaining Creativity Podcast.
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Today I'm chatting with Jessica Sorentino, author brand strategist.
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Welcome to the show.
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Hi, Mari.
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Thanks for having me.
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I'm excited to be here.
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I am thrilled that you are joining me today to chat about creativity.
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Before we get into all of that, why don't you take a couple of minutes and let our listeners know a little bit more about who you are and what it is you do?
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Absolutely.
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I'm so excited to be on this show because I think that creativity is like the bread and butter of everything that I've done in my entire life, like right now.
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So I live in Connecticut and I'm from New York, but I've, you know, lived in Boston.
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And when I was in Boston, I went to school for my master's in clinical psych and dance movement therapy.
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Uh so I do like use movement analysis in a way to work with my clients.
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So when I work with authors on their brand strategies, um, I take a little bit of an interesting approach.
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I take a more conversational and community-building approach versus a content output approach.
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Um, and this just comes from years of studying the way they hold themselves and the way that readers interact with books.
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And you know, I as as more and more internet features roll out, you could see the author's shoulder sort of like coming inward and all of those things I had studied in grad school, uh teaching me that they were just like uncomfortable and not going to have success because when you're when you're uncomfortable promoting yourself, it's very, very obvious.
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So um I learn the most through conversation and I find the most success through relationships.
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So that is the way that I try and help authors reach their readers.
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I love it.
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And I am so excited to meet a fellow dance movement therapist because I am a dance movement therapist.
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I am yes, it is amazing, and I love getting to there's only a few of us out there.
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I know, I know.
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It's getting there, the community is getting bigger, but it's so lovely to have those pieces in common.
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And and I love hearing how you're using that foundation in working, I mean, just working with people in general, but in this capacity of supporting authors promoting themselves.
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Like that's not something we talk about in grad school, but I love it.
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Oh my gosh, no, I felt a little bit like an outlier in grad school, to be honest, because I, you know, I'm sure we'll get into the way that a creative mind works, but I I feel like when you have a more creative mind, you can go in so many different directions.
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And I have been that person so many times throughout my career.
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I'm like, I wish I just wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer or something straightforward.
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This is so frustrating that I love so many different things.
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Um and I felt a little bit like an outlier in grad school because I I wanted to work, I was a dancer, obviously, is why I did dance movement therapy.
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But fortunately, I went to Leslie University and you were required to get a clinical psych degree in order to get your dance degree.
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Um, so I was able to apply a lot of what I learned from the psych, and I've referenced the psych part frequently in my bios throughout my career.
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But I've stayed away from the movement part because that part of my creativity hasn't necessarily been the focus of a conversation, but I thought this would be the perfect place to share it.
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Um, with the can the clinical psych component, I've always integrated can like consumer mindset, the behavior of collaboration, the behavior of the way a buyer and a seller work together, uh, to just have a a sort of a like a sort of a unique approach to connecting people over product.
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Absolutely.
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So someone who goes into dance or into psychology, I I guess in my mind, I don't necessarily think they're unless they have a background in marketing or which I do.
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Yes.
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I have my yeah.
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So I guess if we're going the education route, I got my bachelor's in communications and marketing.
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Um, yes, and a minor in dance.
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I sort of thought my career back then, yeah, uh, I thought my career would be working in, you know, the publishing magazine sort of world until I was ready to be an entrepreneur and own a dance studio.
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Um and I've always loved working with children with special needs, and that's I would volunteer with organizations that would read books to children in foster care for bedtime.
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Um so I thought that my second career would be owning a dance studio, and so I decided to get my master's in that.
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I didn't feel I needed to further my marketing career as far as education went.
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Yeah.
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Um, and plan one worked out very well.
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I got a job at Simon and Schuster right out of grad school.
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Wow.
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Um, moved back to New York and picked up publishing exactly as predicted.
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Um, but what we didn't predict was the internet and the way that the internet would influence how we moved forward.
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And I uh I loved it.
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I loved the creativity component of sharing snapshots of my day on Instagram.
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I loved being able to do creative writing.
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I was never really great at journalism because I write the way that I speak.
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Um, so it was very colorful.
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And uh having a lifestyle blog made that really fun, and it helped it helped me be able to open my eyes and take advantage of wherever I lived, whether it was Boston or New York, um, now Connecticut.
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But it was like the internet for me opened up another layer of creativity for connection.
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And I don't think I would have been able to say that at the time, but looking back, that's exactly what it was.
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And uh one thing led to another, and that became my entrepreneurial moment.
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So here we are.
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I love it.
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I love all of those pieces coming together and yeah, arriving in today's, you know, melting pot of what it is that you do.
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I love it it's so fantastic.
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Well, when you think of creativity, you've done so many creative pieces, and creativity seems like it just lives in you as in all the work you do.
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What does it mean to you to be creative?
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I think if I had to define creativity, it would be uh using your imagination to express yourself.
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Uh, and whether that is through tangible art or the way you pack a lunchbox or the way you decorate your home or the way you write a book, like the way that my clients do.
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I think creativity can show up in any form, um, depending on who you are as a person.
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Um and I think it's something that deserves to be protected, which is something that is I work very hard on with my clients, with you know, you have to have the space in your brain to write, you have to have the space in your brain to show up for yourself and for your work.
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Um, so I think there is a little bit of a tension there that with creativity must come a little bit of discipline.
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So yeah, I love I mean you're speaking to my soul when you're talking about protecting creativity and finding the the space to care for not only yourself, but whatever it is you're creating and those tenets of psychology that the presence of you know, we can get pulled into so many other things or different directions, and how do we keep coming back to what fuels you, what brings you joy, how do how to absolutely deepen that.
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Yeah, my favorite uh, I guess, creativity slash discipline based quote is that routines set you free.
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And it's something that I a lot of creative people, when I say that, they literally like shudder.
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Their their movement analysis just like completely repels me.
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Um because they're like, no, I I write when I have my inspiration, or I'll, you know, record this when I have my inspiration or whatever it may be.
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And I do respect that, but you allow your brain to have so much more space for those moments when the things that need to be taken care of are out of your mind.
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It's like the whole Steve Jobs where a black turtleneck concept of like, yes, don't waste your brain power making decisions that aren't going to like fuel your future.
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I love that reminder.
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It's so, so important.
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Well, you you mentioned the creative mind.
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I'm curious if you can, it sounds like you have some thoughts on that.
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I'm curious if you could take us through a little bit of where where that shows up for you and what what it means to work with a creative mind.
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I love working with creative people as one.
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Um, I think it's just really fun to see how different people's brains work.
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Um, I think that to me, a creative mind is filled with ideas and it could feel a little bit chaotic sometimes.
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It could feel a little exhausting.
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I feel it, I see it in my clients.
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We'll be searching for maybe the right words to put something to put your creativity or your concept into practice.
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I actually got an email earlier today from a client saying, like, I know what I'm supposed to be doing, but like, what's my thread?
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Like, what is the thing that ties it all together?
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And when you are very creative, or when you are putting something creative out in the world and it matters so much to you, there is a little bit of a vulnerability and a fear, as we all know.
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But on top of that, we want to make sure it matters to other people too.
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So that to me is where the brand component comes into play, where you know, you get to write your own narrative and you get to decide who you want to be in the public space.
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Like you don't have to be, I don't have to be the dance movement therapist.
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I can be the author brand strategist, but one does influence the other.
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Um, I've done a lot of different creativity-based things in my past.
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I've gone through an art phase, I've gone through a photography phase.
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Right now I'm in a needle pointing phase.
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Like you just you use your you you stay curious, you know, and you learn new skills throughout.
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But um I I think that it's really important to you get to like not all of those things make it into my narrative when I'm working with my authors or being interviewed on a podcast.
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Uh, it really is it's up to you to decide which pieces of your heart and your mind and your your art that you you want out there in the world.
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And the best way to do that, in my opinion, is by talking to the people who are going to receive it.
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So creativity breeds great conversations, and great conversations breed great creativity.
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So spending time and thinking of time in conversation as one of your most valuable things you can do with it is something that I really do advocate for creativity.
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Yeah, I love the that creativity breeds conversations, and conversation can breed great creativity.
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Yeah, I I I think that's partly why I have the podcast.
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I get to talk about creativity and then go be creative based on these conversations.
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And that is something that I truly find so rewarding.
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And it it also allows you to share different things with different people.
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Whereas we like maybe I would have just mentioned grad school in passing here, but since you relate to it, I can speak more freely about that because we now have a connection.
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So now people who may never have met me in other spaces will now meet me through that, and yeah, vice versa for other things as well.
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So I think it's it's just really important to remember that, especially with authors.
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I mean, books enter every space.
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I've got all my LaVan books, I've got all of these different like we studied through books, we didn't study through textbooks.
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Uh, so books enter everywhere.
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And as far as like the promotional side goes, because that's a lot of people will be like, I need to promote, I need to promote, blah, blah.
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Readers are not just bookstagrammers, book stackers, book talkers, like readers are real people and they show up everywhere.
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My local Starbucks even has like a take shelf for books, and there's no way to track who's promoting those books, you know?
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So just remembering that when you show up for yourself and you trust putting your art, whatever that form of it looks like for you, out into the world, there's going to be some sort of like reciprocal effect of it, like finding its right people.
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Yeah, that's that's I think sometimes the hardest thing that trust.
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Definitely.
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So, how do you work with authors who are maybe feeling less trusting or they don't trust themselves in the process, or what are some ways that you work, you choose to work with them?
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We do a lot of visualization exercises uh where we visualize the big activity we do, especially.
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Well, we always do it when we start together, but then we do it frequently when we are feeling stuck, um, is a visualization exercise of pretending you just got home from having coffee or lunch with your dream reader, and you recap what you've spoken about because uh oftentimes we get trapped in this I must promote myself mindset, where it's if you look up most authors' social media accounts, it's called action-based posts every single time where it's like pre-order now, join my tour, buy my book.
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And that's really unnatural.
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It's not the way people connect to people.
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Uh, in my mind, the way that I operate is that readers are the ones that sell books more than the publishers and more than the authors themselves.
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So, how do you connect with your readers in order to place your book in their hands and make you make them talk about your books?
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Um, so that's done through natural conversation.
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Like, you know, I love to tell them if you actually sat down at that coffee shop and then visualized it, did you say when you sat down, hey, buy my book?
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And the answer is always no.
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And I'm like, okay, so when somebody comes to your social media and the first thing they see is, hey, buy my book, do we see where there's a discrepancy here, you know?
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Um, so working on them through figuring out what those conversations would actually look like, like what are the things they have in common with their audience, and then that goes back to the whole conversation creates content, and then content will create more conversation uh sort of cycle.
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Yeah, I can as someone who's in that world myself appreciate all of these of treating people like people and not just definitely the like they're constantly being bombarded with buy this, you need this, get this, change this.
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It's so hard.
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Yeah, it is.
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And and I do try and give them, it's on my inquiry forum that says, you know, are you looking to build an online brand or an offline brand or both?
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Because there's a lot of people who don't want to be on the internet 24-7.
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And I'm grateful that the internet gave me the career path that it gave me and that we get to meet in, you know, internet formats.
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But I am extremely resistant to being online 24-7.
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So, you know, before this today, I walked down to my local library and I just, you know, looked up the events wall and then spoke to somebody and said, like, hi, I work with authors.
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I'd love to talk to you about a few events.
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And I do understand that being able to have a conversation with a stranger is a skill and it's not something that many people feel comfortable about or comfortable doing.
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But I do encourage my authors to do things like that as well.
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So I'll give them online act like tasks and offline tasks to do because at the end of the day, the internet came so fast.
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We don't know if it's going to be here forever.
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We really don't, we don't know.
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All we have is our relationships.
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So uh just you know, making sure that we do carve out time to nurture the people side of it again, whether that's online or offline to me, that doesn't matter.
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It's showing up for your people.
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Absolutely.
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And I to follow uh the neuroscience of an in-person versus an online experience and just what happens in our brain.
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I love that you support both and definitely that and really inquire what is your an author really looking for?
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Is it only an online or is it also an offline relationship and brand?
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Totally.
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And there are, you know, I mean, uh granted, I do have a lot of online options for people because that's just how you reach more people today.
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That's how it is.
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And online is fantastic for authors and artists because artists in general, because we often don't know what artists and authors look like.
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You know, we know what a movie star looks like, we know what an actor or an actress looks like.
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We don't really know what the writers that we read look like, but we know their names.
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So if we were to run into them on the street, unlike a movie star, we wouldn't know that we just walked past most of the time, we wouldn't know that we just walked past one of our favorite best-selling authors.
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Um, so that's where the internet I think really helps because it's name forward, you know, you get to like build that connection around your name, which is what people already are used to seeing and are already used to knowing and reading.
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They read your name online, they read your name on a book.
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They there is some sort of like synergy there.
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Um, but that, you know, you never know.
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I mean, it's some people just don't want to.
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And I work with some authors who are very, very niche where it's actually more productive to spend our time resourcing, uh researching universities that maybe they could be adjunct professors or guest speak.
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So it's it really does come down to at the end of the day, knowing who your readers are, knowing where they are, and knowing how you can best connect with them in creative ways.
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Right.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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And and it also sounds like knowing yourself as an author.
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Absolutely.
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Yes.
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Oh my gosh, that is actually the hardest part.
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Because you can say I'm this, that, and the other thing, but which is the piece that matters for this conversation?
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Right, exactly.
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And as a creative, you know, as you were saying, you there are so many different things that make up you as a person.
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And I understand that as well.
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It's like, okay, who am I talking to?
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Which hat do I have on, or what's the primary hat I'm wearing?
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It's kind of tiring.
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Yeah.
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And I will say, I've um I've experimented myself, and and this is something that I think is important for people to walk away with that you're allowed to change your mind.
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And that's something that I have, I'm also very type A, so I've like an interesting brain, I think.
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But yeah, it's something I have a hard time with is being able to walk away um or change.
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If I change something, I want to delete everything and start fresh.
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I'm like, don't look at that.
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That's not the best version.
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Like, now we're here.
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It's very difficult.
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I'm learning not to do that.
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But, you know, for example, you have two versions there where you can, you know, you allow yourself to experiment.
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That allows your creativity to flourish.
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But if you stick with something, if you really enjoy it and it's working for you and you stick with it, you get more advanced skills in that one capacity, right?
00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:33.279
Like you go deeper, you get to meet new people, maybe experiment some more, but then maybe you try something else and it doesn't work or you don't love it.
00:21:33.440 --> 00:21:37.519
Now you're just experimenting on the surface level, and that's just as important.
00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:41.680
You're learning what you don't like, you're learning what doesn't feel natural.
00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:48.079
Um, personally, I always wrote more editorial style, had a substock for it.
00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:55.200
I decided in the first half of this year that I was going to take a more teacher based approach.
00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:59.279
How to blank author's guide to this, author's guide to that.
00:21:59.519 --> 00:22:03.440
And Honestly, my engagement dropped significantly.
00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:06.079
My follower growth like became stagnant.
00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:08.079
And I don't care about getting new followers.
00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:09.200
I care about teaching.
00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:10.559
Yes, I want new followers.
00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:10.960
Who doesn't?
00:22:11.119 --> 00:22:12.240
It means you're growing.
00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:14.480
But I'm not chasing new followers.
00:22:14.559 --> 00:22:20.000
I'm, you know, more so trying to make sure that I'm building a community around what I'm building.
00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:27.440
Um, but everything sort of was stagnant, and it took me a good amount of time to realize.
00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:34.240
I always say give yourself three months, whether it's a passion, work, whatever, don't make any changes for three months.
00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:38.160
Like give yourself a little time to actually feel what you're feeling.
00:22:38.400 --> 00:22:40.160
Get through that discomfort.
00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:43.519
Um I went through two cycles of that.
00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:46.880
So, like after six months, I'm like, this still feels sticky.
00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:49.599
Like nothing is it was like we're not moving forward.
00:22:49.680 --> 00:22:52.799
And every single substack took me two weeks to write.
00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:57.839
They were difficult to churn out, they weren't really coming naturally to me.
00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:01.519
Um, and so we're back to a more conversational approach.
00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:07.119
And in those essays, my format, and anyone who's reading them can see them now.
00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:13.200
The format is I start with an anecdote of a genuine conversation I've had.
00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:22.400
And it doesn't matter if that person was an author or client, the shop girl at my local favorite home goods store.
00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:27.200
Uh, it was the Knicks when the Knicks were in the championship, something about the Knicks.
00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:34.319
It's something in real life that triggered my creativity to teach a lesson about branding.
00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:48.079
And it's so much more me, because that's even how I run my sessions with people, which is, you know, a lot more culture to conversation to content and just all of it coming together.
00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:54.240
Uh, because we are multifaceted and we are not, you know, blinders on doing the same thing all day, every day.
00:23:54.400 --> 00:24:05.200
So it's it's nice to just give yourself that permission to be the different versions of yourself while you're building one version of yourself, right?
00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:12.400
Um you don't have to just be that person and you're allowed to pick pieces up and put them down and play around with it.
00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:13.119
Yeah.
00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:20.400
So how do you in your experience navigate all of these pieces?
00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:25.279
The if something feels sticky, do you have the team of people you're talking to about that?
00:24:25.359 --> 00:24:32.720
Or is this you know who a coach or a mentor or someone that you're saying, God, it's just not quite working?
00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:39.200
How do and and then getting that feedback of, oh yeah, it's you're allowed to pivot, you're allowed to change.
00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:41.839
Who are those people you surround yourself with?
00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:46.559
I have a phone call with my best friend every single morning.
00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:50.000
Uh, we talk on the phone for about an hour every morning.
00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:50.880
It's not timed.
00:24:51.039 --> 00:25:02.640
We just after our workout, before we brush our teeth, we're on the phone for an hour and we're going through both of our stickies and our good stuff and friends, family, work doesn't matter.
00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:13.200
We just it's a wonderful, I recommend if you have the bandwidth for it, start your day like talking to someone you care about and or care to you know, brainstorm with.
00:25:13.359 --> 00:25:16.880
We've helped each other a lot uh doing that without trying to.
00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:36.079
Um, and then I do have a small team, it's me and two other women, and it's really funny while I was prepping for this podcast, I was thinking about it, and all three of us have uh some sort of like calming background where I have my dance therapy in my rear view.
00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:44.079
Tamara, who's my business manager who I meet with every single week, she is the one who's responsible for keeping me aligned to my big picture.
00:25:44.160 --> 00:26:01.200
So she is the one that will most likely, like you said, we'll talk about um, we'll talk about everything about how it's going between individual clients and also with goals and if I'm chasing a shiny object or whether I'm staying on track or if I'm just getting frustrated, whatever it may be.
00:26:01.519 --> 00:26:06.400
Um, and she's actually also uh has her hypnosis license.
00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:15.599
So sometimes if it's something I'm really having a hard time unpacking or figuring out what's going on, we'll do a mini little hypnosis session, which is helpful.
00:26:15.759 --> 00:26:22.319
And then Natalie is my project manager and she runs my community membership, which I'm sure we'll talk about in a minute.
00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:26.240
Um, and she actually has her somatic healing license.
00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:50.559
So all three of us come with a little bit of a there, like, you know, we are pushing creativity forward, we are pushing chaos backwards, we are making intentional decisions, we're okay with a little bit of a risk while we figure it out when there's something that, you know, maybe an obstacle we weren't expecting, or you know, keeping me keeping me feeling confident in what we're building.
00:26:50.640 --> 00:26:54.079
Because at the end of the day, it's my name and it's my thought process.
00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:58.960
And as long as my brain doesn't burn out, the business will be okay.
00:26:59.279 --> 00:27:00.960
I love that's a good reminder.
00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:09.119
Yeah, but to surround yourself with people who, you know, really get it and get yes, the they're amazing.
00:27:09.200 --> 00:27:10.160
Yes, yeah.
00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:10.880
That's amazing.
00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:16.400
Yeah, and they'll push back on me, and that's just as important because I'll I'll dream big in weird directions sometimes.
00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:19.599
I'm like, guys, I have an idea for a supplement brand or something.
00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:21.039
And they're like, um, what?
00:27:22.880 --> 00:27:24.480
They're like, not today, we're busy.
00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:25.759
I'm like, you're right, we are busy.
00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:30.160
I love the creativity, but maybe we'll put that over over to the left.
00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:30.799
Totally.
00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:33.920
And sometimes you just have to say it out loud and you know, let it go.
00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:38.880
But absolutely, but yeah, so it's it's fun, it's it's great.
00:27:39.039 --> 00:27:53.680
And I do have visions of next phases and everything else, and I'm learning as my team grows and as they I get more comfortable trusting them to bring my vision and my creativity to life.
00:27:53.839 --> 00:28:01.359
Uh, they're giving me more time in play, which is great for creativity and for my like strategies that I build with my clients.
00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:12.640
Um, and you know, it's allowing me to do more of intentional forward steps versus acting on impulse, which is amazing.
00:28:12.799 --> 00:28:19.680
So yeah, that sounds like a beautiful team and very supportive in all the right places.
00:28:19.759 --> 00:28:20.400
So yeah.
00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:24.160
Well, Jessica, this has been such a treat chatting with you.
00:28:24.240 --> 00:28:25.039
I have one last question.
00:28:25.440 --> 00:28:25.920
It has.
00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:26.640
Yes.
00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:29.920
What does it feel like in your body to be creative?
00:28:31.200 --> 00:28:33.359
Ooh, it feels like bubbling energy.
00:28:33.599 --> 00:28:44.240
Um, I feel like when I have an idea or something, I just it's it's almost like being energetically charged, but not not in like a chaotic way.
00:28:44.400 --> 00:28:47.440
Um, I'm watching Ted Lasso right now and he's a little bit much.
00:28:47.519 --> 00:28:48.880
Uh not not like that.
00:28:49.119 --> 00:28:49.359
Yeah.
00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:57.599
Um, but creativity for me often leads to movement, which is probably no surprise at this point in our conversation.
00:28:57.920 --> 00:28:58.160
Sure.
00:28:58.400 --> 00:29:13.279
Um, so if I'm feeling stuck or if I'm feeling like something just is like coming out a little slower than I need it to, I'll go for a run, or even just, you know, if I'm in, you know, I'll put music on in the kitchen and just like let it flow with the day.
00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:19.119
Um I've started, I started needle pointing when I needed something to do with my hands.
00:29:19.200 --> 00:29:19.839
Um, honestly.
00:29:19.920 --> 00:29:26.000
I just needed like my hands had the energy that need something needed to be genuinely created and I didn't know what to do with it.
00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:30.720
So um I think it just feels like there's something in my body that needs to move.
00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:36.640
I love it and can relate crocheting projects that I do whatever.
00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:37.200
Very good.
00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:38.960
Move my hands as well.
00:29:39.119 --> 00:29:40.000
So, yes.
00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:42.880
Well, definitely so much for joining me.
00:29:43.039 --> 00:29:51.119
If people want to learn more about the work you have out in the world, finding you, getting in touch with you, joining your community, how could they go about doing that?
00:29:51.519 --> 00:29:57.039
So, my website is my name jessicasorentino.com, and everything I do lives on there.
00:29:57.279 --> 00:30:02.480
We are primarily on Substack as a business, which is the open book Substack.
00:30:02.640 --> 00:30:14.319
And through there, I do an author interview series where we talk about how having a platform and a connection to your readers uh has changed your career and your creative life, essentially.
00:30:14.480 --> 00:30:20.880
It's to it's conversations to show that you can be a creative and make a living off of it, essentially.
00:30:21.119 --> 00:30:22.960
And it's a lot of fun.
00:30:23.119 --> 00:30:35.519
We've got um an expert interview series where they're non-author-based interviews, and we get to draw the line for how authors can learn outside of the industry.
00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:57.279
Again, just getting a little creative with how we teach, and a membership, which is a smaller community for the authors who want not necessarily one-on-one support, but a group support session where we meet weekly, we'll do coworking sessions, we'll do workshops, we'll do a bunch of different things in order to help everybody's visions come to life altogether.
00:30:57.440 --> 00:30:59.119
And all of that is through Substack.
00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:00.000
So perfect.
00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:03.039
Well, I will put links in show notes so people have easy access.
00:31:03.119 --> 00:31:05.920
And thank you so much for joining me.
00:31:06.240 --> 00:31:08.480
This has been such a fantastic conversation.
00:31:08.720 --> 00:31:09.839
It has been so much fun.
00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:11.680
Thank you so much for having me.
00:31:20.160 --> 00:31:23.200
Thanks for listening to the Sustaining Creativity Podcast.
00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:27.039
We'd love to keep in touch, so follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
00:31:27.200 --> 00:31:29.599
We are at Sustaining Creativity.
00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:33.279
Make sure to subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.
00:31:33.680 --> 00:31:36.400
Tag your friends and family so they can listen too.
00:31:36.559 --> 00:31:40.160
We'd love to hear from you, so leave your reviews, comments, and questions.
00:31:40.400 --> 00:31:47.039
Check out our website, sustainingcreativity.com, for upcoming offerings and creativity coaching.
00:31:47.279 --> 00:31:49.680
Tune in Tuesdays for our next episode.
00:31:49.839 --> 00:31:53.759
And remember, with creativity, anything's possible.
00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:22.239
Welcome to the Sustaining Creativity Podcast.
00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:24.079
I'm your host, Mari Reisberg.
00:00:24.239 --> 00:00:30.800
Over the past several years, I've combined my degrees in acting and somatic psychology to share my sustaining creativity techniques with performers.
00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:34.399
And now I've decided to share it with a bigger audience that includes you.
00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:38.880
I believe we are all creative, and this podcast is all about that.
00:00:39.039 --> 00:00:45.119
I'll be interviewing people from all backgrounds, ages, and creativity experiences to share just how creative we all are.
00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:49.439
Today I'll be chatting with Jessica Sorrino, author brand strategist.
00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:52.079
Please enjoy Jessica Sorentino.
00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:11.599
Welcome to the Sustaining Creativity Podcast.
00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:15.599
Today I'm chatting with Jessica Sorentino, author brand strategist.
00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:16.959
Welcome to the show.
00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:17.920
Hi, Mari.
00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:18.719
Thanks for having me.
00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:19.840
I'm excited to be here.
00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:24.400
I am thrilled that you are joining me today to chat about creativity.
00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:34.239
Before we get into all of that, why don't you take a couple of minutes and let our listeners know a little bit more about who you are and what it is you do?
00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:35.519
Absolutely.
00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:46.640
I'm so excited to be on this show because I think that creativity is like the bread and butter of everything that I've done in my entire life, like right now.
00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:53.680
So I live in Connecticut and I'm from New York, but I've, you know, lived in Boston.
00:01:53.760 --> 00:02:00.560
And when I was in Boston, I went to school for my master's in clinical psych and dance movement therapy.
00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:07.599
Uh so I do like use movement analysis in a way to work with my clients.
00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:13.120
So when I work with authors on their brand strategies, um, I take a little bit of an interesting approach.
00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:19.199
I take a more conversational and community-building approach versus a content output approach.
00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:25.439
Um, and this just comes from years of studying the way they hold themselves and the way that readers interact with books.
00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:45.120
And you know, I as as more and more internet features roll out, you could see the author's shoulder sort of like coming inward and all of those things I had studied in grad school, uh teaching me that they were just like uncomfortable and not going to have success because when you're when you're uncomfortable promoting yourself, it's very, very obvious.
00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:52.240
So um I learn the most through conversation and I find the most success through relationships.
00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:57.199
So that is the way that I try and help authors reach their readers.
00:02:57.520 --> 00:02:58.400
I love it.
00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:05.120
And I am so excited to meet a fellow dance movement therapist because I am a dance movement therapist.
00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:11.599
I am yes, it is amazing, and I love getting to there's only a few of us out there.
00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:12.719
I know, I know.
00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:20.400
It's getting there, the community is getting bigger, but it's so lovely to have those pieces in common.
00:03:20.560 --> 00:03:34.240
And and I love hearing how you're using that foundation in working, I mean, just working with people in general, but in this capacity of supporting authors promoting themselves.
00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:37.919
Like that's not something we talk about in grad school, but I love it.
00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:53.199
Oh my gosh, no, I felt a little bit like an outlier in grad school, to be honest, because I, you know, I'm sure we'll get into the way that a creative mind works, but I I feel like when you have a more creative mind, you can go in so many different directions.
00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:56.479
And I have been that person so many times throughout my career.
00:03:56.560 --> 00:04:00.560
I'm like, I wish I just wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer or something straightforward.
00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:03.759
This is so frustrating that I love so many different things.
00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:13.039
Um and I felt a little bit like an outlier in grad school because I I wanted to work, I was a dancer, obviously, is why I did dance movement therapy.
00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:21.199
But fortunately, I went to Leslie University and you were required to get a clinical psych degree in order to get your dance degree.
00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:30.240
Um, so I was able to apply a lot of what I learned from the psych, and I've referenced the psych part frequently in my bios throughout my career.
00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:39.199
But I've stayed away from the movement part because that part of my creativity hasn't necessarily been the focus of a conversation, but I thought this would be the perfect place to share it.
00:04:39.279 --> 00:05:02.720
Um, with the can the clinical psych component, I've always integrated can like consumer mindset, the behavior of collaboration, the behavior of the way a buyer and a seller work together, uh, to just have a a sort of a like a sort of a unique approach to connecting people over product.
00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:03.680
Absolutely.
00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:18.000
So someone who goes into dance or into psychology, I I guess in my mind, I don't necessarily think they're unless they have a background in marketing or which I do.
00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:18.399
Yes.
00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:19.920
I have my yeah.
00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:26.879
So I guess if we're going the education route, I got my bachelor's in communications and marketing.
00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:29.680
Um, yes, and a minor in dance.
00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:43.839
I sort of thought my career back then, yeah, uh, I thought my career would be working in, you know, the publishing magazine sort of world until I was ready to be an entrepreneur and own a dance studio.
00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:54.720
Um and I've always loved working with children with special needs, and that's I would volunteer with organizations that would read books to children in foster care for bedtime.
00:05:54.959 --> 00:06:02.959
Um so I thought that my second career would be owning a dance studio, and so I decided to get my master's in that.
00:06:03.040 --> 00:06:08.879
I didn't feel I needed to further my marketing career as far as education went.
00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:09.360
Yeah.
00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:12.319
Um, and plan one worked out very well.
00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:15.519
I got a job at Simon and Schuster right out of grad school.
00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:15.759
Wow.
00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:21.199
Um, moved back to New York and picked up publishing exactly as predicted.
00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:28.079
Um, but what we didn't predict was the internet and the way that the internet would influence how we moved forward.
00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:30.240
And I uh I loved it.
00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:36.079
I loved the creativity component of sharing snapshots of my day on Instagram.
00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:38.560
I loved being able to do creative writing.
00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:43.439
I was never really great at journalism because I write the way that I speak.
00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:46.000
Um, so it was very colorful.
00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:58.160
And uh having a lifestyle blog made that really fun, and it helped it helped me be able to open my eyes and take advantage of wherever I lived, whether it was Boston or New York, um, now Connecticut.
00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:05.439
But it was like the internet for me opened up another layer of creativity for connection.
00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:11.279
And I don't think I would have been able to say that at the time, but looking back, that's exactly what it was.
00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:17.360
And uh one thing led to another, and that became my entrepreneurial moment.
00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:19.120
So here we are.
00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:19.839
I love it.
00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:30.160
I love all of those pieces coming together and yeah, arriving in today's, you know, melting pot of what it is that you do.
00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:32.480
I love it it's so fantastic.
00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:41.759
Well, when you think of creativity, you've done so many creative pieces, and creativity seems like it just lives in you as in all the work you do.
00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:44.480
What does it mean to you to be creative?
00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:53.759
I think if I had to define creativity, it would be uh using your imagination to express yourself.
00:07:53.920 --> 00:08:05.920
Uh, and whether that is through tangible art or the way you pack a lunchbox or the way you decorate your home or the way you write a book, like the way that my clients do.
00:08:06.079 --> 00:08:11.199
I think creativity can show up in any form, um, depending on who you are as a person.
00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:27.600
Um and I think it's something that deserves to be protected, which is something that is I work very hard on with my clients, with you know, you have to have the space in your brain to write, you have to have the space in your brain to show up for yourself and for your work.
00:08:27.839 --> 00:08:34.720
Um, so I think there is a little bit of a tension there that with creativity must come a little bit of discipline.
00:08:34.879 --> 00:09:11.279
So yeah, I love I mean you're speaking to my soul when you're talking about protecting creativity and finding the the space to care for not only yourself, but whatever it is you're creating and those tenets of psychology that the presence of you know, we can get pulled into so many other things or different directions, and how do we keep coming back to what fuels you, what brings you joy, how do how to absolutely deepen that.
00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:19.120
Yeah, my favorite uh, I guess, creativity slash discipline based quote is that routines set you free.
00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:24.480
And it's something that I a lot of creative people, when I say that, they literally like shudder.
00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:28.639
Their their movement analysis just like completely repels me.
00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:36.559
Um because they're like, no, I I write when I have my inspiration, or I'll, you know, record this when I have my inspiration or whatever it may be.
00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:48.960
And I do respect that, but you allow your brain to have so much more space for those moments when the things that need to be taken care of are out of your mind.
00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:57.679
It's like the whole Steve Jobs where a black turtleneck concept of like, yes, don't waste your brain power making decisions that aren't going to like fuel your future.
00:09:58.559 --> 00:09:59.679
I love that reminder.
00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:01.679
It's so, so important.
00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:06.240
Well, you you mentioned the creative mind.
00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:10.559
I'm curious if you can, it sounds like you have some thoughts on that.
00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:19.919
I'm curious if you could take us through a little bit of where where that shows up for you and what what it means to work with a creative mind.
00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:24.720
I love working with creative people as one.
00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:29.039
Um, I think it's just really fun to see how different people's brains work.
00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:39.679
Um, I think that to me, a creative mind is filled with ideas and it could feel a little bit chaotic sometimes.
00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:41.120
It could feel a little exhausting.
00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:43.200
I feel it, I see it in my clients.
00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:52.000
We'll be searching for maybe the right words to put something to put your creativity or your concept into practice.
00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:59.679
I actually got an email earlier today from a client saying, like, I know what I'm supposed to be doing, but like, what's my thread?
00:10:59.840 --> 00:11:01.919
Like, what is the thing that ties it all together?
00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:13.200
And when you are very creative, or when you are putting something creative out in the world and it matters so much to you, there is a little bit of a vulnerability and a fear, as we all know.
00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:18.639
But on top of that, we want to make sure it matters to other people too.
00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:32.960
So that to me is where the brand component comes into play, where you know, you get to write your own narrative and you get to decide who you want to be in the public space.
00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:37.600
Like you don't have to be, I don't have to be the dance movement therapist.
00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:42.799
I can be the author brand strategist, but one does influence the other.
00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:46.720
Um, I've done a lot of different creativity-based things in my past.
00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:49.519
I've gone through an art phase, I've gone through a photography phase.
00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:51.360
Right now I'm in a needle pointing phase.
00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:56.799
Like you just you use your you you stay curious, you know, and you learn new skills throughout.
00:11:57.039 --> 00:12:10.399
But um I I think that it's really important to you get to like not all of those things make it into my narrative when I'm working with my authors or being interviewed on a podcast.
00:12:10.639 --> 00:12:20.399
Uh, it really is it's up to you to decide which pieces of your heart and your mind and your your art that you you want out there in the world.
00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:26.639
And the best way to do that, in my opinion, is by talking to the people who are going to receive it.
00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:33.519
So creativity breeds great conversations, and great conversations breed great creativity.
00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:46.559
So spending time and thinking of time in conversation as one of your most valuable things you can do with it is something that I really do advocate for creativity.
00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:53.840
Yeah, I love the that creativity breeds conversations, and conversation can breed great creativity.
00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:58.240
Yeah, I I I think that's partly why I have the podcast.
00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:05.519
I get to talk about creativity and then go be creative based on these conversations.
00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:09.279
And that is something that I truly find so rewarding.
00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:12.639
And it it also allows you to share different things with different people.
00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:22.000
Whereas we like maybe I would have just mentioned grad school in passing here, but since you relate to it, I can speak more freely about that because we now have a connection.
00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:31.120
So now people who may never have met me in other spaces will now meet me through that, and yeah, vice versa for other things as well.
00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:36.240
So I think it's it's just really important to remember that, especially with authors.
00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:38.399
I mean, books enter every space.
00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:45.919
I've got all my LaVan books, I've got all of these different like we studied through books, we didn't study through textbooks.
00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:48.159
Uh, so books enter everywhere.
00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:54.879
And as far as like the promotional side goes, because that's a lot of people will be like, I need to promote, I need to promote, blah, blah.
00:13:56.240 --> 00:14:04.799
Readers are not just bookstagrammers, book stackers, book talkers, like readers are real people and they show up everywhere.
00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:12.799
My local Starbucks even has like a take shelf for books, and there's no way to track who's promoting those books, you know?
00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:26.240
So just remembering that when you show up for yourself and you trust putting your art, whatever that form of it looks like for you, out into the world, there's going to be some sort of like reciprocal effect of it, like finding its right people.
00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:31.279
Yeah, that's that's I think sometimes the hardest thing that trust.
00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:32.559
Definitely.
00:14:32.879 --> 00:14:46.879
So, how do you work with authors who are maybe feeling less trusting or they don't trust themselves in the process, or what are some ways that you work, you choose to work with them?
00:14:47.919 --> 00:14:55.840
We do a lot of visualization exercises uh where we visualize the big activity we do, especially.
00:14:56.000 --> 00:15:30.480
Well, we always do it when we start together, but then we do it frequently when we are feeling stuck, um, is a visualization exercise of pretending you just got home from having coffee or lunch with your dream reader, and you recap what you've spoken about because uh oftentimes we get trapped in this I must promote myself mindset, where it's if you look up most authors' social media accounts, it's called action-based posts every single time where it's like pre-order now, join my tour, buy my book.
00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:32.240
And that's really unnatural.
00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:34.480
It's not the way people connect to people.
00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:42.399
Uh, in my mind, the way that I operate is that readers are the ones that sell books more than the publishers and more than the authors themselves.
00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:49.919
So, how do you connect with your readers in order to place your book in their hands and make you make them talk about your books?
00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:54.000
Um, so that's done through natural conversation.
00:15:54.159 --> 00:16:02.879
Like, you know, I love to tell them if you actually sat down at that coffee shop and then visualized it, did you say when you sat down, hey, buy my book?
00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:05.039
And the answer is always no.
00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:13.600
And I'm like, okay, so when somebody comes to your social media and the first thing they see is, hey, buy my book, do we see where there's a discrepancy here, you know?
00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:31.440
Um, so working on them through figuring out what those conversations would actually look like, like what are the things they have in common with their audience, and then that goes back to the whole conversation creates content, and then content will create more conversation uh sort of cycle.
00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:52.960
Yeah, I can as someone who's in that world myself appreciate all of these of treating people like people and not just definitely the like they're constantly being bombarded with buy this, you need this, get this, change this.
00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:53.840
It's so hard.
00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:54.559
Yeah, it is.
00:16:54.720 --> 00:17:02.240
And and I do try and give them, it's on my inquiry forum that says, you know, are you looking to build an online brand or an offline brand or both?
00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:05.920
Because there's a lot of people who don't want to be on the internet 24-7.
00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:13.279
And I'm grateful that the internet gave me the career path that it gave me and that we get to meet in, you know, internet formats.
00:17:13.599 --> 00:17:17.119
But I am extremely resistant to being online 24-7.
00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:26.799
So, you know, before this today, I walked down to my local library and I just, you know, looked up the events wall and then spoke to somebody and said, like, hi, I work with authors.
00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:28.480
I'd love to talk to you about a few events.
00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:38.400
And I do understand that being able to have a conversation with a stranger is a skill and it's not something that many people feel comfortable about or comfortable doing.
00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:41.920
But I do encourage my authors to do things like that as well.
00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:49.359
So I'll give them online act like tasks and offline tasks to do because at the end of the day, the internet came so fast.
00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:50.960
We don't know if it's going to be here forever.
00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:52.480
We really don't, we don't know.
00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:54.160
All we have is our relationships.
00:17:54.400 --> 00:18:03.200
So uh just you know, making sure that we do carve out time to nurture the people side of it again, whether that's online or offline to me, that doesn't matter.
00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:05.519
It's showing up for your people.
00:18:05.759 --> 00:18:06.319
Absolutely.
00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:15.839
And I to follow uh the neuroscience of an in-person versus an online experience and just what happens in our brain.
00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:23.599
I love that you support both and definitely that and really inquire what is your an author really looking for?
00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:28.000
Is it only an online or is it also an offline relationship and brand?
00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:28.720
Totally.
00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:35.920
And there are, you know, I mean, uh granted, I do have a lot of online options for people because that's just how you reach more people today.
00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:37.200
That's how it is.
00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:46.960
And online is fantastic for authors and artists because artists in general, because we often don't know what artists and authors look like.
00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:51.200
You know, we know what a movie star looks like, we know what an actor or an actress looks like.
00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:55.759
We don't really know what the writers that we read look like, but we know their names.
00:18:56.000 --> 00:19:08.640
So if we were to run into them on the street, unlike a movie star, we wouldn't know that we just walked past most of the time, we wouldn't know that we just walked past one of our favorite best-selling authors.
00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:22.319
Um, so that's where the internet I think really helps because it's name forward, you know, you get to like build that connection around your name, which is what people already are used to seeing and are already used to knowing and reading.
00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:25.359
They read your name online, they read your name on a book.
00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:28.559
They there is some sort of like synergy there.
00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:32.559
Um, but that, you know, you never know.
00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:34.400
I mean, it's some people just don't want to.
00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:47.119
And I work with some authors who are very, very niche where it's actually more productive to spend our time resourcing, uh researching universities that maybe they could be adjunct professors or guest speak.
00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:58.079
So it's it really does come down to at the end of the day, knowing who your readers are, knowing where they are, and knowing how you can best connect with them in creative ways.
00:19:58.319 --> 00:19:58.720
Right.
00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:00.000
Yeah, absolutely.
00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:04.319
And and it also sounds like knowing yourself as an author.
00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:05.200
Absolutely.
00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:05.680
Yes.
00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:08.480
Oh my gosh, that is actually the hardest part.
00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:14.720
Because you can say I'm this, that, and the other thing, but which is the piece that matters for this conversation?
00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:15.920
Right, exactly.
00:20:16.079 --> 00:20:23.920
And as a creative, you know, as you were saying, you there are so many different things that make up you as a person.
00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:27.200
And I understand that as well.
00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:29.759
It's like, okay, who am I talking to?
00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:32.880
Which hat do I have on, or what's the primary hat I'm wearing?
00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:34.000
It's kind of tiring.
00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:34.640
Yeah.
00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:45.599
And I will say, I've um I've experimented myself, and and this is something that I think is important for people to walk away with that you're allowed to change your mind.
00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:51.200
And that's something that I have, I'm also very type A, so I've like an interesting brain, I think.
00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:57.039
But yeah, it's something I have a hard time with is being able to walk away um or change.
00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:00.240
If I change something, I want to delete everything and start fresh.
00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:01.440
I'm like, don't look at that.
00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:02.799
That's not the best version.
00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:03.759
Like, now we're here.
00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:04.880
It's very difficult.
00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:06.640
I'm learning not to do that.
00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:13.599
But, you know, for example, you have two versions there where you can, you know, you allow yourself to experiment.
00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:15.759
That allows your creativity to flourish.
00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:24.240
But if you stick with something, if you really enjoy it and it's working for you and you stick with it, you get more advanced skills in that one capacity, right?
00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:33.279
Like you go deeper, you get to meet new people, maybe experiment some more, but then maybe you try something else and it doesn't work or you don't love it.
00:21:33.440 --> 00:21:37.519
Now you're just experimenting on the surface level, and that's just as important.
00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:41.680
You're learning what you don't like, you're learning what doesn't feel natural.
00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:48.079
Um, personally, I always wrote more editorial style, had a substock for it.
00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:55.200
I decided in the first half of this year that I was going to take a more teacher based approach.
00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:59.279
How to blank author's guide to this, author's guide to that.
00:21:59.519 --> 00:22:03.440
And Honestly, my engagement dropped significantly.
00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:06.079
My follower growth like became stagnant.
00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:08.079
And I don't care about getting new followers.
00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:09.200
I care about teaching.
00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:10.559
Yes, I want new followers.
00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:10.960
Who doesn't?
00:22:11.119 --> 00:22:12.240
It means you're growing.
00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:14.480
But I'm not chasing new followers.
00:22:14.559 --> 00:22:20.000
I'm, you know, more so trying to make sure that I'm building a community around what I'm building.
00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:27.440
Um, but everything sort of was stagnant, and it took me a good amount of time to realize.
00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:34.240
I always say give yourself three months, whether it's a passion, work, whatever, don't make any changes for three months.
00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:38.160
Like give yourself a little time to actually feel what you're feeling.
00:22:38.400 --> 00:22:40.160
Get through that discomfort.
00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:43.519
Um I went through two cycles of that.
00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:46.880
So, like after six months, I'm like, this still feels sticky.
00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:49.599
Like nothing is it was like we're not moving forward.
00:22:49.680 --> 00:22:52.799
And every single substack took me two weeks to write.
00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:57.839
They were difficult to churn out, they weren't really coming naturally to me.
00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:01.519
Um, and so we're back to a more conversational approach.
00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:07.119
And in those essays, my format, and anyone who's reading them can see them now.
00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:13.200
The format is I start with an anecdote of a genuine conversation I've had.
00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:22.400
And it doesn't matter if that person was an author or client, the shop girl at my local favorite home goods store.
00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:27.200
Uh, it was the Knicks when the Knicks were in the championship, something about the Knicks.
00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:34.319
It's something in real life that triggered my creativity to teach a lesson about branding.
00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:48.079
And it's so much more me, because that's even how I run my sessions with people, which is, you know, a lot more culture to conversation to content and just all of it coming together.
00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:54.240
Uh, because we are multifaceted and we are not, you know, blinders on doing the same thing all day, every day.
00:23:54.400 --> 00:24:05.200
So it's it's nice to just give yourself that permission to be the different versions of yourself while you're building one version of yourself, right?
00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:12.400
Um you don't have to just be that person and you're allowed to pick pieces up and put them down and play around with it.
00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:13.119
Yeah.
00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:20.400
So how do you in your experience navigate all of these pieces?
00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:25.279
The if something feels sticky, do you have the team of people you're talking to about that?
00:24:25.359 --> 00:24:32.720
Or is this you know who a coach or a mentor or someone that you're saying, God, it's just not quite working?
00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:39.200
How do and and then getting that feedback of, oh yeah, it's you're allowed to pivot, you're allowed to change.
00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:41.839
Who are those people you surround yourself with?
00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:46.559
I have a phone call with my best friend every single morning.
00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:50.000
Uh, we talk on the phone for about an hour every morning.
00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:50.880
It's not timed.
00:24:51.039 --> 00:25:02.640
We just after our workout, before we brush our teeth, we're on the phone for an hour and we're going through both of our stickies and our good stuff and friends, family, work doesn't matter.
00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:13.200
We just it's a wonderful, I recommend if you have the bandwidth for it, start your day like talking to someone you care about and or care to you know, brainstorm with.
00:25:13.359 --> 00:25:16.880
We've helped each other a lot uh doing that without trying to.
00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:36.079
Um, and then I do have a small team, it's me and two other women, and it's really funny while I was prepping for this podcast, I was thinking about it, and all three of us have uh some sort of like calming background where I have my dance therapy in my rear view.
00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:44.079
Tamara, who's my business manager who I meet with every single week, she is the one who's responsible for keeping me aligned to my big picture.
00:25:44.160 --> 00:26:01.200
So she is the one that will most likely, like you said, we'll talk about um, we'll talk about everything about how it's going between individual clients and also with goals and if I'm chasing a shiny object or whether I'm staying on track or if I'm just getting frustrated, whatever it may be.
00:26:01.519 --> 00:26:06.400
Um, and she's actually also uh has her hypnosis license.
00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:15.599
So sometimes if it's something I'm really having a hard time unpacking or figuring out what's going on, we'll do a mini little hypnosis session, which is helpful.
00:26:15.759 --> 00:26:22.319
And then Natalie is my project manager and she runs my community membership, which I'm sure we'll talk about in a minute.
00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:26.240
Um, and she actually has her somatic healing license.
00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:50.559
So all three of us come with a little bit of a there, like, you know, we are pushing creativity forward, we are pushing chaos backwards, we are making intentional decisions, we're okay with a little bit of a risk while we figure it out when there's something that, you know, maybe an obstacle we weren't expecting, or you know, keeping me keeping me feeling confident in what we're building.
00:26:50.640 --> 00:26:54.079
Because at the end of the day, it's my name and it's my thought process.
00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:58.960
And as long as my brain doesn't burn out, the business will be okay.
00:26:59.279 --> 00:27:00.960
I love that's a good reminder.
00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:09.119
Yeah, but to surround yourself with people who, you know, really get it and get yes, the they're amazing.
00:27:09.200 --> 00:27:10.160
Yes, yeah.
00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:10.880
That's amazing.
00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:16.400
Yeah, and they'll push back on me, and that's just as important because I'll I'll dream big in weird directions sometimes.
00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:19.599
I'm like, guys, I have an idea for a supplement brand or something.
00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:21.039
And they're like, um, what?
00:27:22.880 --> 00:27:24.480
They're like, not today, we're busy.
00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:25.759
I'm like, you're right, we are busy.
00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:30.160
I love the creativity, but maybe we'll put that over over to the left.
00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:30.799
Totally.
00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:33.920
And sometimes you just have to say it out loud and you know, let it go.
00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:38.880
But absolutely, but yeah, so it's it's fun, it's it's great.
00:27:39.039 --> 00:27:53.680
And I do have visions of next phases and everything else, and I'm learning as my team grows and as they I get more comfortable trusting them to bring my vision and my creativity to life.
00:27:53.839 --> 00:28:01.359
Uh, they're giving me more time in play, which is great for creativity and for my like strategies that I build with my clients.
00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:12.640
Um, and you know, it's allowing me to do more of intentional forward steps versus acting on impulse, which is amazing.
00:28:12.799 --> 00:28:19.680
So yeah, that sounds like a beautiful team and very supportive in all the right places.
00:28:19.759 --> 00:28:20.400
So yeah.
00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:24.160
Well, Jessica, this has been such a treat chatting with you.
00:28:24.240 --> 00:28:25.039
I have one last question.
00:28:25.440 --> 00:28:25.920
It has.
00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:26.640
Yes.
00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:29.920
What does it feel like in your body to be creative?
00:28:31.200 --> 00:28:33.359
Ooh, it feels like bubbling energy.
00:28:33.599 --> 00:28:44.240
Um, I feel like when I have an idea or something, I just it's it's almost like being energetically charged, but not not in like a chaotic way.
00:28:44.400 --> 00:28:47.440
Um, I'm watching Ted Lasso right now and he's a little bit much.
00:28:47.519 --> 00:28:48.880
Uh not not like that.
00:28:49.119 --> 00:28:49.359
Yeah.
00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:57.599
Um, but creativity for me often leads to movement, which is probably no surprise at this point in our conversation.
00:28:57.920 --> 00:28:58.160
Sure.
00:28:58.400 --> 00:29:13.279
Um, so if I'm feeling stuck or if I'm feeling like something just is like coming out a little slower than I need it to, I'll go for a run, or even just, you know, if I'm in, you know, I'll put music on in the kitchen and just like let it flow with the day.
00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:19.119
Um I've started, I started needle pointing when I needed something to do with my hands.
00:29:19.200 --> 00:29:19.839
Um, honestly.
00:29:19.920 --> 00:29:26.000
I just needed like my hands had the energy that need something needed to be genuinely created and I didn't know what to do with it.
00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:30.720
So um I think it just feels like there's something in my body that needs to move.
00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:36.640
I love it and can relate crocheting projects that I do whatever.
00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:37.200
Very good.
00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:38.960
Move my hands as well.
00:29:39.119 --> 00:29:40.000
So, yes.
00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:42.880
Well, definitely so much for joining me.
00:29:43.039 --> 00:29:51.119
If people want to learn more about the work you have out in the world, finding you, getting in touch with you, joining your community, how could they go about doing that?
00:29:51.519 --> 00:29:57.039
So, my website is my name jessicasorentino.com, and everything I do lives on there.
00:29:57.279 --> 00:30:02.480
We are primarily on Substack as a business, which is the open book Substack.
00:30:02.640 --> 00:30:14.319
And through there, I do an author interview series where we talk about how having a platform and a connection to your readers uh has changed your career and your creative life, essentially.
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It's to it's conversations to show that you can be a creative and make a living off of it, essentially.
00:30:21.119 --> 00:30:22.960
And it's a lot of fun.
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We've got um an expert interview series where they're non-author-based interviews, and we get to draw the line for how authors can learn outside of the industry.
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Again, just getting a little creative with how we teach, and a membership, which is a smaller community for the authors who want not necessarily one-on-one support, but a group support session where we meet weekly, we'll do coworking sessions, we'll do workshops, we'll do a bunch of different things in order to help everybody's visions come to life altogether.
00:30:57.440 --> 00:30:59.119
And all of that is through Substack.
00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:00.000
So perfect.
00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:03.039
Well, I will put links in show notes so people have easy access.
00:31:03.119 --> 00:31:05.920
And thank you so much for joining me.
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This has been such a fantastic conversation.
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It has been so much fun.
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Thank you so much for having me.
00:31:20.160 --> 00:31:23.200
Thanks for listening to the Sustaining Creativity Podcast.
00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:27.039
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00:31:27.200 --> 00:31:29.599
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00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:33.279
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00:31:33.680 --> 00:31:36.400
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00:31:36.559 --> 00:31:40.160
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00:31:47.279 --> 00:31:49.680
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And remember, with creativity, anything's possible.
