How to write a book while balancing a full time job and family
**Annie Wyatt has been a leader in marketing for over a decade at brands like HBO, Imagemme, Savills North America, and Bidscale. Annie is currently the Director of Demand Generation at Verisk. We are so honored she sat down with us for a wide-ranging interview where she shares her career journey, cultivating community and writing her children’s book, All Kinds of Castles.***
What follows is a lightly edited and condensed version of our Q&A.**
Tell us about your career. How did you get started and what drew you to each step on your journey?
Upon graduating from Parsons, my first big role was working for a product and packaging design agency. We were down in Tribeca and I absolutely loved the speed of the agency environment. I was overseeing operations and acting as the liaison between clients and designers. I eventually went to graduate school at NYU receiving a MA in Communications and Technology. From here I joined Savills. I began by overseeing marketing for North and South Carolina, and eventually worked into the role of Director for Technology Enablement across the Americas. I briefly worked for a rapidly growing Federal Saas company funded by the Department of Defense, and am now at Verisk. Here I am Director of Demand Generation for the Verisk Marketing Solutions team. I have constantly been drawn to working with technologically-progressive companies.
Can you share a bit of what your day-to-day looks like? You’re someone who seems to accomplish “it all” and it’s interesting to understand how you get it all done.
I truly believe the early bird catches the worm. I wake up every day between 5:30-6:00 am and read for at least an hour. The babies are usually up by 7:30 am so it’s breakfast and daycare drop off by 8:30 am. Although I work from home, I still get dressed every day like I’m going to the office and am in my (home) office no later than 9:00 am. From there, it’s usually a really jam-packed day of meetings and strategy work. If I’m lucky, by 4:30 pm I am squeezing in a quick run before daycare pick up. Then it’s all about the boys; dinner, bath, and lots and lots of books. By 8:00 pm I am cleaning up the house and I try to be in bed by 8:30 pm for another hour of reading. Weekends are dedicated to my creative work; connecting with bookstores, sketching for the new book, and just soaking up every minute with the boys while they are young.
You spent 8 years in NYC before making the move to Charlotte, North Carolina. What inspired the move? And what are the pros and cons of working in each location?
Oh this sounds cheesy, but love. I met my husband in NYC and he wanted to raise our family in North Carolina. I followed him to the South knowing wherever he was would be home to me. I loved every minute in NYC, but after going through the pandemic with the ability to provide space and nature to my children, I really fell in love with the Carolinas. The benefit of working in NY is the energy, competition, and speed of work. There’s a pulse to the city that exists in every industry to do better, smarter, and faster work. Things down here are a lot slower with a true work-life balance. All companies I have worked for down here have been based in Tier 1 cities and I have always traveled frequently, so that urban pace I adore has stayed existent.
Annie's youngest child, George, reading her book, All Kinds of Castles
Congratulations on publishing your first book, All Kinds of Castles. What made you want to write a book? And specifically a children's book?
As an avid reader and avid dreamer, I knew this was something I always wanted to do. I say in the opening that I hope the book “illuminates the [readers’] imagination” and I really believe books can do that. Writing and publishing a children’s book has been a dream come true.
Tell us about how you came up with the concept for All Kinds of Castles.
The book idea came from my son, Arthur. As a baby, he always thought everything was a castle. Everything he saw was a castle; a car wash was a car castle, the grocery store a food castle. The theme of the book “that anyone can have a castle as long as those you love are near” came to me and the longer story quickly evolved from there.
What was the process like for you? Easy, hard, starts and stops? Do you have more books in you?
Sketch from Annie's second book, A Horse in the Castle, currently in-progress
Getting the first draft on paper was easy and natural. Though I revisited the manuscript for about six months before I finally pursued publishers. I don’t think the book will ever be done in my mind. Still today there are words I would edit, artwork I would improve, and ideas I would add. I am working on a second book now, A Horse in the Castle. This will continue the story and I will personally do all illustrations in this second book. I cannot wait to see it in print and am looking for a 2024 pub date.
Since this is your first book, how did you go from concept to pursuing publishers (and how does one even do that)?
Finding a publisher is just like finding a job. You have to work your connections and really stay persistent on the companies you want to be with. You also need to have a pretty compelling query letter, or cover letter, to get noticed. For me, I had zero connections in publishing, so I was DM’ing publishers on LinkedIn, sending in online submissions, and emailing everyone I could. I eventually heard from the team at Simon & Schuster recommending I work with their small, self-publishing brand Archway Publishing. It’s a small upfront investment, but you get to work with the marketing and support teams from Simon & Schuster to really make your book a success. Knowing this was such a passion of mine, I really felt comfortable investing in myself and this project.
What kinds of tips, tricks and overall advice do you have for others looking to do the same?
Embrace your dreams and just lean into them! Publishing, producing, creating; it can all be so scary! It’s putting yourself, your story out there and inevitably things will go wrong or people will have opinions. Just trust your gut and follow your dreams. Start small, create a plan, set goals, and begin to tick things off. Before you know it, you’ll have a product you can sell and be proud of!
Can you get even more granular here? How did you create a plan? Do you have certain tools or methods you use? Or daily rituals / habits / best practices?
To be granular and tactical in advice, you really have to get organized. This is a business venture; every penny you put out, track it. Every publisher or bookstore you speak to, log it. I have two critical documents that log all my finances related to the book so I can really understand ROI, and I have an extensive document listing almost every independent bookstore in America. From this list, I email or send in submissions about my book (offering it via different online sources, or through consignment). Then I create a waterfall of circling back with the bookstores I haven’t heard from in 30 days. Since the book has almost been in the market for six months, I should start to be able to gauge financial and vendor themes I can really lean into!
Similarly, any tips on overcoming the intimidation factor / imposter syndrome? This is a huge struggle for many of us.
I got a pretty negative book review the other day (saying an adult would have to translate the message to the child because it’s too complex), and stuff like that kind of burns. But at the end of the day, I really try to reflect on how thoughtful I was in each word, in the process, and in the end message. I gave this book my all, and if someone doesn’t like it, that’s okay! There’s a lot of other children’s books out there. I believe this isn’t only with being an author, it’s with even being a mom sometimes! I’m still learning so much about myself and the world, how can I raise others? So what do I do? I lean into my tribe. I have a small, but trustworthy group of girlfriends that always give me honest advice. They really help give me the confidence to be me, to say “no” to things that don’t suit me and to lean into the big “yes” decisions I made.
Annie at a recent book reading and signing at Andover Bookstore outside of Boston
You’ve mentioned to us the importance of having a support system. Can you expand and share your advice for others looking to cultivate community?
Covid was an immune pandemic, and now we’re facing a mental health pandemic. People are setting into their new ways of life, work, family, and self awareness. Mental awareness was not something so freely spoken of before and now, after so many of us were isolated for so long, we’re learning how to adapt to our new selves and new world. 50 years ago people, especially women, had their local communities to lean into and families weren’t so spread out. Now the community is more digital. Families connect on FaceTime, therapy is via TelaHealth, and work can be remote. My advice is just to find those you trust and rely on them. Be vulnerable and share what you’re going through. Your community is not next door so you need to be more explicit with your tribe so those that love and support you can be there for you.
Do you have any words of wisdom that you’d like to share with our audience?
I hope in 50 years I’ll be able to share wisdom, but for now I can definitely share some words I live by: Read for an hour every day, get lost in the pages. If the post isn’t inspiring, educating, challenging, or captivating you, put it down and start a new one. Life is too short to do something you don’t love, unless you are benefitting or contributing to others. It’s okay to say “no,” but when you do say “yes” say it with conviction and always carry through. Love is a powerful word, use it sparingly, and when you do use it to those you love, use it often. A hug goes a very long way.
What’s next for Annie and where can / should people connect with you / where can people buy the book?
I will continue to try everyday to be the best wife and mom I can be. I will continue to write and continue to work in the MarTech space. With the world now open, I hope to continue to travel frequently, especially with my sons. My life and stories can be found on Instagram @anniemwyatt.