Career Area: Publisher

  • Kelly Moran

    Kelly Moran

    “Success is all dependent on every single individual’s definition… You have to define what that goal is for you, because it’s going to be different for everybody.”

    Kelly Moran is a multi-genre author and founder of Rowan Prose Publishing, based in York County, South Carolina. Since her first book was published in 2005, Moran has authored over 30 titles across paranormal romance, contemporary romance, and light horror.

    Interview

    Transcript

    Emma Plutnicki  00:02 

    So to start, what do you do for work, and where are you currently working from? 

    Kelly Moran  00:09 

    I live in South Carolina. I’m in York, up in the north-central area, not far from Charlotte. As an author, my first published book was in 2005, and I’ve been publishing it ever since. I mostly write paranormal and contemporary romance, but I do have a horror persona as well, who writes light horror books. And in 2023 I started my own small press publishing company called Rowan Prose Publishing, also based out of York. And right now, we’ve got a little over 50 authors. 

    Emma Plutnicki  00:57 

    And so how long have you been doing each? Author you said since 2005 and publishing since 2023? 

    Kelly Moran  01:05 

    I want to say 2005 was my first published book. That sounds about right. But really, in essence, I’ve been writing since kindergarten. I always wanted to be an author, but I didn’t always know that’s what it was. You know, I get these ideas in my head, like I want to be the president, or I want to be a US gymnast or whatever, and I realized it was more the story I was interested in, than, you know, the actual job title. So I always had a creative mind. Other people sit and watch movies or do things, and 10 ideas for a new book pops up in my head. I can’t tell you how many titles I have, like 45 maybe, and I’ve been traditionally published with Berkeley/Penguin, larger publishers like Entangled and Kensington, and then I’m also I’m what they call a hybrid author. I also independently published some of my own work. I have foreign translation rights in seven different countries, and I learned a lot about marketing and design amongst other things. That kind of persuaded me to start Rowan Prose Publishing, because I would get a lot of authors who would ask for advice. So, we’re getting a whole different side of publishing and writing and things like that which never would have been seen before. So, you got the Big Five who are publishing what they want to publish, what sounds good, what’s trending. But a lot of them are not taking on what readers are necessarily looking for. They’re not taking a chance on the smaller authors, debut authors, who are just starting out. They don’t want to put a lot of time and effort into helping an author build a career or working really hard on developing a book to the best of its ability. But unless you’re a big name, a lot of publishers, even with agents, aren’t accepting new and debut authors. I got into conversations with an author, and I’ve been friends with her for a very long time, and we were discussing how can we do this? It was a big undertaking, a huge undertaking, but we’re showcasing a lot of authors that you would not see on shelves elsewhere. You know, you would never have heard about these great, amazing, wonderful stories that bigger publishers don’t just want to take a chance on. And because we were by authors, for authors, we wanted to make sure we were not only showcasing new talent, but using new and innovative marketing techniques that some other publishers don’t. We give our authors a lot more freedom than some other publishers would. So, it was a big undertaking, but I’m really glad we did it. We have some really, really amazing talent. 

    Emma Plutnicki  06:03 

    And is the is the talent that you work with from South Carolina? Or is there any influence of South Carolina within your work, whether that be the clientele or any influence that the state has on your writing? 

    Kelly Moran  06:19 

    In my own personal writing, yes, I have. In my, fact, I’m writing a southern romcom series right now that’s been contracted with Germany for foreign translation. For Rowan Prose, yes and no. We’ve had some really great output from independent bookstores and libraries. I don’t think we have a South Carolina author right now. Publishing is mostly a virtual entity. What I would love to see is more of the colleges and whatnot, like what you guys are doing, showcasing how to properly do this. I mean, there are so many young adults who were me once, who are like, I want to do this. And it can be very dejecting and demoralizing. And it’s, it’s, I wouldn’t want that for anybody. One of our authors, in fact, is based out of Louisiana, and is only 20. She’s in college right now.  

    Emma Plutnicki  08:02 

    Amazing. And within a creative career, I mean, it can be very difficult to figure out what your niche is and also how to find success. So how would you define professional success? Is it the number of books you sell, or is it kind of just something within you of like bringing your words to the page. What does success look like for you, both personally and professionally? 

    Kelly Moran  08:27 

    I think, to be honest with you, success is all dependent on what every single individual’s definition is. Several of my authors are like, I would just love to see my book in a library, and they will be happy for the rest of their life. Some want New York Times and USA Today bestsellers. Some want to be Stephen King or Nora Roberts and be a household name. For each individual person, you have to define what that goal is for you, because it’s going to be different for everybody.  

    Emma Plutnicki  14:15 

    Yeah, no, it makes sense. Did you have any fears when you were starting as an author, or any fears when you started your publishing company? 

    Kelly Moran  14:23 

    Oh my gosh, yes, and I still do to this day. I’ve been in this business for 20 years. A lot of it now is fear for my authors. Like, I remember getting that first bad review. Having somebody navigate that with you when you’re first starting out makes all the difference. It’s kind of like hand holding. Not every reader picks up the same book. They always say to grow a backbone, but, in my opinion, if you grow a backbone, you lose a lot of that emotional edge you can put into your writing. You know what? Cry about the bad review. Drink a glass of wine and start again. That’s all you can do. I mean, one of the funniest things I like to tell my authors is, if you look up on Google the reviews for Stonehenge, it’s got an average 2.5 to a 3-star review. So, look at it that way. There’s going to be people out there who are going to hate, and all you can do is keep going, because for everyone that does, there’s 10 that don’t. It’s easy to say grow a backbone, sometimes you get tougher skin out of it. But that’s what always scared me. I think about that every day, and I think about all my new debut authors and how they’re going through that right now. I tell them the same thing: you’re going to get bad reviews, but you’re going to get great ones, and you’re going to build great readers, too. I think a lot of what they fear the most: rejection and failure, but failure is just like success.  

    Emma Plutnicki  17:43 

    Yeah, that must be pretty cool to look back on. But has there been a significant project that you’ve worked on throughout your career that really stands out as kind of the pinnacle of your creativity, or just one project that has had a significant impact on your life?  

    Kelly Moran  18:02 

    I don’t know if there’s one project in particular, because especially for an author, it’s the little things like, oh my goodness, USA Today reviewed me, or I just won this award, or I’m a finalist in this one, or you collaborate with other authors sometimes to write a compilation and anthology. As a matter of fact, one of my other big pieces of advice is to join a writer’s group, because they have publishing professionals, editing professionals, cover design professionals, indie authors, and traditional authors. And you’ll learn a lot by going to conferences. And some of them are virtual. Some of them are in person. I remember, I think, probably my most pivotal moment that I can think of is I had written and published two or three books with some small press before this happened, and I had written this book, and it was very emotional, it kind of bordered on romance and women’s fiction, but it was a romance, and one of my author friends who I met at a conference had said, why don’t you try submitting it to my agent? I’m like, I don’t know. Okay, let me try. I had hit up hundreds of agents before in some of these previous books, and I didn’t have the reader following. I didn’t have that experience. Most of them didn’t pick me up. So, I did. I submitted it to her agent. She loved it, and that was my first mass market contract. That was my first I’m in every bookstore. That to me, I think, was the most, to date, eye opening and pivotal experience I had, because not only did I get a mass market contract and these books were everywhere, but it was also a two-book deal. That was my moment. So that would probably be the one that stands out the most. 

    Emma Plutnicki  21:57 

    Yeah, that’s pretty special. So now, a typical day, what does that look like for you? Do you spend a certain amount of time in your day writing? Are you more on the publishing side? What does a typical day look like? 

    Kelly Moran  22:10 

    It depends on what contracts I have for my writing. At the time, Rowan Prose ate most of my time, and I’m happy to do it. I mean, I love what I do. I’m literally living my dream. I wake up when I feel like it, though it’s usually six o’clock in the morning. I check on my authors, and I check on our social media. I post, but it’s a big balance. Here I have all of these responsibilities, and I don’t want to let my authors down. So, there’s that, and then I have my own books to make sure I maintain for my readers, and I’m still following that dream, and I do still have many foreign translation contracts that I fulfill every year. So what I like to do is start out with, you know, something slow in the morning, I always do our social media accounts, make sure we’re posting, doing things, checking email, and then from there, I like to get into whatever edits we have for our authors. Make sure everybody is doing okay. We’re ahead of schedule, and I’ll usually do two to three hours of writing in the late afternoon. We have three interns who are amazing, who help me out when we get backed up, and two other editors beside me. One of them is an author, the other one’s a blogger earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism. We try to make sure we have a balance between work and whatnot. 

    Emma Plutnicki  24:25 

    We maintain that, because I’m sure working from home doesn’t make it easy to separate the work from just your normal day-to-day life, and I’m sure creativity strikes at different times of day and night. So how are you able to kind of have time for your work, and then also have time for yourself? 

    Kelly Moran  24:43 

    It’s really difficult. You have to be very detail oriented. I have a number of my writers who have day jobs, and then they write at night, which is what I used to do. And for me, I’ve always been obsessively organized, would probably be a good way to put it. So, I have schedules. My schedules have schedules, and those have post-it notes that have their own post-it notes. I make myself follow a schedule, because if I can’t do that, then things go crazy. You just have to set boundaries and stick to them, and set a schedule and stick to it, especially if you’re working a full-time job away from your writing career or your publishing aspirations. A lot of people feel really bad because they go to three days without writing or typing something on a page, but you can’t fix a blank page. I mean, writers probably have one of the best and toughest jobs. 

    Emma Plutnicki  27:06 

    Yeah, it’s hard.  

    Kelly Moran  27:10 

    I mean, unless you’re an actor or a journalist, what other job is there where, when your day is done, every single person in the world can leave a review about you. I mean, it’s cutthroat. Let’s say you’re a mechanic, right? Imagine going to the shop every day and you’re changing brakes and oil and transmission work, and then every person whose car you fixed then went on to the largest platform on the planet and says, “One star.” I didn’t like his overalls. That’s how it is. 

    Emma Plutnicki  28:05 

    I can imagine you must have tough skin to, you know, brave in those reviews? 

    Kelly Moran  28:12 

    A dream is a dream, and that’s just one of the things that a lot of people need to take into consideration. A lot of authors don’t even read their reviews for that reason. They don’t even look at one of them. I will, on occasion, pop onto Goodreads or Amazon, but I try not to anymore.  

    Emma Plutnicki  28:35 

    Oh man, oh my gosh, yeah. I don’t know if I could, uh, restrain myself from reading them. But, um, perfect. Well, just as we wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to add about your career advice or anything like that? 

    Kelly Moran  28:51 

    Follow your dream? It’s the cheesiest, most cliche thing out there on the planet. Learn your craft, join some writer groups, meet a couple of writer friends, and they don’t have to be in your area. I mean, in this day and age, zoom, or, you know, Facebook chat or whatever. Meet some other authors. Learn how it’s done. We do get a lot of authors who don’t even bother reading our submission page before they send it to us, and I’m sorry, but if you can’t take the time to at least think about what we need from you to submit, then that tells me you’re not going to be open to the other things that need to be done later on. When you’re submitting to agents and publishers, follow their guidelines, because every single one is going to have something different. Think about what your goals are. If this is something you want to do, definitely think about the degree you are earning and how you can get into that world, earning a paycheck while you’re working on your book, while you’re working on submitting and any of things like that. That would be my best advice. I had, I want to say it was something like 80 agent rejections before I got mine. And yeah, and I’ve had a number of small presses all the way up to big five rejections, and most of those came from the series that got me the Spiegel bestseller in Germany, and lots and lots of royalties afterwards. And when you’re stuck, move on to something else. We’re authors, we’ve always got something going on in our heads. Don’t feel dejected, because this is one of the toughest markets to break into. 

    Emma Plutnicki  31:37 

    That’s great advice. Thank you so much. I really appreciate the time and words of wisdom. I’m sure this will definitely help some people who want to become authors in the future. So, I really appreciate it. Thank you. Bye. 

  • Angela Thomas Smith

    Angela Thomas Smith

    “You determine your worth and set your success. Don’t allow your success to be set on what others think of you and how others perceive you. You determine that, so you won’t have expectations from the world, but you can set your own guidelines and your own expectations.”

    Angela Thomas Smith is an entrepreneur who helps authors publish their books in addition to having a podcast and a magazine based in Georgia. 

    Interview

    Transcript

    Emma Plutnicki  00:02 

    So, to start, what do you do for work and where are you currently working from?  

    Angela Smith 00:24 

    I work from wherever my computer allows me.  

    Emma Plutnicki  00:31 

    Amazing and where is home for you? 

    Angela Smith 00:34 

    So, home right now is Georgia.  

    Emma Plutnicki  00:37 

    Okay, 

    Angela Smith 00:38 

    I actually just moved from Myrtle Beach. 

    Emma Plutnicki  00:41 

    Oh, Amazing! Um, so how long have you been doing that? How long have you been an entrepreneur? How long have you been helping with publishing and all that? 

    Angela Smith 00:50 

    I’ve been doing this since 2012. I started in 2012, I really stepped out in 2016 it really picked up the during the pandemic, and it’s just been going amazing. And I published my first client. Um, we’re having a book signing in Georgia this weekend, so I’m excited about that. Amazing! congratulations. That’ll be so fun and so how has your work shifted at all living in South Carolina to now Georgia has done South Carolina has any influence on your work, as opposed to now living in Georgia? So, I am originally from South Carolina. I’m originally from upstate South Carolina Anderson, South Carolina. Actually, nothing has shifted. It is the same because, I have established a virtual community. So, I’m able to connect with people virtually, um, so we’re able to connect globally. I have individuals that’s not here in the US, and we’re connected with individuals in the UK, Africa, the Virgin Islands. I have a host from one of my podcasts that she’s a professor at University of Virgin Islands. So, we are connected globally, and during the pandemic, I was able to establish that platform. So, I’m grateful for that. Yeah, it’s great to have that flexibility. So, if you’re working with people from different time zones, and you’re on your computer conducting these tasks. Is it ever hard to have a good work life balance, because you’re able to work at any time at your fingertips? Is it ever hard to shut the laptop and kind of get away and have some time for yourself? It was at first, but when you learn how to balance, when you learn that if you don’t take care of yourself, then you’re not going to be any good for anyone else. So, when you learn how to incorporate self-care into your daily life, it makes everything so much easier. Just having that time to, you know, escape from the computer, you know, because sometimes you can get overwhelmed and you can get consumed with what you’re doing, and you get caught up.  So just having that time to escape, it’s necessary, I encourage everyone to have that for sure. So, what does a typical day look like for you now? What’s expected of you on a daily basis, and what kind of things do you get into? Okay, so first thing I’m usually up at 4am I normally take Angel, who is my mom, my God, mom’s little baby. For a baby, I usually take her out. And I do a 5am prayer. I am a spiritual person, so I am part of a prayer call. We’ve been doing it now for five years. So, I do that every morning, and it starts my day. It encourages me, it uplifts me, it gets me started. And then, I own the computer doing whatever that task is for the day, and it can range from today, I’m working on a magazine. We have a special edition of the magazine that’s dropping to honor poets, celebrating our new poet of the year out of Dallas, so I’m excited about that. She’s from Dallas, Texas, and we get opportunity to really connect, collaborate and be creative, and build a community where people can come and have that safe space to be creative and to allow that express side of them to come forth, whether it’s through books, whether it’s through podcasting, whether it’s through magazine, whatever it is, we want to be that space that allow you to be able to create, yeah, for sure.  

    Emma Plutnicki  04:31 

    And so, your podcast, how often do you film those and what kind of topics do you cover? 

    Angela Smith 04:36 

    So, we stream live, and we stream on from Sunday to Friday. We have nine hosts, and they all have two shows a month. So, say one may come on every first and third Wednesday, like doctor chin, she comes on every first and third. Thursday, we have a young lady that comes. On first, no second, Sundays and fourth Thursday. So, they have different days that they may come on, but we have someone on every day, Sunday through Friday, at 8pm and they talk about different things because they come from different walks of life.  We have individuals that have disabilities. They have a young lady that was born with spina bifida and hydro syphilis. She has a podcast called delayed but not deny. So, she not only focused on disabilities and showing people that you can overcome disabilities, but she allowed anybody that has a story that wants to share it to come on her podcast. Individuals that work in social work and librarians. We have a young lady from Toss in South Carolina. She’s a librarian, um, she hosts a podcast that focuses on authors and anything in the literary world, creative side, she likes to focus on that. So, we are a diverse group, and we’re from all over. We have South Carolina, we have New York, we have the Virginia area, California, Texas. So, we have a variety of individuals as a part of what we do amazingly. 

    Emma Plutnicki  06:08 

    And so, with a career like this, is it hard to kind of quantify success? Because, you know, in a creative career, it can be hard to figure out what success looks like, whether it’s financial or ideological. So, in your role, how do you define personal and professional success? Is it how many viewers you have on your podcast? Is it the stories and of people saying that they’ve been touched? Or how do you how do you kind of define that? 

    Angela Smith 06:36 

    So, that is something that is just like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So, that will be something that each individual person will have to say. But for me, success, to me, is seeing individuals that I’ve worked with go to the next level and seeing them excel and go beyond what they thought they could do to me, that’s success. Seeing articles about me, seeing interviews, seeing different things, where people acknowledge the things that I’ve done to me. That’s success, and you know, it’s measured upon the person that is doing it. It is in the eye of the beholder.  So, you determine your work, and you set your success. Don’t allow your success to be based on what others think of you and how others perceive you. You determine that…So, you won’t have expectations from the world, but you can set your own guidelines, and you can set your own expectations so that’s my, that’s my take on that. Yeah, that’s a great way of framing that.  

    Emma Plutnicki  07:46 

    Did you have any fears when you were coming into this career?  

    Angela Smith 07:49 

    I had a lot of fears but had to step out on faith. I had to believe in myself and knowing that I had all these dreams and I was doing things that I didn’t want to do, and I never thought I would be doing the stuff that I’m doing. But when I stepped out and believed in me and believed in what I felt was on the inside of me, things came forth, and I just began to Just go and things just begin to open up, and the more and more I did, the more and more things opened up. And I tell anybody, if you take that first step, that is the most important thing, get rid of fear. Because fear is not something that we are supposed to have. Because if you’re a believer, whatever your belief is, it has to lead to you not having a spirit of fear but having that spirit to do what you’ve been purposed to do. And how do you do that? Go forth, step into it. Do it boldly. You know, I’m reminded of when I was a child, and all the things that I did when I was a child, and how I enjoyed those things. You know, I got back to doing those things. You know, sometimes we get caught up in trying to live up to expectations of other people, where we lose those things that we’re passionate about by chasing after the things that everybody around us want us to do, but if we hold on to those things that we’re passionate about, it will allow us to be creative, and it will allow us to be who we are, and it allowed that true spirit of us to come forth. 

    Emma Plutnicki  09:35 

    I love that. Yeah, and along the way, was there anybody offering you advice, or was this something that you just kind of figured out on your own?  

    Angela Smith 09:44 

    Well, there were a lot of people that were in and out of my life, and people that probably didn’t realize that they were pouring into me and giving me advice and encouraging me, like my sister. For example, for those that know my story, I lost my mom to a day after my 16th birthday. So, my sister was very important in my life. She was a very inspirational person. She was one of those people that no matter what, she always encouraged me, she always uplifted me, she always pushed me to go beyond. She always believed in me. And she was one of those people that no matter what you did, she would tell you, you did wrong, but she didn’t hold it against you.  She always solved the good in you, and that was one of my inspirations. But there have been so many people, and I can’t begin to name them. Because I would definitely lead someone out, and I don’t want to do that, because there have been so many people that have been inspirational to me, even giving credit to my high school coach, Monica Denise Davis, she was someone that if I never come across her, I never would have played basketball. I never would have had that opportunity to go to college. I ended up in North Greenville for one year. I ended up at Morris Brown College. We had the opportunity to play basketball, meet, some individuals, had the opportunity to travel and do some things that I never would have done. So, there’s been a lot of people and just allowing those people to pour into your life. So, take those mentors. If you have an opportunity to be mentored, take that mentorship.  Allow individuals to pour into you.  

    Emma Plutnicki  11:19 

    Yeah, for sure. And so last kind of question, has there been one significant project that you’ve worked on, or something that you’ve done that kind of sticks out as being particularly significant throughout your career? Maybe it’s a project or someone you worked with, or something that stands out as kind of like the pinnacle of your creativity or of your career.  

    Angela Smith 11:42 

    Wow, I can say right now what we’re doing the 100 authors movement, the 100 authors to watch being able to work with a diverse group of authors that are trying to make an impact, that are trying to leave a legacy, that are trying to allow their voice to speak and touch on different things that they’re passionate about. I am grateful for that opportunity that right now is the most, I mean, pivotal thing, and to hear I’ve had the opportunity to sit and interview all of these authors, a part of this movement right now, and every last one of them, they have a spirit of gratitude. They’re grateful for the opportunity, and it’s based on four seeds, connection, collaboration, creativity and community. That is truly what is based on and being able to give individuals a platform where they can be supportive, where they can feel comfortable and open to support.  There was a young guy, he was getting ready to release a book. He was having writer’s block. He came inside the chat. We have a chat room on Facebook. We have a group on Facebook, so we have a chat. He comes inside the chat, and he just said he was having a bad day, and he explained what was going on. One of the group leaders immediately responded to his post. She posted some things that he could do. Just willingly. Posted things that he could do. He incorporated those things, he came back, he gave his testimony, he wrote his book. His book dropped, and that’s what we’re doing. We share resources. We are pulling on each other. We’re letting each other know that we’re there, that you don’t have to do this alone.  Because a lot of people start a podcast, they start a magazine, they start a book, they do whatever they do, and then they get stuck after they’ve done this thing, like, what do I do now? Now you have a community that’s there to support you, that’s helped, to push you, that’s there to help promote your stuff, that’s helped, and we just want to be a family so that, I think right now, that is the most pivotal thing. And just having all these individuals from different backgrounds, you know, when I say different backgrounds, we have professors involved. We have a professor right now that’s being honored out at miles University, a part of the movement. We have Doctor Chen. We have teachers, elementary and middle school teachers. We even have a high school teacher. I forgot about him down in Texas. We have men and we have women a part of the project. So, we are a diverse group of individuals just wanting to be a voice, um, wanting individuals to know that, yes, you can. We are not respective people, just as we did it. You can do it too.  So that’s what, that’s what I’m doing, and I’m excited about that, that project.  

    Emma Plutnicki  14:38 

    Yeah, I love that. That’s amazing. Thank you for sharing all that. And just as we wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to say about your career? Any advice or anything else you’d like to add? 

    Angela Smith 14:50 

    Well, I just want to tell everybody. As I turn, I’m turning 50 in a couple of days, I would say, what? 12 days I’ll be 50. I’m going to be dropping another book. It’s never too late. Um, because I didn’t start until 2016 and it took me almost losing my life. Because I’m a domestic violence survivor. And it took me almost losing my life for me to really step out and do the things that I wanted to do.  Don’t allow something to be the reason that you step out and do something. Do it because you’re passionate about it, and it’s something that you just want to do, and you want to leave your impact. Because we are our legacy. We are our brand. We are the ones that must tell our story. So, we can tell that in the form of written. We can tell in the form of audio, like we’re doing now, visuals, different things, where we can archive the great works that we’re doing. Because if you are a believer, and you are a word, when you know that the words say we should do greater works, and if we should do greater works, how will they know?  Because we can’t alter none of the things that have come before us. So, we have to leave the evidence and how we do it through our works, our works just speak even when we’re not here, and we want to leave something that the next generation can pull off because someone did something for us before we got here, and those things that they did for us allow us to be in place to do the things that we’re doing now. So, I just tell anybody, believe in yourself, know your worth, know that you have power because you were positioned to be an overcomer, because you didn’t get dropped out of the sky. You are a willing investor to move forth and allow that thing to come forth out of you. And how do we do that? By educating, empowering, encouraging others.  Through our resilience, we can’t give up. You can’t quit, no matter what it looked like. I just completed it on Monday. I just turned in a 40-page document for my last class. I just completed my master’s, so I will walk with my MBA. So, I’m excited about this. 30 years after graduating high school, I went back and I got my Bachelor’s, and now I can walk 12 days before my birthday. I now am a master holder, so I’m excited about, you know, what we have in store, you know? And I say to anybody, chase after your dream, don’t stop chasing your dream, because dreams still come true.  

    Emma Plutnicki  17:40 

    Yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you for sharing.  

  • Kelly Moran

    Kelly Moran

    “Don’t give up. A reader can’t read a blank page and rejection is just a step toward the story you’re meant to share.”

    Kelly Moran is a hybrid author, small press publisher, and international bestseller living in York, South Carolina. Through her company, Rowan Prose Publishing, she champions emerging writers and tells stories that resonate globally.

    About

    Kelly Moran is a seasoned author and founder of Rowan Prose Publishing, a small press that uplifts underrepresented voices in the literary world. Based in York, South Carolina, Kelly began her professional journey in 2005 as a novelist, publishing over 30 titles in paranormal and contemporary romance, and even light horror. She is a hybrid author having published both independently and through major houses like Penguin/Berkeley and her books have earned international acclaim, particularly in Germany, where she is a household name.

    In 2023, Kelly launched Rowan Prose to support debut authors often overlooked by large publishers. Her goal is to provide a welcoming, professionally rigorous publishing experience that balances author freedom with editorial excellence. With over 50 authors on her roster, she works daily to edit, market, and nurture literary careers from her home office complete with the “commute” past two dogs and a pot of coffee.

    For Kelly, success isn’t measured solely in sales or bestseller status, though she’s achieved both. It’s found in the emotional connection readers form with her work readers who write to say her characters made them laugh, cry, or feel seen. She champions inclusive storytelling, often weaving in themes of disability, anxiety, and social justice into her romance novels.

    Her advice to aspiring creatives is simple but powerful: follow your dream. Whether you’re writing at 5 a.m. before work or querying your 80th agent, keep going. “Rejection will come,” she says, “but so will the right readers and maybe even your dream contract.”

  • Angela Thomas Smith

    Angela Thomas Smith

    “You determine your worth and set your success. Don’t allow your success to be set on what others think of you and how others perceive you. You determine that, so you won’t have expectations from the world, but you can set your own guidelines and your own expectations.”

    Angela Smith is a Georgia-based entrepreneur, publisher, and podcast host empowering global creatives through storytelling, collaboration, and resilience. 

    About

    Angela Smith is a passionate publisher, entrepreneur, and podcast host who built a global creative platform rooted in resilience and connection. Originally from Anderson, South Carolina, Angela now operates from Georgia, where she leads a vibrant virtual community of authors, educators, and storytellers through her publishing business and multimedia network. 

    Her journey began in 2012 but took flight in 2016, gaining momentum during the pandemic. She publishes books, produces a live-streamed podcast six nights a week, and collaborates with a diverse team of nine hosts across the U.S. and abroad. Her work emphasizes “connection, collaboration, creativity, and community,” values she instills in her signature initiative the 100 Authors Movement. 

    Angela’s days begin at 4 a.m. with prayer and self-care, grounding her spiritually before diving into a range of creative tasks. She defines success not by numbers, but by impact: “Seeing individuals that I’ve worked with go beyond what they thought they could do, that’s success.” 

  • Ronda Taylor

    Ronda Taylor

    “Take time to celebrate every achievement, because it’s huge. And your creativity is a gift. You’ve got to keep stewarding that gift.” 

    Ronda Taylor is a poet, writer, storyteller, and program director of Youth Empowerment Services, a non-profit organization in Charleston. Taylor earned a B.A. in English with a minor in creative writing, as well as a Master of Arts in Writing, both from Coastal Carolina University. She published a children’s book titled Radiant Girl: Daughter of the King (2024), and her work appears in two poetry anthologies: This is the Honey (2023), edited by Kwame Alexander, and Ukweli: Searching for Healing Truth (2022) Taylor is the founder of Seen Heard Loved Publishing, LLC. 

    About

    Ronda Taylor said she’d always wanted to write, and her education at Coastal Carolina University was the foundation for her career. Her work at The Athenaeum Press, the student-driven publishing lab at the university, was an important ingredient of that experience, as it allowed her refine her interests, “to become involved in the area, getting immersed in its community and its culture, as we pursued creative storytelling with a purpose.” 

    Networking has been essential to Taylor’s career. She performed spoken poetry at the Dream Girls Conference in Charleston, S.C., which drew more than 1,200 girls from around the state. “That was a big turning point,” said Taylor. “The creativity I’d been looking for was there, the energy was there. That conference solidified my passion. It all aligned with what I was looking for.”  

    As a creative, Taylor said she faces challenges regularly in her career. “You never know what the road is going to bring,” Taylor said. “You have to take disappointments and rejection and just redirect. That is what I had to learn: to persevere, endure, try a different way if the first path doesn’t work out. I’m still in a beautiful place even though it took me a different route to get here.” 

    Taylor encourages students interested in a creative career to attend events, meet people, and make connections. “Networking has been really important, finding those spaces where there’s opportunity for community,” said Taylor.  “Sometimes it looks like membership, and sometimes it’s social media groups; there are many places you can find opportunities for community and mentorship.” Taylor mentioned the South Carolina Arts Commission, from which she was awarded an artist business initiative grant, which allowed her to launch her publishing company. She also noted that local bookstores and libraries can be important places to connect with people. 

    “Don’t get discouraged,” Taylor advises students. “Keep going. Surround yourself with a community that will support you. Keep moving forward, because it will happen even if it doesn’t happen in a certain way.”