Meet Kristy Mickelsen | Author Advocate Podcast Host & User Created Brand Model

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristy Mickelsen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristy, why did you pursue a creative career?
That is a wonderful question. I chose to enter the arts and entertainment world otherwise known as a creative career because I had always dreamed of being a famous author. I used to write fun silly stories in high school for all of my friends. But as an adult I started writing journals to help me get my feelings and emotions out that were otherwise hard for me to express. Well one day my son saw me writing a journal and he dared me to try writing professionally. So i did and i wrote my rookie novella called Nine Months To Autism.
From there I fell in love with the writing industry and the arts and entertainment world. I now write and publish books, I host a podcast called W.W.A.A. Podcast, I do user content brand modeling on instagram and I am a positivity social media influencer. I also do a lot of advocating for important causes such as cancer, autism, and lupus awareness.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
This is another great question! Well I am a Romance Book Author, an Advocate and Podcast host as well as a brand model on instagram. Earning each of these titles was not easy especially since I am an independent in the industry. At first it took a lot of research on how to become an author, I researched everything from how to get started to how should an author dress out in public, how to get publicity, how to independently publish a book and more. Once i had published my first book i fell in love with the challenge of the entire business! There is more involved to being an author than what people might think! You have to find ways to stand out compared to all the other indie authors out there to even get somewhere in this business. Then of course there is the podcast. Thousands of people write books and host podcasts on a daily basis. I had to figure out how I, who happens to be a small fish in a pond full of bigger fish was going to get recognized. It was a challenge to say the least! Until i figured out that i needed to get my face seen and name heard in as many places as possible! So I took acting and modeling classes through our local talent agency in hopes of landing a commercial or something to add to my resume. But I had to leave the agency due to some unexpected circumstances in life and never got to do a commercial.
But I started working more on my online presence, hosting more podcasts on my show with wonderful people, did more guest appearances on other podcasts, and started doing more community work with my books. Through all of this i got offered some brand modeling jobs online and that has helped get my name and face seen more…
The secret to being a successful person in the independent arts and creative industries is to get your name and face seen as much as possible!
I think what sets me apart from everyone else in my industry is I don’t focus too much on selling my product which is my books. I focus on gaining name and face recognition. Book and merchandise sales come as you get more name and face recognition. In other words it all comes down to the know like and trust factor. The more people know and like you the gain trust in you and will feel more confident to buy your books and merchandise, or to recommend you to other people.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh wow! I recently moved from California and now I live in a very small town in West Texas in the Panhandle. So I guess if I had a visitor coming for a week I would definitely take them to eat at The Big Texas Restaurant home of the 72 ounce steak. Great food and great people there! I would also take them to a pro wrestling event as Texas has a lot of wonderful talent in the professional wrestling industry. I myself sponsor some of our local wrestling promotions and have gotten to know most of the people and consider them like family. Then maybe if we wanted to go some where to have a few drinks and just relax I would take my guest to the Whiskey River Bar where the people are friendly, the pool tables are warm and the music is fabulous!
Here in the West Texas Plains no matter where you go to visit or hang out at you will always find friendly people that you can sit and converse with.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shout out a few people if that is okay. The first person is my son Josh for encouraging me to take my dreams and go for it! Thank you for believing in me son! It is because of you that I wrote my very first book six years ago and fell in love with the author world.

The second person I want to shout out is Podcast host Billy Dees. Billy was the first one to interview me on a podcast and the first one to give me the boost and encouragement i needed to start my own podcast and to show me the ropes along the way. Thank you Billy!

And my last shout out I would like to go to Maria Humphreys. Maria and I met a few years ago doing some social audio work via a website formerly called twitter which is now X. Maria has spent many hours promoting my name and brand and interviewing me on many live streams to help boost my name. She does a lot for me actually. I can’t pay her enough for all the time and energy she puts into my brand. Thank you Maria.

Website: Www.kristymickelsen.com

Instagram: Kristymickelsen43

Linkedin: Author Kristy Mickelsen

Twitter: @kristybooks

Facebook: Kristy Mickelsen look for the verified account.