Meet Paulina Pinsky | Writer, Educator, & Writing Coach

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

Hi Paulina, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Writing is but a fraction of what it means to be a writer. Not only do you have to conjure words out of thin air, but you have to figure out how to sell, market, and deliver whatever it is you do. Being a writer requires becoming an astute business person. And most of the time, writing may not even be what you get paid for.

August of 2020, I started my own writing coaching business, Paulina Pinsky LLC. I am a writer, educator, and writing coach. And creating an LLC was the only way to contain and make sense of everything that I do.

When I was studying Creative Writing at Columbia University, they never spoke about the publishing industry or how to make money out in the real world as a writer. The MFA program was “craft focused”. Which, at the time, I loved. But looking back, I can’t help but feel that they threw us out into the world without legs to stand on.

After graduating with my MFA in Nonfiction Creative Writing in 2019, I had to figure out how to make money. At the time, I did not envision myself as a soon to be entrepreneur, but I learned being a writer is not only about writing.

I was disheartened by the writing jobs I found after graduate school. So often, copywriting or copyediting require years of experience in order to be considered. Here I was, fresh with talent, unable to get my resume even looked at because I lacked the experience. What is talent without experience? In the resume-submitting market, not much.

Scrambling, I haphazardly posted about “Writing Coaching” on my social media, and luckily folks reached out– I helped people with application essays, memoirs, poems, screenplays, and more. At a certain point, I didn’t know how to keep track of the payments. I craved legitimacy. By August 2020, I decided I might as well create a system for tracking my invoices, therefore making tax season more manageable.

And that’s when I decided to commit to writing coaching.

I like to say that all my jobs are made up, and it’s mostly true. I do independent writing coaching, helping students with their writing projects in one-month to three-month mentorships. I offer writing workshops, like “Writing the Body.” And I lead cohorts of 20+ people through Julia Cameron’s 12-week spiritual workbook, “The Artist’s Way”. I am now also offering college essay help– I heard college counselors are charging upwards of $15,000, which is egregious. I don’t think applying and getting into college should be so cost prohibitive, so I am no offering college essay help at an hourly rate.

Starting my business was a side-effect of trying to be a professional writer. My LLC not only helps me track my invoices and expenses, but also offers legal protections when I do publish. I do recommend writers incorporate (LLC or S-Corp) for financial and legal reasons. I am thankful that my business affords flexibility, in that it includes not only my teaching independently, but W-2 jobs and book payments. More than anything, I am more in command of my finances because I run my own business, understanding what is required of me both as a educator and a business owner. I have learned how to wear many different hats that strengthen my abilities as a writer and a business entity.

I am thankful that I subscribe to the ethos that if something doesn’t exist, you can create it. I saw the opportunity to chart my own course, and I took a leap of faith. And now I can say with confidence, I am a writer and business owner.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a writer, performer, and figure skater.

Growing up, I was a competitive figure skater for thirteen years– from ages five to eighteen, I put on little dresses and spun on blades. I also did dance, musical theater, and anything that involved being on a stage in front of people. But when I went to college, I could not think or talk about the sport (because, quite frankly, it was like escaping a cult), so I went full throttle into something different. I played rugby, did student musical theater, and was part of the sketch comedy troupe on campus.

After college, I thought I wanted to become a comedian and so I moved to Chicago and did the Second City Conservatory, There, I studied improvisational and sketch comedy. But I didn’t want to have to be funny all the time– I preferred infusing humor into all that I do, so I went back to New York to pursue my MFA in Nonfiction Creative Writing.

I really view writing as the act of channeling– taking something ephemeral and using the body as the conduit. Writing is as much an artistic discipline as a spiritual practice. If I am not writing, I am a worse person. Whether it’s doing morning pages or writing an essay, I enter flow in the same way I did when I was performing on the ice.

I am the co-author of the teen guide to consent, “It Doesn’t Have To Be Awkward” and I am currently working on a memoir, which is my first solo project. It feels intimidating– to go towards the goal/dream that I’ve always had.

At this moment, I am engaging in the silent act of writing. It feels unglamorous and hard, but it’s where the sausage is made. It feels hard to get myself to sit, but once I do the words come. It’s just hard to get myself to do it (but isn’t that everyone’s problem?).

Beth Pickens defines an artist as someone who suffers when they are not creating, and I love this definition because it has nothing to do with ego or genius. I suffer when I’m not writing, and so I write. And if I didn’t have to do it, I wouldn’t. But at this point, it’s a compulsion. And I suffer when I stop.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If you were my best friend, I would lead you through a week of leisure and sight seeing:

DESTINATIONS:
– Huntington Library and Gardens
– Laguna Beach or Malibu for a quick dip and tan
– Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena
– MOCA/ Little Tokyo Day-venture

FOOD:
– Mediterranean Cafe
– Bub and Grandma’s Restaurant
– Lucky Boy for a giant Breakfast Burrito
– Cacao Mexicatessen for Duck Carnitas tacos
– Amiga Amore

SHOPPING:
– Society of the Spectacle (BEST glasses on planet earth– LOVE YOU AMY!)
– Big Bud Press
– Nooworks
– The Plus Bus
– Shorthand for Office goods (pens, notebooks, etc.)

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
SHOUT OUTS IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way”
my family and my partner Tracy
my grad school mentor Lis Harris
Barnard College and my very much needed introduction to intersectional feminism
Beth Pickens’s “Make Your Art No Matter What”
Lucy Grealey’s “Autobiography of a Face”
my accountant Jennifer Narin at 1800 Accountant
best friends in no particular order: Jenna Lomeli, Chelsea Conley, Lea Denieul
comedians and dear friends Kaylin Mahoney (@kaylinmahoney) and Jenny Zigrino (@jennyzigrino)
the girl punk band The Blushes (@theblushesband)– 2/3 of them did Artist’s Way with me;
SOBRIETY ! thankful for the grand-daddy 12 step program & my sober family
body positivity (& body neutrality)– foundational to my Eating Disorder recovery
EMDR therapy– Anadel Barbour is a brilliant therapist

Website: www.paulinapinsky.com

Instagram: @paulina_pinsky

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulina-pinsky-210/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paulinapinskywriter/

Image Credits
Julie Orlick