About Julie Saturday: The Writer

The Writer. About Julie Saturday is a periodic post to let people know a bit more about me. Earlier this month, I wrote about my entrepreneurial mindset and today’s focus is on why I am a writer.

As long as I can remember, I wrote. When I wasn’t writing assignments in school, I wrote for fun. I went to a parochial school, Trinity Lutheran from Kindergarten to 8th Grade.

My parents and one of my teachers thought it was so important for me to work on my writing that I went to a Creative Writing class during the summer of 6th grade in the public school system. I always had a vivid imagination and easily created characters for my stories, some with real life inspiration.

Writer: with a journal

In high school, I was writing a journal incessantly. In addition to the normal journal feelings kind of entries, I wrote short stories and poetry. I filled notebooks with journal entries and even traded with friends to comment on their journals. I had a pen pal for a few years, I think in Australia and during the Viet Nam war, I wrote to a soldier in Viet Nam.

Writer in College

My major in college was Sociology PreLaw, but I took so many English classes I should have double majored in English.

I took English classes because I wanted to learn how to be a better writer but I think you learn to write better by writing.

When a Sociology professor suggested we write someone in prison, I started writing to prisoners throughout the United States. Long before computers, I sent hand-written letters through snail mail. Some of the prisoners were pretty hard core and one was even infamous at the time.

My interests in criminal motivations and people in general created quite a bit of connections and I learned from a very different perspective.

Writing at Work

Long before I launched Design Resumes, I wrote for work. When I worked for a savings and loan, employees could submit articles for the corporate glossy magazine (a travel club). I wrote an article that was published about flying in a helicopter. I never flew in a helicopter (or even a plane at the time) but my mom had a friend who owned one. I made arrangements to go up and shoot pictures while he flew me around the city. I could finally say I was a published author!

When we managed apartments, I wrote monthly newsletters for two different properties, the resident handbook, and the first draft of a comprehensive property management manual. Later, when I contracted with the Kiwanis Club and Wausau Whitewater, I wrote press releases, newsletters, fundraising letters, websites, blogs, marketing brochures, and fliers.

Writing for Design Resumes

Resumes evolved from all this writing. As I grew in writing resumes, the natural path was to get published. My resumes appear in a number of resume books. I remember the first one, Expert Resumes for Teachers and Educators by Wendy Enelow and Louise Kursmark.  I literally danced around when the book came in the mail and took it everywhere for several days.

Content Marketing

I launched blogs for both Wausau Whitewater and Design Resumes in fall of 2008. This literally changed my life. Suddenly, my audience was global. Working with Jim Connolly for three years to learn content marketing and small business marketing gave me an in-depth understanding of this new marketing strategy basically unknown in my Midwestern area. In addition to this career marketing focused blog, I wrote content and designed my former church’s website, my dog trainer’s website, and other sites.

While I have many friends who are authors who published books, I have not done that yet. I suspect a book or two will be in the future but for now, I am happy writing and being read. In case you didn’t know it, the greatest joy for a writer is knowing someone else actually read what you wrote. Thank you for reading!

Image courtesy of khunaspix at FreeDigitalPhotos.net