My Years In The Book Industry

While you can read a little about me on my ABOUT page and you can definitely get to know me through my social media accounts, I thought it would be a good idea to fill you in on my experience and time spent in the book industry both as a service provider to other authors and to satisfy any curiosity in my readers. As I write this I have been working in the book industry for 9 years doing a variety of jobs and work experience. As an author I’ve currently been published 7 times: two novels, three short stories and two poems in anthologies, and I currently have two more novels that will be published over the next 8 months. I primarily write dark literary fantasy novels featuring very morally grey characters. I have also written within the horror, romance, science-fiction and historical genres as well as non-fiction and some poetry.

I began my academic stint in this industry with my Bachelor of Arts with Honours in English and Creative Writing (2015-2018) where I studied literature, creative writing and the publishing industry as well as some other very fascinating modules. It was here that my work began – I was published 4 times during my years of study in two anthologies. I also began a lifestyle blog, SOPHIE MELISSA. Whilst this blog has now been made private as it no longer meets my standards as I’ve grown, it did provide me with years of experience in writing, blogging and marketing. For a time I even expanded into my first stint as a business owner with a mix of handmade products such as soaps, bath bombs, bath salts, jewellery, sewing projects etc. and also creating workbooks for writers to develop their craft.

As I outgrew this form of blogging and creating my brand then morphed into S. M. MITCHELL – not quite as you know it today, but an early version of. During this time I focused my blog and social media accounts to my own writing and began to expand on my advice for other writers, including my workbooks. I also began working as a virtual assistant and social media manager for a number of small businesses which then developed into my other business LITTLE CROW MARKETING.

For the next few years after finishing my degree and publishing my first novel THE BLOODY MAIDEN, my focus was on LCM, building up my experience and portfolio as well as working with small businesses from a large variety of industries. I’ve previously worked with industries such as: the beauty industry, food, photography, children and education, books, fitness, yoga, pilates, business coaching, mortgages, pet training/obedience, ex-pat communities, therapy and hypnotherapy, massage, and more! While the industries vary greatly my main focus is always simple and sustainable strategies for small (primarily women-run) businesses to provide strong social media marketing that help their businesses soar. I officially went full-time self employed back in December 2021 and I’ve never looked back. I adore working for myself in both of my businesses and love seeing them grow to support more people. I now offer services in social media management, 1:1 coaching and mentoring, and VA work as well as video courses and The Simple Social Media Planner.

With the creation of WRITE. PUBLISH. IMPACT. came the development of my writer services with S. M. MITCHELL. W.P.I. was initially a collaboration project to provide an intensive programme and support community for people wanting to write memoirs and autobiographies. Due to a number of factors this then became a solo project and as my main focus is in fiction writing the programme then expanded into a full year programme covering everything a writer needs to know to go from IDEA to PUBLICATION. The support group also then grew into a subscription community for writers of all levels to find support, kinship, advice, writing events, networking and more. While the full programme is currently undergoing an overhaul and re-brand, our community is growing into a wonderful little space. In between writing my own novels and running LCM, I now work with writers providing coaching services, book formatting, marketing campaigns, press kits, workshops and guest talks. And I freaking love my job(s)!