Julie Johnson

I attribute my success to my strong work ethic and my ability to be patient and do the necessary research. Throughout my career, whether it was my 18 years at Wells Fargo or now as an author and student, I've always pursued doing the best I can. Research is really, really important to me, especially in my writing where I need to make sure my characters make sense, that they're appealing to my target audience, and that I'm providing something younger audiences can understand and enjoy. I've learned that taking the time to do things right and being thorough in my approach has been key to achieving the recognition I've received, from making the president's list every term to successfully publishing my first book.

The biggest thing I would say is to put pen to paper. I think the biggest challenge for anyone wanting to become an author is actually putting pen to paper, because you have all of these different thoughts and ideas. For me, with ADHD and being bipolar, my mind goes and goes and goes all the time, so trying to push out the noise and making sure I can focus on one thing is crucial. You need to make that outline to see exactly the path you want the story to go and just be able to make it all make sense. Organization is probably the most challenging part for me. Some people have an idea but don't know how to expand it to fill a book, and that's where research becomes so important. You want to make sure your character makes sense, your character's appealing, and you understand who your target audience is and what kind of stories they look for. It's definitely a lot of research, but don't let the challenges stop you from starting.

The biggest challenge in my field right now is keeping organized. When you're trying to write, you have all these different thoughts and ideas constantly flowing, especially for someone like me with ADHD. My mind goes and goes all the time, so trying to push out the noise and focus on one thing to create a clear outline for where you want the story to go is really difficult. Making it all make sense and staying organized throughout the writing process is probably the most challenging aspect. Beyond that, there's the challenge of expanding an idea enough to fill a book, understanding your target audience, making sure your characters are appealing and make sense, and doing extensive research on your subject matter. On the opportunity side, I discovered that self-publishing through Amazon and Kindle Direct Publishing is very accessible. You can do it yourself - you just need your own publishing name. That's how I was able to create Atlas and Quill Publishing and get my book out there without having to pay someone else to publish it.

Family and following my passion are the most important values to me. My husband and I relocated from Texas to Michigan to be with my sister, my brother-in-law, and my mom because they were going through some stuff and needed our help. Family comes first for us. As for following my passion, I've had the dream of being an author since I was young, and after 18 years in customer service at Wells Fargo, I finally left to focus on my own mental health and pursue what I truly wanted to do. My husband and I both support each other in following our dreams - he has aspirations for his own business too, and we share this drive for adventure and trying new things together. I'm also deeply passionate about supporting future generations through my writing, addressing issues like bullying and mental health for young people, because I believe everybody deserves love and nobody needs to be bullied. Being the cool aunt to my many nieces and nephews and hearing what they're going through has reinforced how important it is to focus on helping kids navigate the challenges they face today.