Professionally Sassy Tamie T. Polk
In this post, business owner Tammie T. Polk shares in her own words some of her writing journey, inspiration, and writing process with the Sister Circle Writing community.
It Started in the Sixth Grade
I began writing at the age of eleven, and I credit the journey to my sixth grade teacher, Dianna Johnson Bell. She helped me to see that writing was a vital part of my future. In fact, she told my mother not to stop me from writing, and she didn't.
I remember writing to entertain my friends when I was in middle and high school, and I wrote my first two books in college. Like most young authors, I was met with critique and criticism. On one hand, I was told my writing was too racy. On the other hand, I was told my writing was too predictable. At 19, I really didn't know what to do with that, but I was proud of myself.
Life turned for me after that, and writing became a distant memory until September 2015, when watching Dr. Phil made me angry enough to pick up a brand new journal and start writing my own narratives about what I saw on TV. After that, I grabbed my Bible because I wanted young girls to know that God had something to say about what they were doing. This is why I believe that content can come from anywhere!
That book had fifteen chapters and was fifty-one pages long, which, to me, was perfect for young girls. A former acquaintance told me about self-publishing with Amazon, and after reading everything, I got to work, then my first book baby was born!
From there, I wrote about anything on my heart and mind with the thought that it would help others like it helped me. As I grew with each book, I found that I was wired to write quickly and could produce multiple works at once, but I also needed tools to help keep that in check.
Writing Tools
Two of my favorite tools to use are Atticus.io (paid) and the Kindle Create Plugin for Microsoft Word (free). I like them because I don't have to worry about fighting with margins, having the right page size, or anything like that. Both of these programs handle much of that for me, making things a lot easier!
My Process
My writing process is a weird one, but it works! It takes me about 7-14 days to write a book unless I'm writing out the actual process of how I do or have done something. That can take months, depending on what process I'm putting on paper.
I have always liked the concept of Writing Wednesdays and have that day blocked on my calendar for just that! I spend the days before preparing for Wednesday, and the first thing I do is look through my supplies. Although I spend most of my time writing on either my computer or my phone, I am NEVER without wide-ruled spiral notebooks, turquoise and blue ink pens, and cookies! I am the adult who gets excited about back-to-school time because there's just something about getting twenty-five notebooks for seventeen cents each that inspires my inner Tammie….
I'm also not an outline person unless I'm writing a book based on a sermon, and then I will follow the notes that I made. Other times, I can hear something, talk to someone, or have an experience where I just start writing. In middle and high school, my cubicle faced a window that looked out into an open field. I would grab my supplies, lay my head on one side of my desk, look out that window for a few moments, and my pen would start to move. I have a very vivid imagination, and that's the best part of writing for me. I know that most of my readers question my sanity on the regular, but I'm okay with that!
The biggest leap I've taken in my ten years of authorship is opening my brick and mortar bookstore literally four months before the pandemic hit. I wanted a place where I knew I could display my books without rejection and not have to deal with low sales due to how someone else ran their place – I've had my place for five years now!
The most important thing I do now is help my daughters in their literary journeys. Both my oldest and my youngest have drawn and penned works of their own, and I have no greater joy than to see them continue….
Writing is bigger than me, and I will continue until God says otherwise! I encourage you to do the same!
Bio: Author Tammie T. Polk is the prolific author of over 200 books. Even as a married homeschooling mother of three daughters, she writes to inspire, encourage, uplift, and equip her readers to do more, better, and greater in life and business. Tammie has been featured in several Christian magazines and other publications and has spoken at over 100 events since September 2015. She is a frequent speaker for writer's conferences and empowerment events. Mostly known for her “Girl, Go Eat A COOKIE” series, she believes that being a successful author is possible!
Social media: FB (Dynamically Different Author Tammie T. Polk and Dynamically Different Books and More group), IG (https://www.instagram.com/dynamicallydifferentasc/)
Website: http://professionallysassy.me
Amazon Author Central: http://amazon.com/author/tammiepolk
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