Member Spotlight: Leah Levy

Written by Shelley Kilpatrick.

Leah Levy is an Austin transplant originally from Ithaca, NY. She joined WCA on Jenny Magic’s recommendation to break into the industry. Since then, she has successfully created her own business…and even written a book!

When did you fall in love with writing?
I’ve been writing for as long as I remember. I’ve always loved analytical writing, but I’ve always seen myself as more of a fiction writer. That’s why I went for my MFA rather than a Journalism degree.

Why you decided to make writing a career?
After graduate school, I started up a writing tutoring business so that I could be in and around writing while also having the flexibility to work on my own projects. When I moved to Austin I knew I wanted a change, but I wasn’t convinced that I could be a freelance writer and pay the bills, and nor did I have any idea how to get into it.

I kept tutoring and volunteered for the creative team at TEDxAustin, where I began experimenting with the kind of writing that would ultimately become my career. The gigs kept rolling in through the people I met there and through my old contacts back in Seattle.

I kept telling my parents, “I need to find a job!” until one day they said, “You kind of already have one.” That’s when I realized I had inadvertently built my dream business out of denial. In the meantime throughout all of this, I kept working on my first middle grade fantasy book, somehow managed to finish it and am currently shopping it with an agent.

Tell us about Just Start Applications and why you started this business.
I started Just Start Applications when I moved to Austin as a way to move my tutoring business online and focus specifically on college and graduate admissions essay writing. Soon, though, I expanded this to become Just Start Storytelling, through which I’ve helped businesses both big and small get their brand stories down and also establish their expertise on the web.

I don’t do admissions essay consulting so much anymore, but both aspects of the business speak to my passion for helping people and businesses discover who they really are at their core, and telling that story in the most compelling manner. I love opening up my clients’ eyes to what’s inside of them, and to the many different creative ways they can say what makes them tick.

What have you learned along the way?
Throughout my experiences, I also discovered the new field of content strategy, which to me is the perfect blend of analytical and creative energy. I love digging through a brand’s online presence, analyzing how they’re doing, pinpointing niches we’re missing, and brainstorming a million creative ways we can take that strategy in a new editorial and social direction.

What are you doing now?
All my experiences led to a Managing Editor position at an education website called Edudemic, where I now spend the bulk of my time setting editorial strategy, experimenting with site monetization, and nurturing writers. It’s the ideal blend of everything that’s come before: creativity, entrepreneurship, teaching, and analysis.

When you’re not writing, what other things do you like to do?
Yeah, I mostly just write all the time. Let’s see, the truth is that I mostly just hang out with my husband, Stephen, and my dog, Miri. I like taking Miri to dog parks (especially those that serve beer!) and having dogs over for playdates while I work (I call them my canine coworkers).

We like to try new restaurants in town and go for long walks, and I am a big runner. I also love traveling whenever I can, especially to visit my family in the East Coast in the summer.

What do you like most about WCA?
While I don’t make it to as many of the events as I would like, I love taking advantage of the mailing list, which I used often as a source for jobs and now use more often as a great place to refer out to. (Referring out is just as valuable to me in growing a network as getting referrals).

I love how passionate, engaged, helpful, and loyal everyone at WCA is. At WCA you know you’re referring to someone who will do an excellent job. Also, as I’ve turned my energy towards building my own author’s platform, I’ve found WCA members so generous in sharing their expertise in branding in publishing.

Anything else you want to share?
That’s it really. I am working hard at selling my book, and also on my next project, which is a series.

Find out more and connect with Leah
Read Leah’s fiction writing and comics here: http://leahannelevy.com/

Or follow her on social media
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeahAnneLevy
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+LeahKaminsky