IAM1286 – Young Author Helps Clients Bring Visions to Life

Angelina Singer is a young adult/new adult author with a romantic comedy, Just Like a Pill, books 1-3 of a dystopian science fiction trilogy The Upperworld Series, and both books of The Rewind Duology available for purchase on Amazon now. In addition to her writing career, Singer graduated Magna Cum Laude from Stonehill College in 2019, where she studied English, Music, and Creative Writing. Angelina is also a board member of the Association of Rhode Island Authors, managing their Young Adult initiative. Her day job is freelance editing and content writing, helping clients bring their literary visions to life.

Website: angelinasinger.com

Books: Angelina-Singer/e/B0743ZF23N/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1

Instagram: angelinasingerauthor

Facebook: angelinasingerauthor

Twitter: asinger320

TikTok: @angelinasingerauthor?lang=en

LinkedIn:angelina-singer-8a337713b

Check out one of our favorite CEO Hack’s Audible. Get your free audiobook and check out more of our favorite CEO Hacks HERE.

Transcription

The full transcription is only available to CBNation Library Members. Sign up today! 

Please Note: Our team is using the AI CEO Hacks: Exemplary AI and Otter.ai to support our podcast transcription. While we know it's improving there may be some inaccuracies, we are updating and improving them. Please contact us if you notice any issues, you can also test out Exemplary AI here

00:20 – Intro

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

00:44 – Gresham Harkless

Hello, Hello, Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Angelina Singer. Angelina, it's great to have you on the show.

00:52 – Angelina Singer

Hi Gresh, it's great to be here. Thanks again for the warm welcome.

00:56 – Gresham Harkless

Yes, super excited to have you on. And before we jump to the interview, I want to read a little bit more about Angelina so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's working on. Angelina is a young adult, new adult author with a romantic comedy, Just Like a Pill, books 1 through 3 of a dystopian science fiction trilogy, the Upper World Series, and both books of the rewind duology available for purchase on Amazon right now.

In addition to her writing career, Angelina graduated Magnum Culati from Stone Hill College in 2019 where she studied English, music, and creative writing. Angelina is also a board member of the Association of Rhode Island Authors, managing their Young Adult Initiative and her day job is freelance editing and content writing, helping clients bring their literary visions to life. Angelina, super excited to have you on the show. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

[restrict paid=”true”]

01:44 – Angelina Singer

I'm so stoked to be here.

01:48 – Gresham Harkless

Go for it. Let's make it happen then. So to kind of kick everything off, I know I touched on it a little bit when I read your bio, but I wanted to hear a little bit more about how you got started, what I call your CEO story.

01:57 – Angelina Singer

Yeah, you know, it's funny with writing and life in general, things kind of start in a place and you're kind of like, I didn't expect it to start this way, but it did. And so I guess I'll start from the very beginning. I've always been good at writing. Writing in school teachers would say, oh, your essay is fine as a rough draft. You're just really good at this. And I'm like, okay, dope. I'll skip the second draft. I'll take it, you know, love it. And then from there, I started writing stories. I've told so many interviewers this.

So it's probably out there now, but I'll tell you because I've never told you in this audience, but I wrote just like a pill because I had this monstrous crush on this guy from band camp, like monstrous. And I'll show you it's this book right here. And it was just horrendously embarrassing, but it was so funny. And I wrote the story more for myself just to kind of move past it and kind of get that out of my system. And then I realized, oh, this is a story I could legit do something with so a guy I knew from my church said, you know, you can publish yourself on Amazon.

I'm like, really tell me more about this. So I did it. I went on Kindle and you know, that book is very raw. It's very honest. It's very real. It doesn't have the same polish and finesse that my newer stuff has. But I love the way it's a snapshot of where I was when I was 19 and all the things I had going on then. So it's a cool kind of moment in time. And I love it for that, even if I cringe a little bit. But from there, I had the stories going. And then the content writing and whatnot happened because writing is my strength. That's the 1 thing I know that I don't have to try to do. I can study guitar and music all I want, but it's not natural to me. Writing comes naturally.

And so from there, I had a friend that I met through a Facebook group that was very close still, and he's an author as well. And he said, you know, you'd be a really good editor. And I'm like? Do you think so? And he's like, yeah, you should pursue that. Because I edited his stuff just pro Bono, like, you know, because I can, it's a friend, why not? And from there, I started to freelance edit. And it turns out I am a good editor. And he's the 1 who told me that. And I met him through an author group on Facebook.

So you see how it just kind of starts to unfold and how life is vile that way. From there, I joined other Facebook groups and networked and joined the EFA Editorial Freelancers Association. I'm not on there anymore because at this point I have enough of a client base that between my contract positions with certain companies, I just don't need it as much. But it was a great launching point into what I do now. So all from a stupid crush, right? There you go.

04:38 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. I love that. And you know, it's so funny because I don't know if you ever heard the Steve Jobs quote where he says a lot of times in life, you only understand what's happening and why it's happening when you look backward and connect the dots. And sometimes when you start with that, that stupid crash or that story or whatever that is, I'm like, how did I end up here? It's just funny to kind of see the progression of our lives, the progression of our businesses, and the journeys that we kind of go through in life.

05:04 – Angelina Singer

Oh, definitely. And looking back, I feel like that would make a heck of a memoir, right? Like, isn't that so funny? And it's still going, too. Life doesn't stop. Not only do you keep learning new lessons, but you also keep unfolding. For example, I recently met the editor-in-chief of Wargate Books at a situated Rhode Island art festival where I was selling books.

And he has friends at a different publishing company that might represent me in the future. So I'm going to keep that under wraps just because it's up in the air. We don't know anything yet, but it was cool to connect with him. And he knows my vocal, Chelsea Cuoco, who did my rewind duology on audible. So I'm still kind of waiting for that to unfold and I'm very excited about it.

05:45 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, it's, it's, it's definitely an exciting finitely always. We srget I love how you said we're kind of writing our memoirs writing our book right now writing our story. And sometimes we forget about that aspect as you're constantly meeting people and connecting with people And I like to say being closer and further in alignment, you start to attract the people that are getting you to exactly where you wanna be. And I think that's such a powerful place to be once you're able to do it.

06:12 – Angelina Singer

Oh, definitely. And what you said about, I love what you said about alignment, because something in my life that I'm very intent about these days is guarding my energy and guarding my mindset. After all, when you are aware of your being and how you interact with others, you're able to then capitalize on not only how you interact with the world, but how you perceive the world and how people perceive you.

And when you claim that and you know that you're in charge of your emotions and not the other way around, then everything just works so much better. You're in charge of your ship and things just. So I've been thriving lately. Been. I love how you put that.

06:49 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. I love how you do that because it's so important to understand that that's the power and that's the power that you can claim. You can take ownership of and start to be intentional in how and what it is that you're doing. So I know you touched a little bit upon what you're doing and how you're working with the clients that you serve. Could you take us through a little bit more about that? Tell us a little bit more about your freelancing and everything you're doing from that standpoint. Most definitely.

07:12 – Angelina Singer

So my clients that I had before my more recent contract gigs with, I'll tell you quick, Grove Collaborative is an organic product company that I'm working with. I do the content writing, article edits, just stuff for their products. Great company, love them, great people, good organic, healthy, planet-friendly stuff. So we love that. The second company is the Biomed Center in Providence, Rhode Island. I'm gonna be starting, I think probably later this month, doing a lot of their kind of social media, like TikTok, fun stuff for them, which I love, because if you couldn't tell from my spiel about energy.

I'm so deeply into holistic medicine and how important this mindful attitude is about how you perceive the world how you take care of your body and how you interact. I am a creative writer, I'm a creative editor. I also develop novels for clients. And I go through and leave detailed comments about plot development, character development, overall feel tone, style, and clarity. Yeah, that's kind of how I got into freelancing.

And it all started once again with my friend. His name is Joel Spalding. He's the1 that got me into the editing gig and I am so grateful to him and his support of me. So you never know who you meet on a Facebook page. I'm telling you, he's a great guy. And so very good to have his friendship for sure.

08:29 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. It speaks so much to your environment and who you have around you and how important that is and how that can direct you towards really phenomenal spots and sometimes not as phenomenal spots depending on who's around you and of course what you do with that. So I love that you kind of, sound like took that baton and hit the ground, running as much as possible. Do you feel like your experience in terms of being able to kind of produce and publish your novel? Do you think that has helped you out as far as being an editor and being able to kind of provide that insight for the clients that you work with?

08:58 – Angelina Singer

Oh, definitely. If I hadn't published my stuff, probably would be very critical of like, gee, can I do this? Cause I don't know what publishing entails. I don't know. I do know cause I've done it, but I mean, hypothetically, I'll be like, what am I basing my expertise on? I think they like to see that, oh, she's published 6 novels. She knows what she's doing. And of course, they're self-published. And I think the more you do it and the more people you work with, you just gain more of a knowledge set.

And from there, you then take those lessons and those know-how and then enrich your resume and your abilities. And you have more things to offer clients, it all snowballs from there. So this is why I welcome all these learning opportunities. And I'm so grateful to any client that allows me to help them but also to learn myself. So it's a very synergistic kind of arrangement, I would say. I would say to anybody listening, just know your worth. Don't settle for anything less and make sure you educate yourself on the going rates for things.

Line yourself up against people in your same market and your same line of work and make sure that you're, I would say, put yourself a little above average because it's good to shoot for the stars and people will also ascribe more value to a slightly higher price tag. If you're in the lower end, they'll be like, why do I want you? You're not special, but you are special. So set yourself up for success and push yourself a little more. It'll pay off.

10:15 – Gresham Harkless

What's the saying? Luck favors the bold. And I think so many times we don't sometimes value ourselves as much as we should. And sometimes when we're asking for it, we think and there's no way it'll happen. And oftentimes we are not seeing that we're providing such a great solution to a problem that somebody else might have. And to be able to kind of fulfill that is huge.

So make sure to ask for what you're worth. And sometimes more than what we sometimes perceive our worth to be is huge. So would you consider that to be what I like to call a CEO hack? So there's a little bit more of an apple book or a habit that you have. But it's something that makes you more effective and efficient is asking for your worth and maybe even beyond your worth. Do you consider that to be a hack?

10:57 – Angelina Singer

Oh, definitely. But I do want to give the caveat that when you ask for beyond your work, you better be ready to step up and push yourself farther than you have ever gone. Do not stay at the same level and expect more compensation. It just doesn't work. You're going to look like an idiot. People are going to be like, wow, they're just money-hungry. They're not giving me the best. If you put in the work, you do the extra things. And you know what? I know scope creep is a thing, but if you're getting really good pay, don't be afraid to throw in a couple of extras.

People love freebies, not to go too far. But when you say, hey, you're an amazing customer, I wanna do this extra little thing for you because I appreciate your business I love your partnership and I want to support you. They're going to be like, oh my gosh, wow? Thank you. I'm going to tell all my friends and you see how it creates a snowball of positivity. So I guess to summarize that whole idea, ask for more than you're comfortable with just a little more push yourself, but then you better push yourself to back that up to make it worthwhile.

So it's kind of like taking that jump, but then also wearing the rocket on you to propel you when you take the job, it's going to be a 2 part sort of system to produce a success that you know you need.

12:01 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. It becomes an investment. So when you start to plant those seeds, then they start to blossom and grow into some phenomenal things. So I wanted to ask you now for what I call a CEO nugget, and you might already touched on this, but this is a little bit more of a word of wisdom or piece of advice. I like to say, that if you were to happen to be a time machine, you might tell your younger business.

12:20 – Angelina Singer

When you realize I am worth it, I have skills to offer, I'm going to ask for the money and the compensation I know I deserve for my time and the skills that I cultivated for all these years. It situates you as an expert in your field. And when you take that and you take leadership opportunities within that, it reminds you that you're good at what you do.

And you deserve to have all the accolades that maybe your competitors have, if not more, I don't know, you know? So I would tell myself, don't give up, keep writing, keep studying your craft, keep honing your craft, keep networking. That is the biggest thing. Oh my gosh, so much networking. So stick with it. Don't give up. It's coming kid. You're going to be fine is what I would tell her.

13:01 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, that's so powerful. And I think so many times we can look around and feel like we're lacking X, Y, and Z, or A, B, and C. But a lot of times if we go within and value ourselves, we understand our power, and we start to realize that we have a lot more to our advantage if we just change our perspective and look at it differently and uniquely. So absolutely appreciate that. And I want to ask you now my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping that different quote unquote CEO CEOs on the show. So Angelina, what does being a CEO mean to you?

13:29 – Angelina Singer

Oh, I love this question. I would say it's being the boss of your ship. Sure, it's the boss of your business and the chief, the head honcho of what you do. But more than that, it is taking charge of your life. This is your mindset, your positivity, your goals, even your weaknesses. If you take charge of your weaknesses and say, I recognize I have a deficit in this area, but I'm going to work on it and make it a strength, it'll be unstoppable. So don't just be the CEO of your business, be the CEO of your life and your goals and your abilities and your personality and all the things that make you unique.

Do that. Make your life and your body and your relationships and experience, make it all part of what you do. And then you'll be doing your best because that's all you can do and you'll be thriving before you know it. So to answer your question more specifically, being a CEO is a holistic experience of mind, body, spirit, and goals all wrapped into 1 with just peace and confidence and positivity going forward in confidence and humility and just joy in what you do, because we all do what we do for a reason, and it's all by design.

14:36 – Gresham Harkless

Angelina, truly appreciate that definition. I, of course, appreciate your time even more. What I want to do now is just pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know. And of course, how best people get to copy your books, find out about all the awesome things that you're working on.

14:51 – Angelina Singer

Absolutely. Thank you, Gresh. So I'll just go ahead and say, my website is angelinasinger.com. It's, I'm sure you're gonna put this in the copy and stuff on the episode too. So that'll be there. He's very thorough, love this. You can also find me on Instagram Facebook and TikTok. I'm trying to get with, you know, young kids and all the fun stuff. It's at Angelina Singer, author. And I would love to connect with you. Send me an email via my website. You can contact me for freelancing, content editing, or content writing, or even just to check out a book, they're on Amazon.

Just search my name, Angelina Singer, and leave a review if you read them. I would love to hear what you think about my time travel duology my dystopian trilogy, or even the book that started it all, which is called Just Like a Pill and it's this cute little red cover of my face because I was very bold when I was 19. It was very funny and I would love to share those stories with you. So thank you again for having me. I hope to connect with all these wonderful listeners and thanks again.

15:50 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. And to make it even easier, we'll have the links and information, the show notes, just like he said, Angelina. So I truly appreciate you, of course, for taking some time out today and reminding us of how important it is to kind of lean into who we are, lean into our story. And we even have the power to write that story and control that story. So thank you so much for doing that and reminding us to do that. And I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

16:11 – Angelina Singer

No, same to you, Gresh. Thank you so much. And thank you for having me. Thanks for watching!

16:43 – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Please tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

[/restrict]