Today we’d like to introduce you to Inita Callaway.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m a storyteller. I’m a VISIONARY. I’m a creative who sees then creates.
I’ve always been a lover of words since the age of 13, where I wrote in the walls of my mind primarily. I was too shy to share my work with the word. While in school, I excelled in subjects like language arts and writing, but never know that was tied to my purpose for my life. Writing and creating was the thing I always did with the least effort. It just needed to be developed. As a senior in high school, I was recommended for a writing program by my English teacher, journalism to be exact, at the NBC tower in Chicago, my hometown. I was ecstatic about this opportunity. I knew I wanted to write, but I did not know in what capacity and this program was going to give me inside secrets into the life of a journalist.
At this time, confidence was at an all-time low, although my mom poured into me, it was not enough, and I was intimated by all the exceptionally talented writers in the program. I was the only black student and that made me more insecure. If I would have embraced the opportunity and not compared myself to who I was sitting around, it would have benefited me greatly. My grave fear won, and I talked myself out of going to the FREE program on Saturday mornings after attending maybe four times. There were so many perks for completing the program, but my nearsightedness and self-sabotage would not allow me to see past the queasy feeling in my stomach. Long story short, I stopped attending. I was 18 years old. At the time, it was not a big deal, and I decided to go to college to be a teacher. Went to university and the desire to write never left, but I kept it suppressed. I was excellent at writing papers and even started helping other people write their papers. At the time, I did not see what was happening because again, I was nearsighted.
I decided to attend graduate school, to enroll in a writing program, and be exposed to different styles of writing. I never thought to check in with my counselors at any point because internships could have been a great place for me to start a writing career. Instead, I went to graduate school, had son, got a job in corporate, got married, stop attending graduate school, got laid off, worked small jobs to make ends meet, had a daughter, got separated, contemplated moving to Atlanta to work for Turner Studios as a writer or write for movies, started graduate school, got a divorce, and completed graduate school in 2014.
Finally, at the age of 36, I was at my wits end and felt like I was behind the eight ball of life. Feeling discontent in the position I was in, I started comparing myself to everyone else, which is an evil trap. During this time, the word BLOG keep being presented to me, which I let roll off. It was for at least one month. I’m a person of faith, but at the time did not realize it was God talking to me to steer me in the right direction. One night, things came to a head, and I was over everything. I called my mom and cried for about 45 minutes. She encouraged me and I went home and slept, still feeling defeated, that was a Saturday night. I’m from a close-knit family and my mom called my brother, then he came by my home that morning and I broke down crying. He looked me in my face and said you are better than his. Then he said a prayer. I was so weak in the knees and overwhelmed by my situation that I slumped over. Suddenly, my brother said, with tears in his eyes, “you were always an excellent writer, why don’t you start a BLOG.”
That night I started a blog called the B-LOG’S, which were logs from my brain, Boonie. Bonnie or Boon is my childhood nickname. I started a blog, then met a young lady at my church whose brother was a publisher and they gifted me with publishing, and I released my first book titled, “I’m Writing my Wrongs, I’m Not Writing My Wrongs” in 2018.
The publisher called me one day and said, can you ghostwriter for me. My writer dropped the ball, and this book is awful. Up until then, ghostwriting for me was always music. Needless to say, I took the assignment and wrote the book. The publisher was please and most importantly, the client was. This is when my business as a ghostwriter was born. My divorce was final in 2017 and I realized in 2019 that my initials were INC. I knew it was a sign that I needed to have a pen in my hand. INC Writes LLC was born. Then the urge to move to Atlanta was still pulling at me.
I’ve worked with so many amazing people to write their books and help articulate their stories. I’ve found a niche with former NFL players, and I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to work with Hall of Famers because of it. Since then, I have written 9 books including my upcoming novel fall of 2023, At Last, Ivy.
In 2022, I decided to move to Georgia to expand my career as a Writer, Creative, and Communications professional. ATL is one of the best cities in the world for creatives. My dreams to write for Tyler Perry were at an all-time high and I took a chance and moved.
Since being here, I have expanded and rebranded my business to add more creative services, like social media management, content development, communication consulting, creative direction, workshop development, copywriting, and of course ghostwriting. Currently, I’m working on amassing contracts to be able to hire subcontractors.
We’re called INC Agency LLC, Inita Nicole Creatives Agency. As I build relationships here in the city, I plan to build my business into a multiple million-dollar business while providing other young creatives a space to build, grow, and develop their own lane using INC Agency as a springboard.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely NOT! My road was/is not for the faint of heart but when you believe in yourself and your talent, you keep going. This life of unpredictable money is not easy, but I have a great support system who believes in the vision too.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m known for being a writer, but I also do social media management, content development, communication consulting, creative direction, workshop development, copywriting, and of course ghostwriting. We’re called INC Agency LLC, Inita Nicole Creatives Agency.
I’m most proud of writing the stories of others to help them articulate their feelings and accomplish whatever goals they are set here to achieve.
My heart for people, my spirit, my faith, my genuine passion for my craft, my sense of humor and my desire to want to ALWAYS operate out of excellence are what I’d like people to take from me. I’m the person who is going to always encourage you to win. I’m the one who is always working to become the best version of me so I can present my clients with the best projects. I desire to be a word-of-mouth business who seeks to create supreme content, that is created with integrity, inclusivity, and excellence.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
In the next 5 – 10 years, I see that the industry will seek creatives to help them recycle old trends. Every trend is recycled and with a twist. With all the AI technology, writers will remain be in high demand because you cannot beat a real person to create. Emotion, soul, and the human spirit must come from a human; which is how art is created!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.incwrites.com
- Instagram: Inita_write
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/inita-nicole-callaway-ma-b65a00176/
