Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiffany Grimes.
Tiffany, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve wanted to be a writer since elementary school, but over and over I was told, “That will be a good hobby, but you’ll need a real job.” So I did. I fought taking my writing seriously because I was told consistently that I wouldn’t make it.
I went to college for writing. And grad school for writing. I vowed to learn everything possible about writing. But I juggled multiple jobs on the side. I worked as a bookseller, a tour guide, a barista, a nanny—I avoided a career that would take up too much time. But basically, this just meant I was always too exhausted to write.
The thing I couldn’t learn in school? Mindset. Showing up consistently to the page. How to manage imposter syndrome. How to tune out other people’s opinions and goals and stay in your own lane.
And this is exactly why I became an editor and writing coach: to be the help I needed when I started out writing.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’ve always had to be a survivor, constantly moving forward and never looking back, but running an online business during a pandemic without a support system has absolutely had its challenges. I’m so grateful for my online community of writers and entrepreneurs who have helped me through. We don’t exist and create in a vacuum. Community is everything.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Burgeon Design and Editorial is a queer-founded book editor, book coach, and author website designer for the individualists, nonconformists, mavericks, outsiders, rebels, renegades, dissenters, disruptors, and free spirits.
We offer programs like DIY Developmental Edit, a self-guided editing course, and The Burgeon Mastermind, a six-month collective for writers, as well as 1:1 mentorship and editing intensives. We’re big on collaboration and building a partnership with our writers, rather than leaning into the traditional power dynamics of a writer-editor relationship.
We believe words have the power to change lives and that everyone should be able to see themselves represented in stories and books, and we’re here to help writers make waves and stand out in the publishing industry. It’s our mission here at Burgeon to help writers break past barriers and see their own potential. To dream big and shatter glass ceilings.
I’m so proud that I’ve been able to bring together an amazing team of folks who believe in fostering these same beliefs and creating a better world for future readers. It’s such an honor to get to work alongside such talented writers every single day.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
The publishing industry is changing at a snail’s pace, but over the next 5-10 years there will definitely be more of a push for inclusivity and diversity, especially within the gatekeepers of the industry. Right now the industry is 76% white, 97% cis, 81% straight, and 89% nondisabled, so we’ll definitely see more balance in the next decade.
We deserve to exist in a world where marginalized writers and readers are equally represented in publishing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.burgeondesignandeditorial.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/burgeondesignandeditorial
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BurgeonDesignandEditorial
Image Credits
Miranda Kelton Photography
