AN INTERVIEW!

*waves* I’m a wee bit late, (sorry, Kayti!) Life got away from me, stuff happened, ’nuff said. XD

Please enjoy this interview with the lovely Kaytlin Phillips herself! (Founder of Writers’ Vision!)

Hello Kayti, and welcome back to Bookish Productions! I’m so excited to have you on here again, and super excited to ask you more questions about the community you’ve grown known as Writers’ Vision! 

Thank you so much, Louise! I am so happy to here again!

So to start off, I’d like to ask you a question regarding the highs and lows of just starting this site, and re-launching everything. I know as outsiders looking in it’s difficult to imagine everything that actually goes into the process, but it’s pretty intimidating having your vision set out and then going for it. So tell us about when you first started out, what was that like? 

Oh, that’s a good question. It was nerve wracking first starting out. I don’t view myself as any kind of expert on writing but God kept nudging me in this direction and then shoved me by just making me realize that the community I was looking for and craving wasn’t out there. I needed to make it. 

So, it was nerve wracking taking the initial jump but I was quickly encouraged by how many people joined right off the bat and told me they had been waiting for a community like this. I’ve had ups and downs and I’m still finding my footing, but overall, now that I have committed to keeping the site up and have some help it’s been fantastic!

I also wanted to ask about the re-launch, you rebranded pretty much everything if I’m not mistaken… So what are your hopes with this relaunch tour? 

I did rebrand everything, totally flipped the colors and theme and made a logo, reworked everything. My hopes with the relaunch tour are to help people realize that Writers’ Vision is there, just get the word out about the community because so many people don’t know about it yet and I want them too. I want them to know about the free community that I and so many others are striving to create. I want them to know they aren’t alone on their writing journey.

Are you going to be launching to any other platforms, or are you just going to be focusing on the website, and building the community from there? 

For now, just focusing on the website. I’m learning to be less of an overcommitter, but I do run info on WV on my Author Facebok and Instagram. I just can’t manage anymore social media accounts or I might go insane, literally.

Tell us a bit about the most exciting part of this! What makes you smile when you think about it? What do you love the most about this community? 

All the members, knowing that they are connectioning and helping each other. That they enjoy the site and are thankful that it’s there. It makes everything so worth it, you know? The Visionaries are by far my favorite part because each one is fantastic!

How far have you come in developing your original idea? In the bio you’d mentioned it firstly was a critique site with a monthly challenge, and now it has a growing list of articles and guest posts, as well as a section for writing sprints, a quarterly writing challenge, resources for authors in need of beta reading, and so much more! Could you explain the process of adding all those extra resources to the site? 

Well, when I did the relaunch I realized we weren’t reaching everyone’s needs, we weren’t covering all the bases. Lord knows I can’t humanly cover everything but I wanted the community to include as many helpful things for writers as possible. I wanted it to be more than just a place to get critique on your work and more like a community of friends helping each other reach their goals!

And then the new branding! Bright and bubbly vintage is not what you see often. Has that been a recent taste, or something that you’ve always liked? And why did you decide on that for Writers’ Vision? 

I know, I’m the queen of random. I’ve always loved blue, especially the shade I used for WV, it’s actually the accent color in my room, and vintage is something I’ve also always loved! My dad helps me track down vintage books so mixing my brightside and old soul seemed like a great idea. Plus, I know so many other writers who are just that. Bright and bubbly young people with old souls. So, I feel it represents not only me but our members.

Are there any other services you’re considering offering young authors and writers in the future? 

I’m considering some things, but I won’t mention anything in case they don’t come to fruition. I will say that I am always striving to make the site more inviting and just better all around for everyone!

Is there anything specific you’d like to let readers know about Writers’ Vision?

That it’s a place of growth. Whether you are looking to grow as a writer or person, Writers’ Vision is there. I love addressing writers as whole persons not just their writing and storytelling side but also that side that needs to hear they are good enough, that needs to be encouraged to keep going. Sharing my thoughts on what it means to be a Christian Creative writing powerful stories for our Creator is my passion and I hope in a small way I share it with the members of Writers’ Vision.

What would be the first thing you would tell newcomers about Writers’ Vision? 

Jump right in, not to be afraid to jump right into the community. Everyone is more than welcome to give pointers on how things work and are the most inviting group of people I’ve ever been around! 

Does Writers’ Vision have a core verse? Are there any biblical passages that have inspired you to reach out to fellow writers in this way? 

We do actually, it’s on the home page with an Andrew Peterson quote, but the core verse is Proverbs 3:5-6 which reads:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

I chose these verses because of the bit about ‘Lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him.’ I think often we forget why we write, we forget who the Master Storyteller is, we forget to acknowledge Him in our writing. Writers’ Vision is a place to focus on God’s direction for our writing. Do all our stories contain God? No, but they point back to Him without ever mentioning His name. A story doesn’t have to have God in it to point us to Him, it just needs to be directed by His hand.

What are you most encouraged by through this endeavor?

The way God keeps growing me, showing me that as much as I think I don’t have anything to offer about writing or life, I do. Every time I think I’m not making a difference, that no one cares for the things I believe someone comments that the post today was so encouraging, or so true, or they felt the same way but never knew how to word it. WHen something like that happens it makes all the rough patches worth it. It helps me remember that I’m doing this not for me, but for Him.

Thank you so much for having me, Louise! It was so fun to do this interview with you!

Of course! It was awesome to have you back! And thanks for reading, everybody! Have a fantastic day!

Louise Taylor