Josee Smith: Calling Yourself a Writer

Did you think of yourself as a creative kid? What did you do for fun?

I’m not sure if I identified that way, but looking back creativity was always a part of my life. My sister is four years older than me, and a big reader, and so I of course had to start reading early, just to keep up with her. I don’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t reading a book.

That love of reading morphed into a love of telling my own stories from a young age. Not so much coming up with totally new stories, but writing different versions of the stories I loved to read. I wrote Nancy Drew mysteries in elementary school, and Harry Potter fanfiction in high school!

What does creativity look like for you these days?

My love of reading is still strong these days. I’m always reading something, usually a novel, and I get antsy if I’m between books and haven’t started anything new.

I’ve also kept up the writing—in 2019, I decided I wanted to get serious about my writing and actually finish a novel. It wasn’t until the pandemic in 2020 that I actually had the brain space and motivation to make it happen. I didn’t know what the future was going to hold, but I knew I was capable of getting a book out into the world. I self-published my first cozy mystery novel in 2021 and published 5 more in that series over the next two years.

When my son was born in 2023, my writing practice went out the window. I had to learn how to be a mom, how to care for this creature that was so helpless, and I struggled to get back into my writing. But once I realized how important my creativity is for myself and my own wellbeing, I was able to see what impact it could have on my son, and I made a concerted effort to bring writing back into my life.

How much time do you get to work on creative projects?

I’ve got a day job, and a coaching business, and my beautiful son, plus all the other responsibilities in life, and so my creative work doesn’t take up as much time as it used to. But one of the big mindset shifts I had to go through in 2020 to actually finish my first novel and get it out into the world was to start viewing myself as a writer. Not just someone who wrote or had written, but actually calling myself a writer.

Because that identity is so deeply ingrained in me now, it’s easy for me find different times and places to work on my novels. Some days, I only have 10 minutes to write, but I don’t doubt that I’m going to write because I’m a writer—that’s what we do.

How did motherhood change your creative practice?

I had to make so many adjustments to my writing practice after becoming a mom. I no longer had hours of free time on the weekends to write, or even an hour on weekdays to write. I had to give myself a lot of grace and figure out how to build up a writing routine again once I became a mom.

To build that habit, I made it easy to write—I set small goals that I knew I could hit every day, like 10 or 15 minutes, and I did my best to hit that goal every weekday. I also accepted the fact that I’m not as fast at completing novels as I was before becoming a mom, but I know that as long as I stick with my writing, books will get finished.

Becoming a mom has made me passionate about helping other moms achieve their childhood dream of writing a novel, just like I was able to do. I see how valuable it’s been for me to keep up this writing practice, the things I’m teaching my son about going after our passions, and I want to help other moms discover their writer identities, too.

My coaching business was built to help all moms write books they love, and I wouldn’t have been inspired to support this particular group of people if it weren’t for becoming a mom myself.

What do you hope your kids will learn about creativity from you?

I hope my son will see my books on our bookshelf and realize how amazing it is that his mom was able to go after her dreams. He already loves reading, and I hope one day he’ll come to me and want to write his own book, too. Or maybe he’ll be a painter, or a sculptor—I just hope he sees the value of creativity and carves out space for himself.

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Josee Smith is an indie author and book coach for working moms who want to finish the novel of their dreams. She achieved her childhood dream of finishing a novel and publishing it in 2021, and now she supports other writers with the same dream. As a new mom with a busy job, she understands the challenges of managing it all, and she also believes strongly that writing and creativity can help women feel like themselves again after the chaos of motherhood. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, toddler son, anxious dog, and semi-feral cat. You can find her at on Instagram, at joseesmithbookcoach.com or at josephinesmithauthor.com or here on Substack.

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Nebula Notebook is a place to meet kindred spirits, get inspired, and learn how to find ease and joy in the creative process—even when life is bananas. 🍌🍌🍌

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✏️ PS—The fastest way to grow as a writer is to book a manuscript critique or a creative coaching session with an expert. My clients get agents, sell books, and win awards. They also learn how to enjoy the creative process, so they can keep going when life gets hard. 👏