Rani Shah is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Fuss Class News, the first South Asian-American satire publication in the world. Rani took the time to share with me her journey as a writer and why she founded Fuss Class News.

1. What is your profession?

During daylight hours, I am a Content and Social Media manager at Trello where I’m living out the (paid) dream of writing, editing, and creating media content in NYC. During night-owl hours and the weekends, I am the founder and editor-in-chief of Fuss Class News: a South Asian satire site where I can let loose and share my culture in the best way I can— by being a complete smart ass.

2. Why and how did you get into this profession?

Buckle up for this one: I got into this profession almost by accident. From a young age I always enjoyed writing, to the point where I considered pursuing journalism in college. But alas, culture dictated I do something “traditional” so your girl majored in and graduated with a chemical engineering degree. Never having an ounce of passion for it, however, I jumped at an opportunity after graduation to join a small (and by small I mean there were 3 people total) startup that organized hackathons for tech companies. After a year of scraping together cash and living with my parents, I landed a communications marketing job in Seattle with a food delivery startup. Still being unsure about what career path I wanted, I took the job because, well, it was a hell of a lot better than being a chemical engineer.

Learning everything I know about marketing on the job was both satisfying and terrifying, but those learn-on-the-go habits paid off in the long run. Especially once the startup began to falter and I got laid off, that work ethic never left. Being unemployed in a city far away from home forces you to make a choice: do I go back to my comfort zone or do I make sense of this somehow?

My attempt at making sense of the situation led to me offering writing and marketing services to up and coming startups. Freelancing was never an intention of mine but when you begin living on bagels in order to afford rent each month intention goes out the door. Not only that, but freelancing meant I had my own schedule. My own schedule to begin passion projects such as Fuss Class News. A few months into freelancing, I decided that moving to NYC was the best next step for me in order to even entertain my new goal: becoming a full time writer. About a year after losing my job, I moved to NYC and did the glamorous thing: stayed with friends until I landed a job. Accepting the first job I was offered, I continued freelancing and writing on the side— the best decision I ever made because those written pieces in my portfolio are what led to my current full-time writing job.

3. What did you hope to get out of this career as a professional and on a personal level?

Whether it was writing for Fuss Class News or doing content pieces for clients, I loved the aspect of strangers reading my thoughts and feeling understood. Knowing that there is someone else out there able to put into words the emotions you have felt is one of the coziest feelings, I was ecstatic to be able to provide that. On a professional level, I hoped my writing could entertain and help others come to terms with everyday scourges like dating or productivity. On a personal level, my dream for Fuss Class News is to give a voice to minorities and share our experiences through sharp humor rather than that of victim.

4. What is something unique you bring as a writer or professional in the industry?

A perspective on being the “other” and being able to shine light on the humor of it. Things like people mispronouncing South Asian names to making assumptions of “where you’re really from”, yes it’s frustrating but it’s also a point of comedy when we’re among our other South Asian friends. Channeling that energy is something I enjoy and want to excel at.

5. What do you wish you would have known about your profession before you started working in it?

How much of a difference it makes when you’re writing something you care about. It can make or break your piece. Oh and the anthem of every writer: your first draft will be trash so never be scared to start.

6. Do you feel you are compensated fairly for the work you do?

I am one of the lucky few that can say I do feel like I am compensated fairly for what I do. As far as Fuss Class News goes, however, we’re a small team that is aiming to monetize over the next year. So time will tell if our model will result in monetization or struggling artist mode.

7. What are some opportunities you have come across in your profession as a woman of color?

My perspective provides the greatest opportunity of them all. Being able to relay my emotions of how my culture treats women and how we as minorities view the majority is the best opportunity. Being able to turn the conversation around in terms of viewpoint is something larger satire sources, like The Onion, haven’t quite been able to tackle yet.

8. What advice would you give to women of color who want to follow your career path?

1. Be authentic, be you, be unapologetically yourself— and those who support you will come out of the woodwork.
2. Be open to feedback. Your first draft will always be bad. Learn fast and fix often, you’re more talented than your first draft may make you seem.
3. Follow up constantly. Didn’t hear back from someone? Don’t let that silence you. Follow up often and push for what you want harder than you may be comfortable with.

9. Anything else you would like to add.
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Support Fuss Class News on our Patreon!

Thank you Rani for sharing your wisdom and experience with us!

If you have questions or thoughts about this interview please feel free leave a comment below.

If you haven’t already, give yourself some joy today and go read Fuss Class News.

You can sign up for my newsletter at the bottom of the page for updates on my writing, my workshops, and my events.
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Next Wednesday’s blog will be more #browngirlwrites stories.
Until then…
​
Happy Writing! :)


Find me on social media. Links at the bottom of the page 👇🏽


Art by Loso F. Perez of Prime Vice Studios

Hey everyone!

I have some exciting news today. I have been working with Lauren L. Small and That Girl Can Write on a podcast and our first episode is out!

This is a podcast by women writers of color for women writers of color. So drop everything you are doing and go listen now!


The Girl Can Write Podcast on SoundCloud
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Also, if you are a woman writer of color who is killing the game and breaking ceilings, we would love to interview you, so get in touch with us!

Thank you for listening to our podcast!

If you have questions or thoughts about it please feel free leave a comment below.
You can sign up for my newsletter at the bottom of the page for updates on my writing, my workshops, and my events.

Next Wednesday’s blog will be more #browngirlwrites stories.
Until then…

​
Happy Writing! :)


Find me on social media. Links at the bottom of the page 👇🏽

Art by Loso F. Perez of Prime Vice Studios

Writer Lauren L. Small shares her experiences as a writer and woman of color that lead her to create the platform That Girl Can Write to empower other women of color. 

1.    What is your profession (related to writing or the publishing industry)? Please be as specific as possible.

Freelance Copywriter. I create copy for mediums (including and not limited to emails, blogs, and websites) to increase or enhance customer engagement. I’m also the editor and creator of That Girl Can Write, a digital platform that encourages and promotes women writers of color.

2.    Why/how did you get into this profession?

A few years I began blogging as a release from my unsatisfying 9-to-5. My best friend shared that she liked my work and I should consider moving forward with it professionally. After some consideration, I enrolled in the SCAD MFA program, there I realized I could create copy and actually get paid to do it.

3.    What did you hope to get out of this career as a professional and on a personal level?

Happiness. I hated my cubicle/office job. I was missing the opportunity to be creatively free. Once I realized I didn’t care about pay, I knew writing professionally and personally was what I needed.

4.    What is something unique (ex: perspective, skill, personality) you bring as a writer or professional in the publishing industry?

My voice. I’m the only person in the world with this voice. One can learn everything I know and more, but they can’t imitate my experiences, my emotions, and thought processes that make up my voice.

5.    What do you wish you would have known about your profession before you started working in it?

I wish I would have known it’d be hard to break into. Most often I’m interviewed by older, white men that don’t care about creativity. They are most often from the “newspaper” era and prefer to see traditional copy. I understand that it’s important to connect with the people you work with, but it usually leaves me overlooked for positions and opportunities I’m qualified for.

6.    Do you feel you are compensated fairly for the work you do?

I think the previous question answers that lol

7.    What are some obstacles you have faced in your profession as a woman of color?

I don’t get the respect I feel I deserve and I have a constant feeling of anxiety around trying to prove myself. Black women are taught we have to work the hardest or be the smartest person in the room and it’s exhausting.

Some people see the way I carry myself and are immediately intimidated or they expect me to have a bad attitude. It’s like people think “She can’t possibly be the person in charge.”
After viewing my resume and/or hearing my voice to actually seeing my face walk in the room there is a moment of disbelief. I’ve interviewed for a number of positions and I ace the phone interview, but once I go in for the face-to-face I know I can expect an email that someone else more “fitting” got the job.

8.    What are some opportunities you have come across in your profession as a woman of color?

The opportunity for MORE. I see people like Issa Rae, Lena Waithe, Mara Brock Akil, Maine Waters, and Roxane Gay stirring things up yet it’s still not common to see Black Women leading the pack. I want to see more black women leading in creativity, leading entrepreneurship, and leading in publishing. We all have some darn good stories to tell.

9.    What advice would you give to women of color who want to follow your career path?

Be confident. My confidence has wavered over the years due to feeling incompetent or inadequate, or simply not good enough which has slowed down my progress.

10.  Anything else you would like to add.
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Thank you for this opportunity and follow That Girl Can Write on Instagram for beautiful, talented writers like myself.

Thank you Lauren for sharing your wisdom and experience with us!

You can find Lauren’s work at www.laurenlsmall.com. To learn more about and submit to That Girl Can Write, go to https://linktr.ee/thatgirlcanwrite and follow them on Instagram @thatgirlcanwrite

If you have questions or thoughts about this interview please feel free leave a comment below.

You can sign up for my newsletter at the bottom of the page for updates on my writing, my workshops, and my events.
​
Next Wednesday’s blog will be more #browngirlwrites stories.
Until then…


Happy Writing! :)


Find me on social media. Links at the bottom of the page 👇🏽


Art by Loso F. Perez of Prime Vice Studios

By now we have all experienced social media in some capacity in our lives. Some of us love it and use it daily, others of us only use it because all our family and friends are on it, and then there are those of us who are afraid of it or anti-social media for various reasons.
I’m here to tell all you creatives: Don’t be afraid of social media. Embrace it. Use it wisely.

Social media is a phenomenon that has been popular for a little over a decade now. I am part of the generation that grew up without internet or social media, so it didn’t come as naturally to me as some of the younger people for whom it is second nature.
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However, as an adult, when I was obtaining my MFA in Writing, I began to have a brand new relationship with social media. One day, a visiting writer came to my school who transformed my thinking about social media. Her name is Virginia Heffernan. I heard her lecture and presentation. I listened to her read from her insightful book Magic and Loss, and I got to continue the conversation with her over some delicious Thai food with a couple of classmates and my professor.

I went home that night and recited everything I learned that day to my husband for hours. As I tried to explain to him what Virginia Heffernan was talking about, I had an epiphany and a complete change of mind about what the internet and social media meant to me. Her perspective on technology and the internet was so different from any other writers I had met so far that it changed my worldview.

The biggest thing I learned from her was that as a writer/artist/creative person, we have to look at the internet and social media as another form of our art. Each social media platform or digital content creation strategy is a way to express our art. We have to learn how to express ourselves differently depending on the platform we use.

I began considering everything I posted on social media, in Wikipedia, on my blogs, and anywhere else on the internet, as part of my writing portfolio. I became conscious of how I used the internet and social media as a professional platform.

I had this realization back in 2016, but just a couple of years later, today, we see resumes becoming obsolete. If you are a creative person, it is all about your online presence. Your resume is irrelevant if you have a strong digital footprint. Even if you have a solid resume, clients and/or employers still want to see that you have a strong online presence.

This is especially important if you are a business owner or an aspiring business owner. I make my own jobs based on what I put out on the internet on my websites and social media platforms. I never need a resume.

Just to clarify, I am talking about using social media and other digital platforms with a purposeful strategy and as a professional. These are a whole new set of skills that you will have to develop. It will take time, but will be worth it in the end.
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There were many ways I was able to develop my digital content creation skills. One, way was through my MFA program where I learned persuasive writing, branding, and rhetoric that helped me learn how to use my words to control people's perception. I also read many books such as Contagious by Jonah Berger which is a research based book about why some things spread faster than others.

I learned from and researched people and brands who have a strong digital following, and finally, I practiced consistency. It takes years to learn and understand how this works and how to build a consistent online following. 

If you feel overwhelmed by everything I have just shared with you or with social media itself, don’t worry. You don’t have to use every single social media platform out there. Find one platform that best suits you based on your personality, artform, expertise, audience, etc. and start with that. If you need help building your platform or just want to learn how to use social media and digital platforms in a more professional way as a creative person, feel free to contact me here.

Building a social media following, like any other craft, is about hard work and consistency so start small and only tackle what you have time for. Don’t be afraid of expressing yourself and showing the world how talented you are.
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Go work your magic.

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to share your perspectives on this topic in the comments below. I’d love to hear about your relationship with social media as a creative person, especially a creative person of color.

You can sign up for my newsletter at the bottom of the page for updates on my writing and my events.

For my readers in the Atlanta area, I want to thank you all for coming to my workshops on the Atlanta Beltline last week! It was so great to meet all you amazing talented folks and I hope to continue to keep building with you all. For those of you who missed the workshops or don't live in Atlanta, the last one was a digital workshop on Facebook Live so go to the Prime Vice Studios Facebook page to catch that one (it has over 2,000 views and still climbing!). So once again, thank you guys for showing us love! <3

Next Wednesday’s blog will be more #browngirlwrites stories.
Until then…
​
Happy Writing! :)


Find me on social media. Links at the bottom of the page ??

Art by Loso F. Perez of Prime Vice Studios

If you've attended any of the comic book workshops I teach with Prime Vice Studios, you know that the first thing I talk about when it comes to writing a comic is creating an iconic character.

In comic books, iconic characters rule. Think about it. Spiderman, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc.

This also applies to literary writing.

The first thing we do in our comic book workshops is design the character based on physical appearance, personality, hobbies, strengths/weaknesses, place of origin, etc. I find this helpful in my creative nonfiction and fiction writing as well. Iconic characters help readers get emotionally attached to the story. Once they read a story with an iconic character in it, they will want to read all the stories with that iconic character in it.

Unfortunately, one thing you may have noticed with all the comic book characters I listed above is that they are all White and mostly male.

It is important for more of us, people of color, to create iconic characters of color whether in comics or in the literary world that represent us the way we want to be represented. Thousands of authors get published every year, but only the ones with the most iconic characters and the strongest storytelling skills are remembered well beyond their lifetime. Whether you are reading the Odyssey or Huckleberry Finn, it is the strong timeless characters that you relate to and whose journey you want to follow in the story. We need more iconic timeless characters like these of color in modern literature and the only way for that to happen is for more of us to write them. When you write an iconic character of color, you are not just diversifying the industry, you are also creating an intellectual property (IP).

Once you have an iconic character, you have an IP that you own. This can pay you dividends for generations to come and give you a consistent creative outlet for your work. For example, even if the writer/creator of Spider Man, Stan Lee, passes away, Spider Man will still live on, continue to make money, and continue to develop into new comics, movies, toys, etc. You can do anything with your own IP. You can write multiple stories with it, you can turn it into a movie, video game, merchandise, whatever you please! Having more long lasting iconic characters of color out there will bring long term wealth to our families and our communities.

Writing an iconic character is no easy task, especially for some of us literary writers who tend to focus more on the story and how the characters fit into the story. It is also difficult for comic book artists because they often end up focusing more on the art than the characters and story. 

One of the ways in which writing comic books has helped me with my literary writing is that I have started to build more well developed characters using the template I use for my comic book characters. This has helped me write stronger characters and have a stronger voice as a writer. I also use the same templates to teach.

If you would like to use my templates for writing more iconic characters, creating new IPs, writing a story, or starting your own comic book, you can purchase the Prime Vice Studios “Fresh Voices” Comic Creator workbook. It’s not just for comic book artists or writers. Anyone can use it to create and develop an original story idea or a new IP. The workbook can also be accompanied by the free online tutorials on the Prime Vice Studios YouTube page if you are unable to attend our workshops.
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Hope you guys find the workbook helpful. If you already have one of our workbooks, I would love to hear your feedback on it. 

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to share your perspectives on this topic in the comments below. I’d love to hear your experiences with creating strong characters of color and your opinions on developing IPs. Also, who are some iconic characters of color that have inspired you?

You can sign up for my newsletter at the bottom of the page for updates on my writing and my events.

For my Atlanta readers, we are teaching the Prime Vice Studios “Fresh Voices” Comic Creator workshop on the Atlanta Beltline for their AMFM Summer Fest at The Bakery Atlanta from 2-3pm today, tomorrow, and Friday. If you come to our workshop, you can get our workbook for FREE!
See you guys there! :)


Next Wednesday’s blog will be more #browngirlwrites stories.
Until then…
​
Happy Writing! :)


Find me on social media. Links at the bottom of the page 👇🏽


Art by Loso F. Perez of Prime Vice Studios, LLC.