My business started out of an experiment. It was fall of 2016, and I was a newly recovering, burned-out elementary teacher. I knew in my bones I had made the right decision not to renew my contract, but otherwise I had questions. Could I build a career from scratch that felt more life-giving and sustainable? Would people actually pay me to do what I loved—writing? Could I embrace this plot twist — such a deviation from the expected narrative I thought would play out for my li