The Power of Connection, Community, and Collaboration: Kelly Notaras on Your Messy Brilliance® Show

Once again, we’re bringing you this amazing conversation with writer and editor Kelly Notaras, who shares all the things that are so close to my heart: the importance of tribe, collaboration, and connecting to creativity in community. Kelly is a testament to all of this, as she is the person who introduced me to Wf1 Editor and Content Alchemist, Nirmala Nataraj—who also joined us on the call. (And if you’re in Northern California in early January, be sure to check out Kelly’s upcoming retreat at 1440 Multiversity, “The Book You Were Born to Write: A Workshop for Aspiring Transformational Authors.”)

Kelly Notaras began her work as an editor in the competitive book publishing industry in New York, where she worked at HarperCollins, Penguin, and Hyperion Books. She later became the VP and Editorial Director for Sounds True, a spirituality publisher in Boulder, CO. Specializing in books that change readers’ lives for the better, Kelly has worked closely with a wide variety of personal growth authors including Adyashanti, Nancy Levin, Nick Ortner, Sally Kempton, Krishna Das, and Mastin Kipp. Most recently, she edited Regena Thomashauer’s New York Times bestselling book Pussy: A Reclamation. Kelly is the founder of kn literary arts, a book studio helping authors edit, write, and market their books.

Kelly’s generosity and collaborative style have directly impacted me, as Nirmala and I have benefited from a creative spark that keeps us connected in mutual inspiration and the desire to lift up other women. In this conversation, the three of us discussed everything from the power of women mentoring each other, to getting out of the way of our own creativity, to how our culture is starting to make the shift from masculine (me-oriented) to feminine (we-oriented) models. Kelly shared with us her own personal struggles in reaching out and accepting help, and how she has strived to embrace collaboration in all aspects of her life. “It’s okay to have help and it really does take a village,” she says.

If you want to be inspired in a huge way, listen to this interview, and be sure to check out Kelly’s work at www.knliteraryarts.com.

Timestamps:

3:30     Kelly’s story of finding her purpose in the competitive business of publishing

6:20     How Kelly took a leap of faith and went down a different path

7:45     Helping women express their voices through books

9:40     The magic of collaboration

11:00   What does it mean to have the right team and tribe?

12:40   The importance of passion in collaboration

17:00   Connecting with the women who have your back

18:20   How Kelly dealt with adversity—by asking for help

21:20   Feminine models of collaboration and community in business and culture

31:00   The joy that comes from maintaining trust and openness

34:30   Surrender and the creative process

42:00   Finding a new way forward by recognizing our interdependence

42:33   How to get connected with Kelly’s work