MEET DANIELLE NORMAN
In early 2025 I had the privilege of a one-on-one career counseling appointment with Toni Weisskopf, head of Baen books. She was incredibly kind and, despite my star-struck nerves, we had a lovely conversation.
We finished with my prepared questions early, so I asked if she had any general advice for someone at this point in their writing career. Instead of answering she asked, "What are you afraid of?"
She had been so kind up to that point, that I found myself responding honestly, "I'm afraid I'm going to lose this momentum I've built. I tried a long time ago to make this author thing work and then life happened and I lost it. I'm afraid of that happening again."
"You'll always be a writer." She told me, "That is not something you can lose. So let life happen, and step away to deal with whatever emergencies come up. You'll come back. And we know you'll come back because you already have once. You can't lose the writer inside of you."
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I grew up stealing Lois McMaster Bujold books off my mom's shelf, watching reruns of original Doctor Who, and was the type of reader who had to turn their book in to their parents each night. I was an engineer for a time, and am now a mother, a Middle School Math Teacher, and a High School guidance counselor.
But I will always be a writer.