Black Professional Women Making Moves

Profressional Women Making Moves
Introducing Sylvia McClain

Welcome to Professional Women Making Moves Blog, where we feature professional Black women from all over making moves in their personal and business world. Tinisha Nicole Johnson is the author of the upcoming book Lessons Learned: Loving Yourself As A Black Woman. The book emphasizes ten life lessons that addresses a Black woman’s most intimate, personal, and professional life.

Tinisha will be interviewing professional women from various backgrounds up to the release date of her book, discussing who they are and the challenges they face, and any advice they have to offer. Learn more about this book and the author at her website: www.TinishaNicoleJohnson.com

Today, Tinisha interviews Sylvia McClain. Please comment and check out what Sylvia has to say.

Tinisha Johnson: Please introduce yourself and tell me who you most credit your success to?

Sylvia McClain: Sylvia McClain is my name and I am a professional Journalist. I write nonfiction through newspapers, magazines, and books. I also teach writing workshops and seminars in continuing education program at libraries, universities, community colleges, conferences and public school systems in the Detroit Metro Area.

I really don’t credit anyone other than myself for my success. I was not encouraged to pursue my profession therefore, I had to push myself against all odds.

Tinisha Johnson: What types of challenges do you face as a Professional Black woman?

Sylvia McClain: As a freelancer, work is the most difficult thing to get. With the economy the way it is now and many freelancers on the scene, one must have clips, clips and more clips of a current nature to acquire more writing jobs. Also, one must be willing to do different types of work such as editing, copywriting, contract writing, Internet sites, etc. Without being able to write in more than one category limits one’s possible source of writing income.

Tinisha Johnson: How important is networking to you?

Sylvia McClain: Networking is the utmost important thing a woman in my profession must do. Without making contacts, introducing you and the type of work you do, a loss in real writing gigs are out the window.

Tinisha Johnson: What does success mean to you?

Sylvia McClain: Success to me is doing what I love to do and that is writing, teaching writing to others, assisting forthcoming writers in their desires.

Tinisha Johnson: How do you balance your professional and personal life?

Sylvia McClain: Time management, it is as simple as that. I always tell people work on a schedule and stick with it. You must also diversify in your life as a writer because where else would you get writing ideas. What I mean is do more than just write, experience life itself. Also treat what you do like any other job with a set schedule.

Tinisha Johnson: What advice do you have for today’s young Black girls?

Sylvia McClain: Go for it. Don’t wait like I did until my forties to pursue your dreams. The earlier one gets started the more time is available to one to make mistakes and have time to correct them.

Tinisha Johnson: Who would you call a writer?

Sylvia McClain: Anyone, who is willing to transfer the ideas and thoughts in their head to paper.

More About Sylvia McClain
Sylvia McClain is a freelance writer who currently writes for the business periodicals published by Equal Opportunity Publications, Inc on engineering and information technology. She wrote on life changes for Strut. She conducts workshops on freelance writing, self-publishing, accepted queries, historical writing and money management as a writer.

She is a former board member of The Detroit Writer’s Guild, responsible for the recording of financial data. Ms. McClain has been on the board of Project Sis (a nonprofit organization for teens at risk) and the city of Detroit’s Cluster Seven of Detroit’s Community Reinvestment Strategy Process. Her other volunteer work has been with WTVS Public TV volunteer staff for fourteen years, a supervisor with Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) for six years, and the Better Business Bureau as an arbitrator during the 1980’s. She was previously employed 22 years with Comerica Incorporated as a Data Base Analyst in the Economics Department.

Ms. McClain is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Journalism while holding a Bachelor of General Studies: Art History, Communications, and English degree from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. She holds an Associate of Arts degree in Accounting from Wayne County Community College.

Ms. McClain is single and has one child. She lives in Westland.
Please visit her web site at http://www.scribalpress.com/ and her blog http://sylviaspeaks.blogspot.com/.

About Tinisha Nicole Johnson:
Tinisha is the author of the book Lessons Learned: Loving Yourself As A Black Woman. This book emphasizes ten lessons that addresses a Black woman's most intimate, personal and professional life. Learn more about the author and the book at her website: http://www.tinishanicolejohnson.com/




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