Kristine Jensen has always been a writer, even if she didn’t always imagine herself as an author. As she shared on the Project Seed Money Podcast, her professional life was rooted in storytelling long before she wrote her first novel. With a degree in film and video production, Kristine built a career writing and producing documentaries, marketing videos, and later, marketing copy.

But writing a novel was different.

For the first time, she was writing exactly what she wanted to write, for herself and for readers who might see themselves in the story. That freedom came with vulnerability. Screenplays have structure and limits. Novels feel expansive, emotional, and exposed. Still, the challenge drew her in.

Emotion has always been the heart of Kristine’s storytelling. From childhood poetry to collaborative screenwriting, she was drawn to the way stories make people feel. Writing a novel gave her space to explore that fully, even if the scope felt intimidating at first.

After completing Wednesday Club, Kristine worked with a developmental editor and began querying agents. For nearly two years, she researched, submitted, and waited. Some responses came close to success, which made the eventual rejections even harder. The process was emotionally exhausting and deeply discouraging.

What shifted everything was time.

It was important to Kristine that her book be published while her mother could still experience it. That urgency reframed her thinking. Self-publishing, which once felt like a last resort, began to look like a powerful and practical choice.

As she learned more, she saw the value: control, flexibility, and ownership. Even with an agent, many authors still handle their own marketing and even then, there’s no guarantee of a publishing deal. Self-publishing offered Kristine a way forward without waiting years for permission.

She embraced the learning curve, investing time in workshops, books, and resources that taught her how to format, design, launch, and market her novel. Rather than feeling overwhelming, the process energized her.

Kristine also witnessed the uncertainty of traditional publishing through a close friend who secured an agent only to have the book fail to sell and the agent eventually walk away. That experience reinforced the reality that an agent is not the finish line.

Throughout her journey, community became essential. Writing groups offered encouragement, feedback, and accountability. Sharing early chapters allowed Kristine to step outside her own echo chamber and discover whether something meaningful was taking shape. Those relationships, she believes, are the reason the book was finished at all.

Writing is solitary, but publishing doesn’t have to be. Community helps quiet the voice that says your work isn’t good enough…the voice that changes its mind daily.

Kristine’s advice to writers is grounded and compassionate: trust the process. Trust your timing. Whether your book takes months or years, you’ll know when it’s ready. Writing doesn’t require forcing yourself every day, it requires listening, patience, and self-trust.

For Kristine, finishing Wednesday Club wasn’t about proving anything. It was about not wondering what might have happened if she hadn’t tried.