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[Creators Spotlight]: "If you blindly just do what you love, your success isn’t guaranteed. You have to strike a balance" - Kesten Harris

In this series “Creators Spotlight”, we are asking our creators about their journey. Watch out for them sharing their journey and getting candid with us. Today we have with us Kesten Harris. An author of three books and many more to come, Kesten shares his journey as a content creator!


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Tealfeed Spotlight

  with  

Kesten Harris

2 years ago | 4 min read

Creators are the heart and soul of Tealfeed. As they continuously work towards feeding us more information every day, it's only fitting to bring out their journey for the world to know.

In this series “Creators Spotlight”, we are asking our creators about their journey. Watch out for them sharing their journey and getting candid with us. Today we have with us Kesten Harris.

Kesten Harris, a freelance writer and an author, talks about growing up in Bakersfield and shares his future goals and plans.

Continue reading to find out more!

Kesten Harris

Who has been the biggest influence in your life? What lessons did that person or those people teach you?

My passion has always been writing fictional novels and stories. Authors like Rick Riordan have always had a big influence on me. His writing style heavily influenced mine, at least when it comes to my books.

Tell us about your childhood, what was the best part? Is there any specific incident that has largely influenced the kind of person you are today?

My childhood was pretty great overall; I don’t have a lot of complaints. The most influential incident would be when my best friend told me that he wanted to start writing a book. Being the little copycat that I was, I decided that I’d try it too. That was when I discovered my love for writing for the first time.

Where is your hometown, and what was it like when you were young?

I’m from Bakersfield, which is a place that I don’t have very positive feelings about. It was fine when I was young, but the constant pollution did make breathing a bit difficult for my asthma. I don’t recommend going there.

How important a role does content play in your life? Are you a full-time content creator? Why did you start creating content?

I’m a full-time content creator who’s still trying to get his start. I’ve written a whole lot of articles but my goal is to make a living off of them, and I’m still working on that. I formally started creating content about three years ago when I published my first book, The Blue Barricade.

Kesten Harris with his book - The Blue Barricade

What’s that one aspect of being a content creator no one talks about?

People don’t really go into detail about the transition period between not making any money off of your content to suddenly being very successful. They tend to gloss over that part, which I would know because I’ve read so many interviews looking for hints on that whole process. 

What’s the most satisfying part of being a content creator?

Being able to do what makes me happy. Everything I work on is entirely up to me and it all helps my career in some way.

What are you up to currently and what are your long-term career goals?

A lot, actually. I’m finishing up a short story that might not even see the light of day, editing the second book in my new series, and trying to score some freelance writing gigs on the side.

My long-term career goals are to have people consistently reading my novels and telling me what they thought of them and to make a living off of my freelance writing.

What drives you to create content regularly?

Passion. If I didn’t love writing, I wouldn’t have stuck with it for this long. I do it because it’s one of the only things that truly satisfies me.

Kesten Harris with hsi three books.

What’s the most challenging part of being a content creator?

Not quitting. It’s probably the most inconsistent job on the planet until you get the ball rolling. I consider the fact that I’m still doing it to be some kind of miracle in itself.

How do you make sure that you aren’t affected by nasty comments and negative things said about you?

I don’t think I’ve gotten my first legitimate hater yet. I’ve had a nasty review or two on one of my books, but at the end of the day, it was still a review. So, I appreciated that much at least.

It’s just a matter of not letting your ego get in the way of your success.

Anything else you would like our audience to know about you!

I love video games. Devil May Cry, Metroid, Ratchet and Clank, you name it and I’ve probably played it. Oh, and I’m a recreational cyclist. If I’m not gaming or writing, then I’m cycling. 

Why did you start creating content on Tealfeed?

The kind people behind Tealfeed approached me and asked if they could feature my articles on their platform. That sounded good to me, so I agreed.

Now I’m approaching 200 followers on here and all I can say is thank you to everyone, from the staff to my followers. I appreciate everyone who’s supporting me on my journey. 

How would you want people to remember you?

As a kind and creative person. I love helping and entertaining people, which is why I write so many self-help articles: they’re great at accomplishing both.

What's success for you and when you would consider yourself to be successful?

When I can consistently land gigs. I don’t care about being rich, I just like feeling productive. In terms of writing fiction, I’ll be successful when I have my fandom, even if it only consists of 3 people. 

Who’s your favourite creator? Why?

It’s hard to name one who really sticks out in this line of business, but I’d say that most writers I come across are deserving of that title.

Writers work hard but they hardly get any of the recognition they deserve because of the type of field this is. 

To every individual who’s planning to start out as a content creator, what would you like to advise them?

If you blindly just do what you love, your success isn’t guaranteed. You have to strike a balance between following your dreams and being realistic about what you can accomplish.

But above all, make sure you’re happy with your decisions. The burnout that comes when you’re not, isn’t worth it.

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Tealfeed Spotlight

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Kesten Harris

Few maintain consistency, few remain unique, and fewer are the ones who do both of these right, and earn a spot in Tealfeed Spotlight.


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