Meet Clint Hall | Author, speaker, and podcast host

We had the good fortune of connecting with Clint Hall and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Clint, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.

This answer has changed drastically for me over the past few years. The simple answer is that I want to earn enough income as an author, speaker, and podcast host to support my family.

Especially after I had kids, the way I looked at my career began to shift. The goal hasn’t necessarily changed, and I wouldn’t say my ambition has diminished. I’m still very focused on my goals, and I work hard to achieve them.

But if I never make enough money off being an artist to quit my day job, that will be okay if I know that I have put good stories into the world. At the end of my career, if I know that I have inspired people with stories of hope, wonder, and adventure, that will be better than enough.

That will be success.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
In addition to being a writer and podcaster, I’m also a musician. Though I don’t play nearly as often now, I spent most of my twenties in rock bands. While I was lucky to play with some extremely talented people, we never had much success. We might get a hundred or so people out to a show, for which we were grateful, but it never went much beyond that.

But that never bothered me. I wanted to be successful, of course, but the most valuable lesson that music taught me was how to do something purely because I loved it. I loved playing shows, but I also loved band practice. Practice was when the music sounded best, and that was when we really connected as musicians.

My road to becoming a published author was long and very difficult. I’ve had lots of failures, false starts, near misses, and, honestly, some great offers that just weren’t right at the time.

Because I love telling stories, I’ve not only been able to keep going; I’ve been excited to keep going.

That’s the greatest lesson I’ve learned, that you must love your creative endeavors as rewarding experiences in and of themselves, not for what you think may come of them.

At the same time, when the failures mount up and discouragement becomes overwhelming, I do want people to know that there is always hope, and there is always wonder to be found.

You just have to keep going.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Do I get to pick the time? Because it would have to include Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, which means Dragon Con! It’s my hometown con, and I’ve never experienced anything like it anywhere else. The event is lots of fun, the people are always friendly, and the costumes are astounding.

We’d have to hit up The Varsity, an iconic Atlanta fast-food restaurant famous for its Frosted Orange milkshake. I’d also take them to my favorite restaurant, Local Three, which is best experienced at Sunday brunch, during which you get to walk through the kitchen and get your food buffet-style.

Ideally, we’d also spend a day heading out to Athens, GA, to visit my alma mater, the University of Georgia. We’d have to spend a day tailgating and going to a football game, but Athens is much more than that. The campus is beautiful and downtown Athens is everything you could want from a college town.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My wife, Stefanie, is my biggest supporter, my first reader, my first editor, and my lifetime partner. She’s the smartest person I know and always has the best ideas to make my bizarre story concepts actually seem plausible. She deserves the shoutout.

There’s still more space in this box, so I’m gonna keep going until somebody stops me. Author Nadine Brandes has been such a crucial piece of my publishing journey. It certainly wouldn’t have happened the way it did without her. I couldn’t ask for a better friend.

And the team at Enclave Publishing. Everyone at Enclave who touched my book made it better. They all helped me tell a better story, and I couldn’t be more proud to have shared the experience with them.

Website: https://clinthall.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clinthall/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorClintHall

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorClintHall

Other: The Experience: Conversations with Creatives podcast: https://clinthall.com/podcast-1 (and available on all major platforms)

Image Credits
Headshot by Jason M. Sheedy at jasonmsheedy.com Book cover by Kirk DouPonce at Fiction-Artist.com Podcast logo by Mary Weber at Cherry Pie Author Services Music photo by Caitlin Brown – Instagram: @Caitlin_brown_photography_