The Two Shifts from Hobbyist to Authority

Scaffolding Your Expertise with Jean Burgess

Audio on the From Expertise to Authority podcast at https://pod.link/1865211396 [https://pod.link/1865211396] Article at https://substack.com/@mattydalrymple [https://substack.com/@mattydalrymple] Video at https://www.youtube.com/@mattydalrymple [https://www.youtube.com/@mattydalrymple] What if every unexpected career turn you’ve taken was actually building something powerful? In this episode of the From Expertise to Authority podcast, host Matty Dalrymple talks with Jean Burgess—author, editor, playwright, and former theater educator—about how a deliberately zigzagging career can scaffold expertise in ways a straight-line path never could. Jean shares how decades moving through professional acting and directing, college-level theater education, marketing, and now fiction and nonfiction writing have stacked on top of each other to create a uniquely versatile platform. She reflects on the surprising way skills from running marketing for an IT business transferred seamlessly to promoting her debut novel—and why understanding what is truly transferable (versus what just looks transferable on the surface) makes all the difference. Jean and Matty also dig into the mindset shifts that make career pivots work: why Jean doesn’t have the phrase “writer’s block” in her vocabulary, how she conquered imposter syndrome by reframing it as a problem to solve, and why she believes community building—not selling—is the real engine of an author’s authority. Plus, Jean shares what it felt like to realize she had arrived as an author: not when she got her first speaking fee, but during the Q&As at her presentations, when the audience’s questions tell her she had truly connected. If you have a non-linear career and have ever wondered whether all those pivots are working for you or against you, this conversation will give you a new way to see your own story. #ProfessionalDevelopment #SecondActCareer #SidelineCareer #CareerTransition #Sidehustle #FromExpertiseToAuthority Jean Burgess is an author, editor, playwright, and former theatre educator. She writes both nonfiction and fiction, enjoys presenting writing workshops and presentations, and volunteers as a facilitator with a local Teen Writing Club. Jean holds a Masters in Theatre from NorthwesternUniversity and Ph.D. in Educational Theatre from New York University. Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, beginning with ROCK PAPER SCISSORS; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, beginning with THE SENSE OF DEATH; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime. More at mattydalrymple.com [http://mattydalrymple.com]. Matty also writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage, and shares what she’s learned on THE INDY AUTHOR PODCAST. She writes nonfiction books for authors; her articles have appeared in Writer’s Digest magazine; and she is a Partner Member of the Alliance of Independent Authors. More at theindyauthor.com [http://theindyauthor.com]. She also guides professionals in building their presence through a sideline or second act through her platform From Expertise to Authority. More at theindyauthor.com/authority. Get full access to From Expertise to Authority at mattydalrymple.substack.com/subscribe [https://mattydalrymple.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Two Shifts from Hobbyist to Authority

What happens when the thing you’ve loved as a hobby becomes something you want to be known for? In this episode, Matty Dalrymple explores the two-level shift that happens when a hobbyist starts building authority in an area outside their day job—the internal shift in how you relate to the activity itself, and the relational shift in how you navigate the communities you’ve already built around it. She explains what signals to watch for to know whether authority-building will deepen your passion or drain it, why trying to turn your hobby peers into your audience usually misfires, and how to handle the transition transparently so that relationships built on one footing don’t quietly collapse under a different one. Whether you’re an accountant who wants to be known for genealogy, a lawyer pursuing authority in competitive birding, or a novelist who spent decades in corporate IT, this conversation is for you. #ProfessionalDevelopment #SecondActCareer #SidelineCareer #CareerTransition #Sidehustle #FromExpertiseToAuthority Audio on the From Expertise to Authority podcast at https://pod.link/1865211396 [https://pod.link/1865211396] Article at https://substack.com/@mattydalrymple [https://substack.com/@mattydalrymple] Video at https://www.youtube.com/@mattydalrymple [https://www.youtube.com/@mattydalrymple] And if you’d like support developing a personalized pathway from expertise to authority for yourself, please check out my consulting service at https://www.theindyauthor.com/authority [https://www.theindyauthor.com/authority], and if you’re an event organizer, I’d love to share with your community a framework they can use to develop their own path. If you’d like to get in touch, just drop me a note at matty@mattydalrymple.com [matty@mattydalrymple.com]. Get full access to From Expertise to Authority at mattydalrymple.substack.com/subscribe [https://mattydalrymple.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

From FBI Files to Fiction with Jerri Williams

After 26 years as an FBI special agent specializing in economic fraud and corruption investigations, Jerri Williams retired in 2008 to pursue a long-held ambition: writing crime fiction. But her transition didn’t begin on her last day at the Bureau. It began years earlier, when she made a strategic decision to step into the FBI’s spokesperson role—not only because she wanted the job, but because she knew it would put her in regular contact with the reporters, authors, producers, and TV professionals she would later need. In this episode of From Expertise to Authority, Jerri talks with host Matty Dalrymple about: - Why she took the FBI spokesperson role as “a strategic movement” on her part - The reporter friend who tore apart her first manuscript — and then introduced her to the developmental editor who taught her how to write fiction - The hard lesson that fiction is “the entertainment business, not the educational business” - Why mistaking your professional peers for your audience can sink a sideline before it starts - Becoming an “accidental indie author” after her first novel died on submission - How a self-published nonfiction book led to TV consulting opportunities with J.J. Abrams - The serendipitous ThrillerFest meeting that led to her current traditional book deal with Sourcebooks / Poisoned Pen Press Whether you’re still in your primary career and thinking about what comes next, or already navigating a second act, Jerri’s story illustrates how the moves you make inside your day job can lay the groundwork for everything that comes after. #ProfessionalDevelopment #SecondActCareer #SidelineCareer #CareerTransition #Sidehustle #FromExpertiseToAuthority Audio on the From Expertise to Authority podcast. Article at https://substack.com/@mattydalrymple [https://substack.com/@mattydalrymple] Video at https://www.youtube.com/@mattydalrymple [https://www.youtube.com/@mattydalrymple] And if you’d like support developing a personalized pathway from expertise to authority for yourself, please check out my consulting service at https://www.theindyauthor.com/authority [https://www.theindyauthor.com/authority], and if you’re an event organizer, I’d love to share with your community a framework they can use to develop their own path. If you’d like to get in touch, just drop me a note at matty@mattydalrymple.com [matty@mattydalrymple.com]. Get full access to From Expertise to Authority at mattydalrymple.substack.com/subscribe [https://mattydalrymple.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Relationships that Travel with You

Many of us have a goal of sharing our expertise after we leave a first career for a second act, or when we expand beyond our main career into a sideline. But you don't have to wait until your primary career is over to start laying the groundwork. Building a foundation before that shift makes the eventual transition smoother, faster, and less dependent on luck.In this episode, Matty Dalrymple explores why some of the professional connections you build during your first or main career will travel with you into your second act or sideline—and why many of them won't. You'll learn: - The difference between role-based relationships (built on shared employer, project, or industry) and interest-based relationships (built on shared curiosity, craft, or question) - Why role-based relationships often fade after a career transition—even when people mean to stay in touch - Why interest-based relationships continue uninterrupted across career changes Five practices for cultivating the kind of relationships that will support your second act: – Lead with curiosity rather than credentials – Find venues organized around the interest, not just the industry – Show up as a contributor, not a credential – Stay in touch around the interest, not the calendar – Build relationships across career stages, not just upward - Why authentic relationship-building outperforms transactional networking every time #ProfessionalDevelopment [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/professionaldevelopment] #SecondActCareer [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/secondactcareer] #SidelineCareer [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/sidelinecareer] #CareerTransition [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/careertransition] #Sidehustle [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/sidehustle] #FromExpertiseToAuthority [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/fromexpertisetoauthority] You'll find audio on the From Expertise to Authority podcast. Find the article at https://substack.com/@mattydalrymple [https://substack.com/@mattydalrymple] Find the video at https://www.youtube.com/@mattydalrymple [https://www.youtube.com/@mattydalrymple] Get full access to From Expertise to Authority at mattydalrymple.substack.com/subscribe [https://mattydalrymple.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Pulling on the Thread: Building Authority through Curiosity with Jennifer Hilt

Jennifer Hilt didn’t set out to become an authority on tropes. She set out to answer a question that had been nagging at her—and then just kept pulling on the thread. In this conversation, Jennifer talks about how a lifelong passion for language that her earlier career never fully tapped became the foundation for her Trope Thesaurus series, why she chose to forge her own path rather than pursue a PhD in the subject, what happened when she cold-queried Joanna Penn’s podcast before she’d ever done a single interview, and how she learned that persistence—not strategy—is what moves you up the food chain. She also shares why even her “play” feeds the work, and what she’s thinking about next. #ProfessionalDevelopment #SecondActCareer #SidelineCareer #CareerTransition #Sidehustle #FromExpertiseToAuthority You'll find audio on the From Expertise to Authority podcast. Find the article at https://substack.com/@mattydalrymple [https://substack.com/@mattydalrymple] Find the video at https://www.youtube.com/@mattydalrymple [https://www.youtube.com/@mattydalrymple] And if you’d like support developing a personalized pathway from expertise to authority for yourself, please check out my consulting service at https://www.theindyauthor.com/authority [https://www.theindyauthor.com/authority], and if you’re an event organizer, I’d love to share with your community a framework they can use to develop their own path. If you’d like to get in touch, just drop me a note at matty@mattydalrymple.com [matty@mattydalrymple.com]. Get full access to From Expertise to Authority at mattydalrymple.substack.com/subscribe [https://mattydalrymple.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]