Daily Inspiration: Meet Amanda Chambers

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Chambers.

Hi Amanda, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My story has chapters.

Chapter one starts when I was a kid. I had a rough childhood, and when I was in the third grade I was diagnosed with a learning disability. The doctors and the school system told my mother I would likely not graduate from high school, let alone attend college.

My mother refused to accept that and, after having my IQ tested and finding it to be well above average, she refused to allow others to give up on me. Not only did I graduate high school on time, but I went on to get three college degrees. The constant in my life was always books, reading, and writing. All of my degrees are in English because… well, books.

Chapter two starts in 2016. I thought I was destined to be a professor forever, but fate stepped in and showed me my true path. After being laid off from my online teaching position, I decided to pursue a dream I’d had since I was young: writing a book. On August 27, 2016, I self-published my first book, Ember’s Flame, an erotic romance novel.

While teaching myself to self-publish my book, I also got certified in personal branding and social media management so that I could properly brand myself and use social media to reach potential readers. This resulted in Ember’s Flame hitting number 1 on its Amazon chart. I was beyond happy. I have since published eight more books across multiple genres including children’s, self-help, coloring books, literary criticism, and instructional manuals.

Chapter three started on January 1, 2017. That was the day I launched Divine Legacy Publishing. My publishing company teaches Black authors to self-publish their books. I offer writing coaching, professional editing, self-publishing coaching, branding coaching, and social media coaching. I also have artists, graphic designers, and website designers on my team. My goal is to provide Black authors with everything they need to successfully share their authentic voices with the world, a luxury that is often not afforded to Black writers.

For a while, I thought that chapter three was where I would stay, but then in 2020, I had a medical emergency that landed me in the hospital for a week knocking at death’s door. And I was knocking hard and loudly. During that time and while I was recovering from the two surgeries I had to have, I relied heavily on affirmations to get me through. I wholeheartedly believe in speaking the things you want into existence.

That near-death experience changed me in some very positive ways and I started focusing on the good in life and trying to uplift others, especially other Black women. This parlayed into me creating an affirmation journal for Black women called Aht Aht, Sis! Let Go of Less. I created a daily affirmation podcast to go with it called the Let Go of Less Podcast, and thus began chapters four and five.

At the moment, I am running a donation drive for people to purchase and gift a copy of my affirmation journal so I can go out into the community and give them away for free. I’m hoping to give away 100 this month. We’ll see how it goes.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road less traveled is always bumpy. I’ve definitely had my share of obstacles and challenges. I have GAD (General Anxiety Disorder) and at times my anxiety has gotten the best of me as I navigated learning to be a business owner and finding my way through transitioning from being a college professor to a full-time entrepreneur.

I also learned that self-care is very important. Very, very important. You have to make time to rest, relax, and renew or you will burn out and it won’t be pretty. And of course, there were naysayers and Negative Nancys along the way. Sometimes their voices got louder than the supportive voices and I had to regain my footing, but my circle is amazing and has always made sure I have the support I need.

I don’t regret any of the challenges I faced, though. Through those challenges, I learned extremely important lessons that have helped along my journey.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m an author, speaker, and I own a self-publishing company.

As an author, I have published nine books under both my pseudonym, Serendipity, and my given name. I’m an Amazon best-selling author and I have written across multiple genres including erotic romance, literary criticism, self-help, writing workbooks, and coloring books. I love everything about writing.

As a speaker, I discuss all aspects of writing and publishing as well as the importance of using affirmations and the law of attraction in your everyday life. I believe in speaking things into existence and believing that you deserve what you desire. I’m especially focused on helping other Black women introduce affirmations into their lives.

We need uplifting and love and I aim to create a community where that happens. I’m not a competitive person, and I’d much rather see everyone win. I believe there’s a seat at the table for everyone and that helping each other makes the table larger and more fruitful.

As the owner of Divine Legacy Publishing, I teach Black authors to self-publish their books in their authentic voice. I offer writing coaching, professional editing, self-publishing coaching, branding coaching, and social media coaching. I also have artists, graphic designers, and website designers on my team.

My goal is to provide a one-stop-shop so that Black authors can learn the self-publishing game and beast it. Many of the authors I’ve worked with have won awards, been featured in historical societies, and been in magazines and newspapers. I’m so proud of them.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
There’s a big shift already happening. Ten years ago, self-publishing had a negative stigma to it. It was believed that if you self-published that meant you couldn’t get with a traditional publisher and your writing was likely trash. Bookstores wouldn’t carry you and it was nearly impossible to get interviews with hosts with large audiences.

Five years ago, self-publishing had a shifting view that focused on using your own voice to build your readership, and that negative stigma began to fade. Now, bookstores are seeking out self-published authors, there are agents who solely work with self-published authors, and the stigma has pretty much faded away.

Writer’s Digest just had had awards that were solely focused on self-published authors. It’s been an awesome thing to watch, and I think it’s only going to get better from here. I’m currently carried in multiple bookstores and have been on several podcasts. I also just taped a guest appearance on a talk show based out of Philly.

I can’t wait to see what the future has in store.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.amandachamberssays.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/amandachamberssays
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/amandachamberssays
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/achamberssays
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs2-bnoh8fliH-ZpEoCevaw
• Other: www.tiktok.com/@amandachamberssays