In this Business Blast podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews author J.B. Pierce (Jessica Pierce) about her life, teaching career, and debut picture‑novel The Will of Time. Pierce shares two formative personal stories—a former 5th‑grade student who credits her for choosing a writing career, and her grandfather’s steadfast caregiving for his wife with Alzheimer’s, illustrating fortitude. She details her self‑publishing journey, comparing platforms such as Kindle Direct Publishing, IngramSpark, BookBaby, and a local printer (48 Hour Books), and explains why she founded Song Yard Publishing to support other authors. Pierce describes The Will of Time as a picture novel that blends 80 photographs with narrative. Her core business advice centers on perseverance and commitment, emphasizing learning from failure. She advises her younger self to step out of comfort zones, defines happiness as loving what you do and doing what you love, and cites A Monster Calls as a favorite book that taught her to release inner turmoil. Her personal quote, “One’s choice justifies the journey,” encapsulates her philosophy. The episode concludes with her online contact points: website jbpierce.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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Welcome to the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode. ¡Hola! All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Jessica Pearce with us, and with her love for books and instrumental music, J.B. Pearce pens worlds of adventure and creates captivating characters that are sure to resonate with each reader, young, old, and in between. Her debut novel is The Will of Time, so welcome to the show.
Thank you for having me, Tyler Wagner Wagner.
Of course. Grateful to have you on. We'll jump into the first one, Jessica. The first question I have for you is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
I actually have two stories. Being a teacher for the past 13 years in 5th grade, I recently saw a former student of mine. She's now going into 12th grade, and I asked her what she was going to do after she graduated high school. And she told me that she wanted to go into English for journalism and to write books. And I said, wow, that's awesome. What made you pick that career route? And she said that it was because of me. And I— she actually made me cry when she told me that, because right then and there it made me feel accomplished as a teacher that in all my years I did my job. So that was like something positive that came out of being a teacher. So that was the first message. And the second one is my grandfather. My grandmother had Alzheimer's for 15 years, and he was my grandmother's caregiver for each stage of her decline. And if anyone in my life showed me what fortitude looked like, it was him. He is the epitome of commitment, and he was there to her last breath. So those are the two best stories from my life.
Yes, thank you for sharing them. Um, the next one I have for you is, what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Um, over the past year, I would say that I've learned a lot And I'm still learning a lot about the self-publishing industry because I actually self-published my novel, The Will of Time. I noticed that there were so many avenues from the Kindle Direct Publishing to IngramSpark to BookBaby, even down to small businesses, mom-and-pop printing companies around the country. I actually went with 48 Hour Books in Akron, Ohio. And I noticed that this road, the self-publishing road, can be very overwhelming for anyone. How much money you want to put into it, what's the best for your specific product, your novel, um, is it quantity more important to you than quality? Do you put your eggs in one basket and then hope for the best? Um, and each author will have a different preference. I personally chose what made the most sense for me. I did a mix of my own website where you can purchase the paperback book, or you can go to Amazon to get the Kindle ebook, which gave me the ability to change it up. Unlike I, if I had a traditional publishing company, not that I would be discouraged to say yes, going with a traditional publishing company, but it gave me options. And my book's a little different than than the traditional books. It is actually something that I created called a picture novel. It is, it has 80 photographs that depict the story and go along with it. So to self-publish, I decided to have my own publishing company and I named it Song Yard Publishing because of my love of music and my love of the imagination and creativity. So my endgame in creating Songyard Publishing is to one day help other authors like myself, to help them self-publish and maybe publish under my own company to have a successful career in the writing industry.
Yes, I love it. And what's your best piece of, like, overall business advice, so not necessarily industry-specific?
Perseverance and commitment. I know it took me actually 9 years from start to finish to complete this novel, and I have to actually credit my mom for the commitment that I have towards the book. It was her idea from the beginning. And, you know, like you said, be it a book or any type of business, You have to have the commitment and perseverance to get it done, even though you might have obstacles that may come along the way, and we all do. I also know that over the years that something needs to be done and done well. I researched, I networked, I learned from, you know, business people that were in the industry. I wanted a product that I was proud of. I wanted perfection. Well, I wanted near to perfection because I know nothing in life is 100% perfect. There's always room for error. And that's something I learned that that's okay, because our failures make the steps, which create the staircase for success. So I would say perseverance, keep pushing through no matter what.
Yes, I, you know, I always say like failure is a part of success, but I like— I've never heard it the way you just said it, that it makes the steps to and that's so true. So thanks for sharing that.
Oh, you're welcome.
The next one I have for you is, if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Stepping out of my comfort zone, taking chances. I know whenever I was younger, I was always set on a path and I followed it, which is good because I always saw my end goal. But I know now even in my older life, that I need to take different paths, that there's not always a direct one to get there. And sometimes taking different avenues can actually make you learn things along the way. And it's something that, like I said, I'm learning to incorporate because it will help me grow as a self-published author and as a businesswoman in the literary industry.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
Loving what you do and doing what you love. I believe that your mind and your heart have to work in tandem and to also relish in the joys, big or small, with what you have and not what you wish you would have. I think people get caught up in that because they get blinded by the outside world instead of living in their own little world, if you know what I mean.
Definitely, no. And speaking of books, what is the best book that you've read? And what's the number one thing you learned from that?
Well, I've read a lot of books, obviously loving to write books. But my favorite book that I read was called A Monster Calls. It actually was turned into a movie, but it was written by Patrick Ness. Did you ever hear of it?
No, I haven't.
Okay, it's an awesome book. It's very short. And it basically showed that we all have some type of inner turmoil, be it mentally, spiritually, physically. And, and sometimes those things can consume our lives and hold us back. And the book actually taught me that it's okay to let things go and to move on.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
My favorite quote is the one that I actually wrote for my book, The Will of Time, and it's, "One's choice justifies the journey." Life that we know is a journey and one that we're all on, and every day presents us for opportunities for choice: how to dress, where to eat, what to say. And every choice we make, good, bad, or indifferent, one will undoubtedly justify the outcome of our life. So I kind of believe in that.
Yeah. Thank you so much for coming on. The last question that I have for you before we let you go is where is the best place for people to find and connect with you online?
There are a few social media outlets. You can go to my website at jbpierce.com where you can learn more about me, see behind the scenes photos of how the book was created. You can also buy a paperback version of the book or be directed to Amazon for the Kindle ebook. You can also find me on Facebook at JB Pierce Books or the Wheel of Time Character and Fan Group. I'm on Instagram at JB Pierce and Twitter at JB_Pierce.
Awesome, thanks again for hopping on.
All right, thanks so much. The podcast you just heard was published with Anchor. Got something you want to say to the creator of this show? Send them a voice message using the Anchor app, free for iOS and Android.
