04 Black Women in Publishing and Editing: How to Black Woman in Corporate America while Building your Digital Empire with Nicole Palmer

SHOW NOTES

This episode of the Career Love Podcast is a love letter to the creative, so done with corporate, legacy-building Black woman in this community.

Today, I’m joined by the incredible Nicole Palmer—bestselling author, editor-in-chief, and co-founder of Delnic Media. We talk about what it means to navigate corporate America as a Black woman, how we’re building our digital empires to experience true freedom, and why it’s time to rethink what financial security, the stories we tell ourselves, and how we define success!

In this episode, Nicole leaves it ALL on the table (which we built ourselves) and we discuss...

• How positioning yourself as THE talent gives you career freedom
• How we can reclaim our creativity and stories by becoming a Black Woman in publishing and editing
• The difference between hustle culture and dream building
• What it really means to “play the game” in corporate space
• If you've ever questioned your path or considered if you can actually get PAID to be creative, this one’s for you.

📖 Get Nicole’s Book & Get Connected:

Loved Nicole’s insight? Go grab her book laying the Game While Black Womaning in Corporate America™ and follow her journey at ⁠delnicmedia.com⁠. You can also subscribe to her podcast Black Womaning in Corporate America too!

Follow her on LinkedIn⁠

Learn more about Nicole

Work with Nicole

Buy her book ⁠

Listen to her podcast

Learn about her company Delnic Media⁠

🤎Ready to join the Career Love Community?

Ready to find your way out of the corporate chaos and into your own Black Woman Bliss Era? Join the Career Love Community— a space for Black women to rediscover their brilliance, build careers and businesses they love, and support one another along the way. Learn more and join us at ⁠⁠⁠https://www.mercedesswan.com/join⁠⁠⁠ 

🤎 Stay Connected:

Follow me on TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn for more career gems

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Share this with a sister in professional love who needs to hear it!

💌 Ready to step into your Black Woman Bliss Era by building a career or business you love? Reach out at ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠ 

TRANSCRIPTS

Mercedes Swan (00:56)
Hello loves, it's Mercedes Swan, the Career Love Coach and host of the Career Love Podcast. This is my podcast, which is a love letter to the 9.8 million Black women in the workplace and a space for Black women who want to change the world, build a career, business and lifestyle you love.

Today we are talking all about Black women in corporate America with Nicole. And I'm just, my gosh, I'm so excited. I'm so excited for the conversation. Not only is she awesome, but I just know that she's just a wealth of information experiences. That's gonna be really great for this. And so not only are we talking about Black women in corporate America, but we're also talking about her career path in publishing and editing. So I'm really excited to introduce you to Nicole.

Like I said, she's been great. I've interacted with her a little bit on LinkedIn, gotten to know some of the great projects that she's working in. And she's just been really doing her thing on LinkedIn. So it's been inspiring to watch. So a little bit about Nicole Palmer is that she is a bestselling author, founding partner of an independent publishing company, which is Delnic Media, and the host of another podcast, which is five star rated, okay, okay, called Black Women.

Delnic Media (01:49)
Yeah.

Mercedes Swan (02:06)
Black womaning in Corporate America, okay? And when she isn't writing, she's speaking and she's talking about this intersection of race, identity and equity. So I really think this is just gonna be such a great conversation for us today. And also the opportunity for you to explore this different career path if you haven't heard about editing or publishing before. So that all, all of that being said,

I want to introduce you to Nicole. Just give her the opportunity to share a little bit about herself, her journey, and her nine to five, as well as how Delnic Media became to be. So I can't pass it over to you, Nicole. So excited.

Delnic Media (02:44)
Thank you so much for having me here. Hello everyone on the interwebs as they say. ⁓ Really excited to be here and to share a little bit about what I've been up to really since my

Mercedes Swan (02:50)
Yeah.

Delnic Media (02:59)
latest and final career pivot is what I'll call it. So I have been actually in this space for a really long time. I'm actually going to date myself. I started in 1997. So yeah, it's been a minute. ⁓ And I started actually out of the writing center of my college. I was helping folks with their papers and someone said, you're really good at this. Did you get paid?

And the rest is history, as they say. That was essentially my origin story. And yeah, and so I started there and then actually did an internship for a local publisher in the area where I live. And then I started as an intern and I literally moved up, ultimately became his senior editor and decided this was really the space I wanted to work in. So it's really been a...

Mercedes Swan (03:33)
Love it.

Delnic Media (03:56)
I've always gravitated back towards it, even though I've had some detours along the way. ⁓ It definitely is the space that I'm most passionate about in terms of writing and editing. It's really, it's at the core of who I am. And funnily enough, I actually thought I was going to be a nurse anesthesiologist because that was my path. It was lucrative and I'm like, that is what I'm going to do with my life. And no, I had a really bad latex allergy.

⁓ Way back then when it wasn't very well known that it was really something people could develop over time. And so I decided, well, if I can't do nursing, I will go back and finish my journalism degree. And that is what I did. Yeah. But it, you know, it's still, I think it was really, it was meant to be, I think it's something that I kind of just, you take, you, I think all paths always lead you back to your destiny in a way when it comes to.

Mercedes Swan (04:29)
Yeah.

Delnic Media (04:54)
what you're really supposed to be doing. And so you try all these different things and you think you know what you're supposed to be doing. And no matter what, it always brings you back to center to where you're meant to be. And that's really what this has been for me. It's just a journey back to where it all began.

Mercedes Swan (05:14)
love that. I know we're talking a little bit more about the media too, but I just had to take a minute because I love how you describe that. I often, you know, when we're talking about, you know, Black women's journey through the, you know, their career, what they decide to do. I think so many of us really get caught up and stuck in like, my gosh, is this the right move? Is this going to be, you know, the perfect next step? And it's like, in reality, there is no perfect next step. It's kind of this

Delnic Media (05:20)
Yeah.

Yeah.

No.

Mercedes Swan (05:41)
pulling together

of these different experiences that kind of guide us on our way. And so I think that's at least for me, I don't know about everybody else out there, okay, I don't know. But for me, that's really inspiring of like, I'm gonna get there. It might not look like how I think it's supposed to look, but I'm gonna get there. So I love that, like, yes, leads to your destiny. The other thing that I found was interesting was, ⁓ I talk about this with my mom a lot where we come from, in our family,

Delnic Media (05:46)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yes.

Mercedes Swan (06:09)
family of nurses, right? And in some way, shape or form, all of the women, like every single one, every woman other than my generation and, you know, younger essentially have all moved into some type of healthcare career. And I think it's interesting, you know, we talk about the career paths and what typical career paths are accessible to Black women or expected of Black women and how that.

Delnic Media (06:24)
Just saying.

Yeah.

Mercedes Swan (06:33)
I don't wanna call it like a series, it's like a pipeline, but that is really a trend that happens for Black women. And so it was very interesting when I was talking to my mom about this of like, oh, well, it just made sense for me to go into healthcare. Like that's what our family, our women in our family did when they moved to the United States, right? That was just what was accessible and what we did. It didn't mean that they weren't passionate and they didn't love showing up and caring, but it is also that dynamic of Black women.

Delnic Media (06:50)
Yeah.

Mercedes Swan (06:59)
always being kind of the support roles or these care roles, right? And for us to pick something different. And so I love that even though it's a little bit, there's kind of an intersection in kind of our journeys of saying, hey, actually this path that I had decided for myself maybe isn't quite it. And just the dynamics of how, you know, what career paths we think Black women may be able to navigate or not. So I love that. But yeah, so please feel welcome to interact. I know I was talking for a little bit, but please feel.

Delnic Media (07:02)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No. Yeah. No, I was just really honestly just kind of absorbing that because it really resonated for me. My family is from the Caribbean. And so when you move away from there for better opportunities, there's really typically you're going to go into some type of health care nursing. It's almost like a sure thing. And actually my aunt, my late aunt, she was a nurse.

Mercedes Swan (07:28)
Welcome to like react to anything I shared and you know, tell a little bit more about Delnick. Yeah.

Delnic Media (07:55)
My mom actually, both my parents are educators. And so you typically follow this path. And I think it's almost like predetermined in a way, in a lot of ways it's almost expected. And so my parents expected me to be a teacher. And I said, no.

Mercedes Swan (08:07)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Yeah. Yes.

Pick another thing. I love that.

Delnic Media (08:16)
No. So it's

just, it really resonated for me, but I think also what I've seen now, this trend, and I don't have any statistics to say definitively it's X versus this, but I feel like we're in this era for Black women that we are deciding what we get to be. We're not just saying, I'm supposed to do this or I'm supposed to do that.

Mercedes Swan (08:32)
Yeah.

Delnic Media (08:46)
we're deciding we are taking control of those paths because we're leaning into our callings, right? And so even though I'm no longer in nursing, I still am very passionate about health equity because I lived it. And so even though I am focused on writing and editing and publishing, I'm doing it through the lens that through storytelling, you can actually improve health equity. And I 100 % believe that.

Mercedes Swan (09:12)
Yeah.

Delnic Media (09:15)
So, you know, to your point, I think there's so many, like, there's, we take these detours, right? Or we have these ideas of like where we want to be and where we should be, but like all those roads are still gonna draw you back as long as you're listening. And, you know, I grew up in a church, so like, as long as you're listening, like people call it their gut, their sixth sense, you know, whatever you want to call it, your higher power, your third eye, whatever it is, as long as you're tuning in to that.

Mercedes Swan (09:32)
Yes.

All of you both.

Delnic Media (09:44)
voice or to that calling, you're never going to, like, you're going to fall, you're going to make mistakes, but you're never going to lose that path. You're always going to get back to that path. And I like, I'm a hundred percent.

Mercedes Swan (09:58)
I think I'll, you to your point of like, well, you sometimes we hold onto this vision of what we thought we were going to be or to do and whether that's like from our families that that like, you know, was passed down or it's something that we, you know, we decided that we wanted. Sometimes we end up like losing connection with our future like vision and what our calling is because we're so attached to that when actuality, that passion and that, that desire.

Delnic Media (10:12)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Mercedes Swan (10:26)
really it was part of the journey to prepare us for whatever we're doing now. And I think that's so true with what you're talking about. I like, okay, well, I loved healthcare. It didn't mean that it wasn't a passion or it wasn't something that was critical to me, but it prepared me to talk about health equity. And I totally agree with you about the intersections. Like it's not just cut and dry, right? We can think outside of the box about how we truly transform outcomes, right? For marginalized people. And I love that about

Delnic Media (10:29)
Yeah.

Right.

in the

way.

Mercedes Swan (10:55)
you like storytelling for those who are underrepresented, under heard, undervalued and in all of those ways. So I so much resonated with that, the goal and yeah, in your, your company. So yeah, tell me more about Delnic Media and like how that like, yeah, let's segue to that.

Delnic Media (11:12)
Yeah.

Yeah. So, I mean, officially we've been established since 2004. That's the fun fact, even though we haven't been around that long. But my husband and I have always since we've been, you know, since we got married back in 2004, we've always had like these different things that we've worked on together. And people always ask me like, how in the heck do you work with your husband? Like, how does that even work? I'm like, well, he's my best friend. So it's not him, then who?

Mercedes Swan (11:37)
Aww.

Delnic Media (11:40)
Right? ⁓ So, but we've always had like these different, you know, projects that we've done and like different, you know, ⁓ little side projects here and there. And then when I left the job that shall not be named, that was, who, yeah, put me through some bangs. When I left that job and we had, you know, this really serious conversation, like what's next?

Mercedes Swan (11:59)
Yeah. Mm-hmm. We're gonna talk about it.

Delnic Media (12:10)
And so I knew that for me, like deep down, like I needed to be all in in the work that we are, we're passionate about. And so last year, you know, we were talking about what does the company look like? What are we gonna, what is it gonna look like? And so it was like, it only made sense that the name of the company would be the first three letters of his first name and the first few letters of mine. And that's where Deltnick comes from. So it is 100%.

Mercedes Swan (12:35)
Aww.

Delnic Media (12:39)
⁓ like very sappy, whatever you want to call it. ⁓ but.

Mercedes Swan (12:42)
Now I'm, listen, I'm here for it.

Do it. We'd love to see it.

Delnic Media (12:49)
But no shame, so it's fine. So that's where that came about. But because he's into music and so I'm into writing. And so it was just like a perfect synergy. Our life has kind of been that way. And so we thought, we're gonna step out. We're gonna really do this for real now. And ⁓ that's how Delnic Media came to be.

Mercedes Swan (13:08)
Yeah.

Delnic Media (13:11)
we started really thinking about what we wanted to work on in those stories again, because we really want, the way that we look at the only need is we want to create what we wanted for ourselves, right? And we know that there's very low representation in publishing when it comes to minorities and underrepresented and marginalized groups. I mean, that's kind of the case for everything, let's be clear.

Mercedes Swan (13:26)
Mm.

Delnic Media (13:36)
but it's staggeringly low within the publishing space. And also when you think about if you have this idea or this book in your heart and you put it out there, you what are the odds that you're gonna get a publishing deal or that you're gonna, there's gonna be a publisher that wants to write it because, oh, well, that's a little hot button and we're not comfortable or that's too militant, all the code words they like to use.

And we just really wanted to create a space for people like us because we don't see ourselves enough. think even, you know, we have this one month a year where they go, you know, rah rah rah, Black history and all this fun stuff. But what about the rest of the year? And that's just not enough. And we're still in an era, 2025, and we're still talking about the first Black woman, the first Black man.

Mercedes Swan (14:17)
Mm-hmm.

Delnic Media (14:29)
That's still a thing because it's so rare. Like there's so many spaces that we just cannot break into because there's so many barriers. And so we look at this as one less barrier for those who want to publish, who want to write, and want their voices to be

Mercedes Swan (14:49)
Yes, I love it. Yeah, because we it's so rare that we we get to see ourselves reflected. I the first time I heard it was in higher education, right, where we said, you know, I'm trying I've heard this amazing ⁓ Black woman in leadership in higher education, right, in spaces where no one else like her is really navigating in many ways. And that was the first time I heard is like, you know, I'm trying to open doors for people who look like me. And I know that's such a simple thing.

Delnic Media (14:56)
Yes.

Mercedes Swan (15:15)
but it is a reality of a lot of us who are navigating spaces and creating more space, right? And access and combating the barriers that we have, right? It is that, it's like we are underrepresented. We're not just making this up. We're not just playing the card. Like we don't see each other and we're trying to see each other, right?

Delnic Media (15:20)
Yeah, absolutely.

Right.

just going to echo and co-sign what you were saying because it really resonated for me about this whole idea. I think even now, especially where this whole country has lost its mind, but we're not going get into that because I know we don't have time. But we really don't. That's for later. But I think there's a lot of talk about how

Mercedes Swan (15:49)
We don't. ⁓

Delnic Media (16:01)
my God, when are you guys gonna stop talking about it? Like you always talk about it. It's always racism, every hammer sees a nail. And well, until it's gone. When racism leaves, so we will shut up. That's my thought on that.

Mercedes Swan (16:15)
Exactly. I'll be the first to stop talking.

I'll run to stop talking. Okay. I'll be happy. Yeah.

Delnic Media (16:21)
Okay? Like, yes. 100%, but until,

until, and I think, and I think back to that quote where it says like, until all of us are free, none of us are free. And it's really that simple. And we are not there. We don't have parity. And, and, and that is a, and only the, only people who experience it understand that. And I always think about, you know, the idea, like it's so simple to me, like, my gosh, like, why is it always about, like, all lives matter.

Nobody says that during breast cancer awareness month. Nobody says, what about prostate cancer? Or what about this other cancer? Nobody says that. Or like, come on, like, let's not do that. There's a time and a place for everything. And I think that the reason why there's a lot of pushback is because people at the end of the day don't want to admit their own bias. Like that's really what it boils down to. They are comfortable in the racism that they're in and the stereotypes that they believe in.

Mercedes Swan (16:53)
Period.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Delnic Media (17:18)
And challenging that makes them uncomfortable. I even just, I talked about this in my podcast, just the statistics of how many Black executives, I think specifically women, are in the C-suite. I don't even think it's a full percentage point. And I have to look, and don't quote me on that, because it was a little bit ago, but it's just a staggering statistic. And it just proves the point. When we are at a place where we're not even in like,

Mercedes Swan (17:40)
Yeah.

Delnic Media (17:48)
double digits, represented in like the Fortune 500 or whatever you want to call it, that's a problem. That's not made up. That's not us being dramatic or it's in our heads. No, these are factual statistics. It's just data. So I just wanted to throw that in there.

Mercedes Swan (17:56)
It is. Yeah.

Mm-hmm. No, it's a

good point. And I think, you know, it's hard because as we're moving through this, some of it can very much feel like, man, I just, I have to make the point. I just have to help them, you know, see what I see, like experience what I experience as a Black woman. And I think, you know, unfortunately, I think myself, right. And a lot of other Black women in this context just realize like, ⁓

Delnic Media (18:21)
Mm-hmm.

Mercedes Swan (18:35)
It's not really about seeing, it's just about the, you know, us versus them. You know, if I, you know, if others have this level of equity or support, then it automatically means that I have less access to what I currently have access to, AKA the privilege. And I think that's been a challenging thing for me to ⁓ really try and ⁓ navigate with saying, hey, is this really actually, like, how, why are we talking about the moral failings?

Delnic Media (18:52)
Exactly.

Mercedes Swan (19:03)
of marginalized people in this way, why are we excusing ⁓ the history of what we've experienced? And therefore, why are we so unwilling to support the ideas that go with that? And so I think it's so much wrapped up into that idea. Yes, it is absolutely biased, but it is so many other contributing factors of how do we really see people?

Delnic Media (19:06)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Mercedes Swan (19:31)
and be empathetic to the experiences of others while really ensuring everyone who has access, no matter their level of privilege, in this space. So yeah, it's really challenging. And I would say probably more so in the publishing space, right? And just the shifts in the industry, you know, with, you know, how things are converting to like digital media and I'm sure, you know, protections for writing and all of those dynamics. I'm really excited to talk about that because I think

that scarcity in an industry also probably makes a big challenge for feeling open to allow, quote unquote, allow. So I would love to ⁓ about that a little bit more of what does it look like to be a Black woman or to be marginalized or underrepresented in general.

Delnic Media (20:15)
Yeah.

Mercedes Swan (20:20)
in the editing and publishing space and what is it like on a day to day to do the work that you do so that, you know, if there's other Black women who are listening to this and have had an interest in the space, they kind of understand maybe what they're getting into, the good and the bad, you know, of all of those things. Maybe those who shall not be named. Yeah, go for it.

Delnic Media (20:31)
Yeah.

Right.

Yes.

⁓ So what's been an interesting journey or revelation for me that I have found as an editor in this space, I think specifically, and I'll speak from the perspective that currently I primarily and predominantly do medical editing. And I have found that that has been a little bit of a safe haven. I think it's like maybe a little bit of an unknown safe haven. ⁓

When it comes to being a Black professional, but I will add a couple of caveats. The first caveat I will add is that yes, very important. First and foremost, I'm a consultant. That completely changes the whole concept. I am not a natural employee of the company that I work for. I work through an agency. I

Mercedes Swan (21:16)
Those are important.

Delnic Media (21:38)
I am telling as many people as I can, I will shout it from the rooftops. If you're looking as a Black woman to transition out of corporate America's because you were done done, get you a staffing agency ASAP and you can throw a penny and get about 50. Work for the staffing agency because that was such a game changer for me. Once I ran for the Hills, I realized I'm not going to do this anymore where I'm operating in a different way with corporate America.

Mercedes Swan (21:48)
Mm-hmm.

Yes. ⁓

Delnic Media (22:08)
And for me that looked like I'm still in corporate America to be clear. So I'm doing all of the things plus I, yes, I I have the day job. But it's doable. And I think that's what I want people to understand. think especially Black women, because that's really what I'm really passionate about. You are not trapped. can absolutely, you can build your escape hatch while you're still at the corporate job. I have done it. I am doing it.

Mercedes Swan (22:17)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Delnic Media (22:38)
I'm telling you, it is life changing. It is life changing. I remember when you were ⁓ with Amanda talking about GTFO money. Yes. I not only believe in that, but I also believe in being in a GTFO position. Meaning that at no matter what, if the stuff hits the fan tomorrow, you roll out tomorrow and you can roll out because you are in a position to do so.

Mercedes Swan (22:43)
Yeah.

Yes.

guess.

Delnic Media (23:08)
And

that is powerful. And I do believe that you can get that freedom from an agency because as, and I've said this before, and I don't think we really listen to it when they tell us this, but when you work with an agency, you are classified as the talent. And I think people need to really hear that you're the talent. They need you in order.

Mercedes Swan (23:32)
Mm-hmm.

Delnic Media (23:37)
to secure the contract and to get the hourly funds that you're going to be providing because you're the talent. It's no different than being a professional athlete. They have an agent, right? Because they are the talent. So it is the agent's job to secure them positions. They're going to put you in front of people that you're not going to have to worry about.

⁓ you guys heard Nicole Palmer and you thought I was, I look different and now you guys feel awkward because you didn't know that it was going to be me showing up because I don't sound like I'm supposed to sound. ⁓ you know, you get my pain because you know, you understand and I hate to say this, but I have been told this, you don't sound Black I have been told this multiple times and I'm like, I really wish

Mercedes Swan (24:07)
Mm-hmm.

Exactly. ⁓ all the time for me. All the time.

I think.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Delnic Media (24:30)
that afforded me a privilege. Cuz it out.

Mercedes Swan (24:33)
And why would you say that out loud

to us? It happens all the time. I mean, and I don't want to take you too. I've gone into interviews and then like I walk in and they like, like visibly confused.

Delnic Media (24:37)
Like.

It fully, fully

sends me. It fully sends me every time. And it's so irritating because...

Mercedes Swan (24:49)
What? It is 2025, right?

Sorry, I just had to.

Delnic Media (24:54)
You do the phone

screen, I'm telling you, like you do the phone screen, they're like, oh my God, you're amazing. And they're super excited. And then you show up and they're like, you see them in their face. And I'm like, you need to work on your poker face.

but I'm just saying like, but that is the unfortunate dynamic that I think people don't realize that there's a weird space that some of us live in where it's like, sure, I have a regular sounding name. Absolutely. And also my parents did not allow me to talk broken English as they called it at home because that was not allowed. So I had to speak proper and that

has become a double-edged sword because I don't sound like you think I'm supposed to sound. And so when I'm the one who shows up and after you done looked at the resume, you're super excited. You're like, wait a minute.

Where's Nicole Palmer at? I'm right here. Here I am. Surprise. So anyway, not to get on a tangent.

Mercedes Swan (25:54)
Mm-hmm.

Was it me you're looking for?

I know we were already there, it's okay. But it is a real experience and then we're kind of sitting here like that really just happened because that when I had that experience I was very early in my career and I was like it's not what just happened right? It is.

Delnic Media (26:04)
Yeah.

So the point of that is if you have an agent that saves you a lot of that hassle and heartache because nine times out of 10, what happens, I don't know this to be like a hundred percent factual, it's just I have experiences where

Mercedes Swan (26:22)
Yeah.

Delnic Media (26:31)
They put you in front of the client and they also get to see what you look like. So to me, I actually think that's great. This saves me a lot of time. ⁓ And also, they also do a pre-screen. The agent will pre-screen you. And so you will know right away whether this is something that you can vibe with, whether this is an agency that's a good fit.

Mercedes Swan (26:34)
Mm-hmm.

Delnic Media (26:53)
And that to me has been such a game changer and like I always like as much as I can I get Get you an agency get you several have at least four or five because I do And like Look have multiple Multiple because hey just because the stomach is full. Don't mean you can't look at the menu. Okay, you know something might come along. There's a little more appetizing

Mercedes Swan (27:05)
That's amazing. Okay, okay. You said multiple streams, multiple entry points. Yeah, that's amazing.

Yes,

it's called supply and demand. You know what I'm saying? I mean, okay.

Delnic Media (27:23)
Okay, exactly.

So keep your options open. You can be at one assignment and then something come along. You're like, yeah, let's have a chat. Let's have a chat. Let's, let's, let's conversate. Okay. Because you know right away the money upfront, you know what the rate is. They know you're going right. They're only going to put opportunities in front of you that match your going rate. And that's what I love about agencies. And most of them will pay you every week.

Mercedes Swan (27:35)
Yeah.

That's beautiful. Yeah, and stability. I love that. I have so many questions.

Delnic Media (27:51)
I'm just saying. Yes, yes. And benefits as well.

A lot of them offer benefits. yes, agencies all the way. I just had to go in that little rant because I mean people, especially Black women know the value. I think it is such a untapped resource, especially for Black women that feel like, my goodness, if she say one more time again.

Mercedes Swan (27:59)
Okay.

No, it's good.

They don't know, it's okay.

Delnic Media (28:20)
that, you know, like you have an option, right? Like you have

a way out, you have your escape hatch and it's always there for you. And you can establish those relationships because you can also freelance. So you can have, you can build your way out while you're working and work freelance or part-time or even just, you know, after hours, depending if they have a specific project. And that's what I love about editing because you do have the flexibility.

Mercedes Swan (28:28)
Mm.

Delnic Media (28:48)
especially working with different clients. I've worked with some amazing clients over the years, like household name type of clients. And I say that not to brag, but it's been amazing, the opportunities that I've had in working with pharmaceutical companies, working with other types of technology companies. And so you have this wide array of opportunities you can do. So it's not just, ⁓ well, I don't know anything about medicine. That's okay. You can do, you can work with.

Mercedes Swan (28:55)
That's amazing.

Delnic Media (29:18)
Technology companies, you can do marketing. There's so many opportunities if you're interested in editing and not just editing, there's also copywriting. There's always kind of two sides a lot of times. You can do copywriting and that can be even more lucrative. But yes, agencies, I'm telling you, yes. Key takeaway. Agencies.

Mercedes Swan (29:31)
moving.

Yeah. I was going to say, because

if, you know, we're talking about those intersections of like experiences, right? And also I was just going to like affirm, right? Cause you were like, well, I don't have the data for that. like, this is our experience. Like the experience is the experience. We don't need data for that. And that's all just like, yes, here, here and understood. But one of the other things I was thinking about where you're saying like, you know, I, my focus and my interest was so much in this, you, the medical space.

Delnic Media (29:52)
Say that. Yes.

Mercedes Swan (30:01)
But I was having conversations with people who are like, I'm in writing. I like writing, but I like writing in this element, right? I like writing in diversity, equity, inclusion. I love writing in human resources. And I was like, you can do copywriting in one of those specialties. Like I see postings all, and I'm in HR, that's why I see, in DEI I, so that's why I see those. Not that I'm a copywriter, absolutely not. But I'm like, there's so many opportunities, but if we don't take the time to really like respect and honor like our experiences and leverage those,

Delnic Media (30:16)
Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah.

Mercedes Swan (30:31)
We often don't think that any of those are possible. So I love that you called out like, hey, there's a variety and here's how you leverage this. So I think this is my ignorance that I had a question about is, so, okay, so you have an agency, right? So there's maybe a big pharmaceutical organization. They need somebody to take something that they've already written. Maybe it's a massive document or something. And then they...

Delnic Media (30:38)
Yeah.

Mercedes Swan (30:53)
contact an agent, the agent sources out to whoever they're representing and then that's how that happens. You have a screening, is that right? Or can you like tell me if I'm misunderstanding anything? I'm curious. Okay.

Delnic Media (30:57)
Yeah.

Yeah, that's pretty close. So typically,

and this is the side that we don't get to see, typically these companies, have either a database, there's some unknown site because I'm not an agency, but they usually put out a call for proposals. So if they have a need, they'll put out a call for proposals. And the reason I know this is because I have been contacted in a single day by like five agencies for the same job.

Mercedes Swan (31:17)
Yeah.

Okay,

well.

Delnic Media (31:32)
And it's like identical, so you know exactly. It's like, okay, so they just put out a blast and everyone's gonna race to the finish line. So the company, let's say Pharma A has put out a call, they have this need, they put out the budget, what the cost will be, and the job description. And all of the agencies who have access to that database or that platform are off to the races because everyone's trying to get there first. And so they're gonna tap into their network.

they're gonna sometimes reach out to you on LinkedIn, because I have seen that happen as well. So it is important to put that you're open for work if you're looking for something, even if you're still working somewhere, that's okay, it's your prerogative. So I've been approached before on LinkedIn as well. And once they reach out to you and they tell you about the position, this is like an extra bonus or pro tip that I'm gonna give the folks listening, especially for my Black women, okay, when you are...

Mercedes Swan (32:27)
Okay.

Delnic Media (32:28)
about an opportunity, don't take the first one that comes before you do your homework. Before, so here's what they will do. They will ask for a right to represent. And a right to represent is you affirm that they will put you in front of the client and you won't go with anyone else. The reason you don't want to do that before you do your homework is because a lot of times they could be low balling you.

Mercedes Swan (32:56)
Mmm.

Delnic Media (32:57)
And so there can be another, if for example, pharma company A says, we're willing to pay $200 an hour for this position, they're going to pocket 50 % nine times out of 10. So they're going to get $100 an hour. And they're going to come to you and say, the position is available for $100 an hour. Some will come even lower and say, we can offer you $40 an hour because they want to

Mercedes Swan (33:22)
Mmm.

Delnic Media (33:22)
And this is where taking that job description, because they're going to send it to you, go to Google, do your homework, and you will see it's posted multiple times. And you can reverse engineer and find out who is posting the position and what it's really going for. And then you decide, whoever's got the highest offer, that's who you go to. Because if it's available, trust me, they are going to want to talk to you. So I have done that successfully and have actually

Mercedes Swan (33:36)
Mm-hmm. Wow.

Mmm.

Delnic Media (33:53)
they have been able to outbid because they were offering like $20 per hour more. Another agency was offering $20 per hour more. Can you imagine? Because they, but it happened so much. Yes. And so it's important to you Homer, never agree to a right to represent right out the break. Take a beat, you can take an hour. And also because you know the hourly rate, you can say, how about you negotiate?

Mercedes Swan (33:56)
crazy. ⁓

That's wild. When we talk about the pay gap.

Delnic Media (34:23)
you go a little higher because you know what is being offered. So that gives you some flexibility in some leeway because they're under the time crunch, right? So you have, you're in the driver's seat. When they're racing like that and you have multiple people coming at you, that puts you in a good position. So yes, it works.

Mercedes Swan (34:42)
That's amazing.

I'm totally unaware of all of this. And so much of my recruitment, and I know agency is different than recruitment, but when you talk about the talent element, very similar, right? You are competing with talent and that's where the negotiation pieces come from. And also positioning yourself as the talent is more likely to put you not only in a better mindset and head space to negotiate for some of those things, but also knowing your worth. So what I hear you saying is like, hey, understand what your worth is in this market.

Delnic Media (34:57)
Lovely.

Yes.

Yes.

Mercedes Swan (35:11)
before you're agreeing to anything with an agent, whether an agent or what you're seeing online, do your research and make sure that you're not being underpaid because we know what that looks like for Black women. We're just simply underpaid for existing. love it. ⁓

Delnic Media (35:12)
Yes.

⁓ all of the time. Yeah, so

knowing you're the talent is super important. you know, like I said, once you go through those steps, you'll have an initial conversation. Some other agencies are really responsive, which is great. And then once you go through the initial phone screen, then it's pretty much full speed ahead from that point on, because again, they're trying to get there first. And so those are the best types of roles to go after because

Typically, I have actually been made an offer the same day. I found the opportunity. yeah, like when, because again, they are racing not just against the clock, but against other agencies. There are so many staffing agencies out there. It's insane. There's a lot of them. It's a lot. And they're all competing for the same resources. And so we need to start getting the mindset is that.

Mercedes Swan (35:58)
That's amazing.

Delnic Media (36:20)
We bring something to the table. We are a resource. We are the talent. And so we don't need to take the first thing that comes along.

Mercedes Swan (36:28)
Yeah, I love that because it's true that like, you know, in terms of this, like, I love where you're like, oh my gosh, yeah, same day offer, right? And I think for a lot of us, we've been taught and also it's been our experience, right? Because it's been taught and it's all that we've experienced that like going to a regular nine to five is the most secure thing. But it's like, well, actually now I have all of these different opportunities that I'm always able to consider. And if you have a process in the system of saying like, hey, this is how I'm gonna ensure I have my next deal.

Delnic Media (36:39)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Mercedes Swan (36:58)
oh, by the way, I have all of these other things going on. So I know I have a cushion, right? We have to start seeing like stability different in this changing market. And I think with all of the layoffs and just shifts and I mean, we've been in this shift like this gig economy for years, like well before 2020, right? Like that was already a thing. Cause I was hiring lots of those people like back in 2016. So that's absolutely to say that it's a new thing is actually not true. It's just more, we're more plugged into it because of

Delnic Media (36:59)
Yep.

Yes.

Mmm.

Yeah.

Mercedes Swan (37:28)
where we are as a society right now and layoffs and uncertainty. But at the end of the day, we, lot of times we think like that other stream of income, you know, building our digital empire or our digital business, right, is always this particular thing of, I have to build it myself or I need a brick and mortar. But there's plenty of opportunities, like you're saying, that are always popping up for different fields. You kind of really just got to look for it. I love how you talked about your process and your understanding and making sure you have that stability that.

Delnic Media (37:49)
Yeah.

Mercedes Swan (37:56)
Get out of there. Fund, right? I love that.

Delnic Media (37:58)
no,

absolutely. Yeah. And I think, like I said, especially for us as Black women, and I think it always breaks my heart because I think we see it on LinkedIn all the time, all these, you know, women that are laid off and this happened and that happened. And don't get me, it happens 100%. But I will say that when I left the job that should not be named, the reason why the decision was so easy for me was because I already had something lined up because I don't allow

Mercedes Swan (38:24)
Yeah.

Delnic Media (38:26)
myself to be in those positions. And I don't say this to brag. I say this as someone who was laid off in 2008 when the bubble first burst. And I had an offer later that day. I got laid off at nine o'clock that morning and I had an offer by that evening and I was already on, and this was in Florida when I got laid off. Okay. And I was on my way back to the DMV because I had an offer to start the following week. And that's the power of having agencies.

Mercedes Swan (38:50)
⁓

Yes.

Delnic Media (38:55)
I just need people to understand why they are so powerful. because especially if you're strapped financially, because most of them pay you every week, you can get a quick influx of cash. You can work this week and have a paycheck the following week. That's powerful. And I don't know that enough of us are exploring that as a possibility. I think we're so focused on like, I'm gonna apply to all of these companies because they're offering stuff.

Mercedes Swan (39:12)
It is.

Delnic Media (39:24)
there is a whole underbelly of opportunities just through agencies that don't really get presented in the same way. And a lot of people don't know about it because they're looking in the wrong place. And so I think that I think more of us need to start recognizing there are other ways.

Mercedes Swan (39:28)
Yes

Delnic Media (39:45)
But this is why working with a staff and agency saved my life as well because I knew I could move tomorrow. I knew I wasn't stuck. And because like, well, this is not a good fit. You can go to your agency and say, this is not a good fit for me. Just like LeBron could be like, hey, ⁓ agent of mine, this ain't working. Go find me something else. Talent.

Mercedes Swan (40:07)
That's right.

Delnic Media (40:10)
talent, we need to change that mindset and recognize we bring so much to the table that we need to start owning that.

Mercedes Swan (40:18)
Mm-hmm. I was gonna say it's giving I'm always looking and I it's it cracks me up because you know as a recruiter for many years I You know how many you know how honestly like white men I would talk to you and they'd be like I'm kind of always looking you know how many Black women I talked to that were like I'm always looking Not that many not that many not that many okay, it's specifically talked to a lot because I've been different see recruitment right and so we took very concerned effort

Delnic Media (40:23)
Yes.

Mm-hmm.

Very little. ⁓

Mercedes Swan (40:45)
to diversify our candidate pool, right? And so it's just a dynamic of so much of what we learned and expect and believe. And considering that, I talked to a lot of Black women, loved them all to death, but they're like, I can't do that creative thing. I can't be in creative writing. I can't be in editing. I can't be in these fields that we typically think of as the struggling artists fields. You know I'm saying?

Delnic Media (41:05)
How?

Right.

Mercedes Swan (41:11)
I can't do that. That's not a safe bet for my career. So what would you do? I know you I sound like I feel like I riled you up a little bit. So what would you say to them?

Delnic Media (42:27)
let's start with the fact that our whole life has been a creative experience, okay? When we gotta go into work and do one thing and when we really wanna do the other thing or say the other thing, if that's not creativity, I don't know what is, okay? Like all day long. So let's start there. But also, I reject the notion of the starting artist, okay? Because...

Mercedes Swan (42:31)
Period. That's what I'm talking about.

Mm-hmm.

Delnic Media (42:54)
I gots to eat. Do I look like I miss a meal? I do not. Okay. You know who I am. You know who I am. know who I am. Nope. And you know why that is? Because I reject the idea that you have to struggle in order to make it. I don't believe that you have to, on your way to your goal, be like, just barely making ends meet. Where they do that at? Why? That's like the whole point.

Mercedes Swan (42:57)
I don't. Not me sitting in front of the stove. No, I'm just kidding.

Delnic Media (43:23)
It's like you only live once. You don't know that tomorrow is promised. Okay. So I'm going to enjoy my today and my later and my tomorrow. I'm not here to be sitting here like, my God, I just got to make it. No. Like there are so many opportunities. And again, and I go back and okay, you don't want to do a staffing agency, go bartend, do something else that brings you an additional income stream, whatever you're good at.

Mercedes Swan (43:40)
Mm-hmm.

Delnic Media (43:52)
If you're a braider, braid. Make some extra money that way. And you can do that and still keep your day job. So I think we just have to decide what it is we want, what are we willing to let go of, right? Because I think there's also this conversation about we're doing too much and the hustle culture is too much or whatever you want to call it.

Mercedes Swan (43:59)
Mm-hmm.

Bye.

Delnic Media (44:21)
I'm not here to agree or disagree because I want nobody coming for me. I'm just saying that if you are already an overachieving woman, and most, especially as a Black woman, you are probably already putting in more than 40 hours at work. Why don't you channel that extra time back to you? Because I know you're doing it anyway. So you can take that and actually use it towards building your empire. That is what I do. Sure, nine to five is not my own right now.

Mercedes Swan (44:26)
Yeah.

Delnic Media (44:50)
But guess what is? All the other hours after that. And I put in work because I'm building something. Not because I'm obsessed with the hustle and the grind, but because I have a certain lifestyle I want to maintain while I'm getting too ready to go. And I want to enjoy good things. I want to have fun. I don't want to struggle. But that requires something.

Mercedes Swan (44:53)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Delnic Media (45:18)
And you have to, like, I think we need to decide what are we willing to sacrifice? Does it mean putting a little extra hours after five? Are you willing to sacrifice that? If you're not, then don't. Then do something on the weekend. But if you decide that none of those things are for you, then you can't then say, well, my goodness, I'm trapped. No, you are choosing to just do the nine to five. That's okay too. There's nothing wrong with that.

Mercedes Swan (45:46)
Mmm.

Delnic Media (45:48)
You just have to decide what it is you're willing to put up with or what you're willing to sacrifice. I'm not willing to sacrifice what my future freedom, because I see it. I'm just building towards it. But I'm not going to sit here and wait for it to happen. I'm going to make it happen. And the quicker that I can make it happen is the more time I spend investing in it. That's just where I look at it.

Mercedes Swan (45:59)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, you know, I

think it's interesting too. I'm on the side of we don't do hustle culture over here, but in the same way, I've consistently, but I've consistently dedicated, I had my nine to five too, right? And then every day after work, do work on my coaching business, right? And so that very much has the same, like the same end result, right? But I think in that, right, when you're talking about what are you letting go?

Delnic Media (46:21)
You

Mm-hmm.

Yeah!

Mercedes Swan (46:37)
Some of that is like a mindset or a thought of how we view things, right? If we go into something with the energy of saying, this is a sacrifice or this is a hard thing to do, or this isn't, I can't get to whatever financial goal that I have, right? Or the stability, right? That Black and white thinking of saying, hey, I'm looking at the side hustle and I'm calling it a side hustle. It doesn't really matter because I had a side hustle, right? Like in reality, right? But it's the energy that we like give to it, right? And so it's like this thing of saying like,

Delnic Media (46:41)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Break.

Mercedes Swan (47:05)
Well, do you wanna be creative? Well, what has to change in your mindset? What do you have to let go? And sometimes a sacrifice isn't always a bad thing. Like sometimes we're sacrificing things that don't actually really serve us, right? Okay, that part. And so like, how are we looking at this when we talk about building the digital empire, right? Like both you and I are building these online audiences, right? That we're connecting with and sharing a message with and right.

Delnic Media (47:08)
Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Okay? That part.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Mercedes Swan (47:33)
And when I think about what I want to be known for later on in life, it's not that nine to five, right? Not really. It's this work that I'm putting my heart into that I want, right? And whether it is braiding or what, yeah, it's not, whether it's a creative space, like what is it truly that you want? What are you leaving behind to create that for yourself as you're moving forward?

Delnic Media (47:39)
At all. That's not exactly the Snapchat legacy.

Mercedes Swan (47:55)
And what is it that you want to experience most as you're moving forward, whether that's the stability of the lifestyle or whatnot. So I think we're still on the same page of like building it, right? But the hustle culture girl is scaring me a little bit. But no, I get you.

Delnic Media (47:56)
Yeah.

Yes. Yes. Yeah. No, and you know, to your point, no.

And you know, to your point, I will say, think, honestly, I think the idea of hustle culture gets confused, I believe, with building your dream. And I think that they're two very different spaces.

Mercedes Swan (48:21)
Uh-huh.

Uh-huh.

Delnic Media (48:30)
To me, when I think of hustle culture, I think you are literally on this hamster wheel. Oh, the money's good, but you ain't sleeping. You gotta take a bunch of medications to try to get some sleep because they work in your evelo and nerves. you like, mean, like you are on therapy, which again is great, but like if it's not working, then like to me, like I equate the idea of hustle culture

and the negative connotations to that spinning hamster wheel where you just running, but you are in the same spot. You have gone nowhere. To me, that is not the same as saying, I believe in myself enough that I'm gonna bet on myself and that's gonna require me taking some additional time outside of my day job to build what I know is going to be something fantastic and phenomenal. It's gonna touch a lot of lives.

Mercedes Swan (49:08)
period.

Mm-hmm.

Delnic Media (49:28)
That is not hustle culture. To me, that is investing in yourself and investing in others around you and being that ripple that people talk about. And to me, and I think we need to recognize that they are two different things. And I think that's what we need to talk more about. There is definitely something about hustling and, you know, doing like, because you're trying to make that quick buck, like, but I'm getting paid this much money. So I'm going to just keep running and grinding and grinding. And you grind yourself to a nub.

Mercedes Swan (49:34)
Mm-hmm. Yep.

Mm-hmm. What were you grinding for?

Delnic Media (49:56)
And then you're not going to enjoy it because like,

okay, you got the money, but then now you got to spend it all to get yourself back together and put yourself back together again. You know, so what's the point? But building outside of your nine to five is because you see a vision, you have a dream, you know what it could be. And it's in like, it's on the inside of you. And that fuels you into me. That is the thing that I want more people to talk about. It's like, it's like dream building.

Mercedes Swan (50:05)
Yeah.

Delnic Media (50:24)
Like that to me is not hustle culture. That is because you know, like, like you can't go, you will never be able to look back and, and say, I can't leave this behind because it's such a part of me that I have to see it through. And that's going to require effort and that's going to require some sacrifice. And that, that to me could never be hustle culture. Cause it's just not the same thing.

Mercedes Swan (50:44)
Period.

Mm-hmm. Yep. So y'all be careful out there with them hustle, those hustle babes, the hustle productivity bros. We're soft in the legacy, right? We're putting in the work, but it should feel good. It should be offensive ease. I love that. Yeah. So let's talk a little bit about this empire that you're building. I love it. So talk, you know, could tell me a little bit about how you're building that, how you're building this dream, but.

Delnic Media (50:49)
I'm just saying it.

Yes.

Yeah, seriously.

Yes.

Mercedes Swan (51:10)
I love just hearing all about how you're building this brand and this message around Black womaning in corporate America. And so tell me a little bit about what you're doing in that space, maybe how your experiences contributed to that, maybe how that's defined, how you're moving forward. Of course, I know we heard a little bit, but just tell us a little bit more about the evolution and what's next too. Yeah.

Delnic Media (51:21)
Yes. Yeah. ⁓

Yeah, definitely. you know, when we decided to create Diamond Media, that was kind of a package deal. So ⁓ when I was on medical leave is when I wrote the book, Playing the Game While Black Women in Corporate America. And ⁓ yeah, and I went on a walk and I was just thinking about all the things that were happening and just like, you know, like they're not serious. Like they don't take it seriously. This is just a game. And it's like, and that voice was like, it is a game and you should write about it. I'm like.

In fact, I should. And that's literally how the book was born. And I just really looked at it from that perspective. And it was important for us to really cement what we stand for by making that our flagship product. It was the first book that was ever released under Delta Media. And we wanted to be very intentional about it because I don't want anybody to wonder, I wonder what they stand for. I wonder what side they're on.

Mercedes Swan (52:06)
⁓ I heard, I heard it.

Delnic Media (52:34)
You know, it's very clear. And the whole book is really about that journey that I took at this organization that I worked with pretty much my grown adult life is what I consider it, like over 10 years and even more beyond that to be perfectly honest. anyway, we're not going to get into that. towards the tail end, once I went on medical leave and I experienced all of that and I decided I was ready to

I look back over those years and all the opportunities where I could have done something different if I just got out of my own way. And it didn't, it's not about, and I think that some people could think that the book is a tell-all. That's not what it's about. Cause I made a lot of people nervous at my whole job. It is not that now I'm not saying there's not stories. Let me be clear.

Mercedes Swan (53:25)
You, how nice of you.

Delnic Media (53:33)
There are some stories and some people might be like, that's so like maybe I didn't use no names. I'm just saying. But you know what, when I wrote this book, I really thought it was important for people to realize that I'm not saying that racism doesn't exist. We know it does all of the things microaggressions, macroaggressions, and I actually call them a little shade, a lot of shade just depends on the level. but

The point is that there's a way we can navigate through corporate America differently if we just understood the rules in the beginning. And so this is the book I wish I had when I had started because I'd have been done left. I'd have been like, I'd have paced out a while ago. But the bottom line is that not everyone wants to leave corporate America. And that's the crux of the book. It's not meant for you to like go in and burn it all.

know we have to recognize there is a game and because there is a game we have to play it differently and I 100 % believe that and so it's about equipping Black women with a resource, with a playbook and to me and like you know and now I'm starting to see people like now that people are seeing it and giving me feedback because they've read the book I'm like oh who okay yeah I was onto something.

Thank goodness. But you know, it's nice to get valid because you know, it's your baby. So of course it's like, a mother's gonna be like, this baby is everything. Like don't you see how beautiful it is? So it's nice to get that affirmation from other people and hear that they felt seen. Like that's what I've heard a lot of Black women say, I felt seen. And that did like...

Mercedes Swan (55:01)
Yeah.

Delnic Media (55:29)
That is everything to me because that's, I really wrote it for every Black woman who still trying to do this saying, with everything stacked against us as it always is, but we still make it work somehow, some way. And again, we creative y'all, like I promise, we make all of the things happen always. And I just wanted more Black women to know that it's not in your head.

It really did happen that way. They really did set you up. Like you really did go from being someone that they admire to give like through awards at every single year. And it only took one instance for them to be like, that was so unprofessional. People, this was a real story. People I worked with, people that I looked up to that actually turned on me at the very tail end. And I was devastating, but it's what happens because it's what they expect. They're always waiting.

Mercedes Swan (56:13)
Yeah.

Delnic Media (56:28)
to have their stereotype about as proven right. That's really what it, and it only takes one time for that to erase everything you've done up until that point. And so to the point of this book and the work that we're doing, it's because I want more people like me to see themselves and not just to see themselves, have a place where they are seen.

Mercedes Swan (56:32)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Delnic Media (56:57)
and where they are celebrated, where they don't have to worry if I submit my book, are they gonna just chuck it because I'm talking about something that makes people uncomfortable? No, like I think that there's just not enough opportunities for underrepresented and marginalized groups out there. And I think it's something that we need to change and we have to be the ones to do it. No one's gonna do it.

Mercedes Swan (56:57)
Bye.

Delnic Media (57:21)
And we're very much, you know, we've whirled out a lot of different products that we're really starting to push now because we're trying to like be fast and furious and like keep up with like the momentum. It's it's happening so quickly. Like it's sometimes it just like, gives me whiplash because like, I'm like, I just, I just started doing this. What's happening? Hold on. Like sometimes I feel like that, but another time I'm like, why is it taking so long? But you know,

Mercedes Swan (57:31)
Yes.

There's levels of this.

Delnic Media (57:50)
There

really is, and only someone who is an entrepreneur understands the pains of going from one end to the other, because it is 100 % pendulum. bottom line is, I want to support as many underrepresented marginalized groups as possible. And that's saying that everything's guaranteed, like acceptance. Obviously, you have to have something that is...

Mercedes Swan (58:00)
Mm-hmm.

Delnic Media (58:19)
you know, meaningful and well put together. And that's where the editor in me comes in, because I am the editor in chief of the company. And I know a thing or two about writing, you know, a little bit. You know, ⁓ and so I just, I think we have so many wonderful and beautiful stories, you know, if I'm just looking at our Black community, I see it all the time on LinkedIn. I got reached up that like,

Mercedes Swan (58:31)
Thank you to me, yeah.

Delnic Media (58:46)
sometimes makes me weep, sometimes I'm falling over laughing because it's hilarious. And that's just who we are as a people. And in a time where this here place, this here country is doing its level best to erase us. can I say that? At a time, at a time where the doggone, you suppose it,

Mercedes Swan (59:02)
whole hot mess.

Yeah, no, say what you want. Yeah, say what you want.

Delnic Media (59:14)
what I call the divided States of America is doing its level best to erase our contributions and everything that we have done to literally build this country. Literally. More of us need to make sure that our stories are heard and are recorded and are put out into the world because we have so much to offer. And I think we're only just getting started. Like we have, like we.

We didn't have a head start. We are just getting warmed up. And that's how I look at our specific community and not just our community. I wanna help as many underrepresented marginalized because I see it all the time. I saw it all the time, not only when I work, but in the hospital, I was in healthcare as well. And you see the disparity, you see the disadvantages, you see it all the time. And more of us just need to say that

We're just not doing that anymore. And if you're not willing to give us a seat at the table, we're going to build our own damn table.

Mercedes Swan (1:00:19)
Yeah, period. Yeah, I talked to, know, as a career coach too, right? And also talking about how we can and cannot navigate. Unfortunately, there's so many ways that we actually cannot navigate the workplace without it having extreme, you know, repercussions for us in our career. But still in that space, we do have the opportunity to say, hey, I'm learning actually how other Black women are navigating this because

Delnic Media (1:00:20)
Just saying.

Yeah.

Mercedes Swan (1:00:48)
the further that we push and that we set different expectations for us. I'm a strong believer and proponent that what we push back on today, we kind of keep moving back, even if we're dealing with all of this from a political, socioeconomic, whatever you want to call it, standpoint, the little pieces of how we show up each day differently and navigate that, whether that's our own seat or we're navigating, pushing through, breaking ceilings, whatever you want to call it.

Delnic Media (1:01:05)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Mercedes Swan (1:01:17)
However,

each of us show up in that space is I think creating a much better future for us. So thank you, because we're rocking with each other, right? Different spaces, all of the different things, but it's amazing to see the collective in this. So after that, you kind of talked about the Black women in the corporate America and things like that, and ⁓ kind of going to the space of you talking about elevating and creating spaces for underrepresented.

Delnic Media (1:01:25)
Yes. Yes.

Mm-hmm.

Mercedes Swan (1:01:45)
Tell me a little bit about that. I love that you're a champion for that. And so tell us a little bit more about what you do to help to elevate and bring forth those voices and meet that need and help with representation and yeah, why it matters so much to you.

Delnic Media (1:01:49)
Yeah.

Yes.

So, and I will say that like on the flip side of playing the game while Black women in COVID America, which is like all strategy, all like just very like cerebral is what I call it. I wrote another book a month later on my birthday called Seattle Bailey and the case of the lost locket. And the reason why that's important is because it is a fiction and it's about a detective.

Mercedes Swan (1:02:07)
you

Delnic Media (1:02:25)
Sienna Bailey, who was based in Jamaica. And I wrote that because I grew up on Encyclopedia Brown and Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. I never saw myself, but I always considered myself like, got like, I could figure these cases out halfway through, like two chapters in. I know who done it. Like, come on, like really, that's all you got? And you know.

Mercedes Swan (1:02:43)
need to do better. Do better!

Delnic Media (1:02:50)
But I I, I, I love, devoured those books and I realized I never saw myself in those books because I wasn't represented. And so that book that I wrote full circle forward to today, Santa Bail in the case of the Lost Locket was a love letter to myself. Like this is, and it's based on my life, which is like, if y'all, if y'all want to peek into like a little semi-autobiographical, you might want to get them.

Mercedes Swan (1:03:17)
Let's

do it. Let's do it. I'm ready.

Delnic Media (1:03:22)
You know, like, I mean, there's some parts, of course, because I had to, you know, for the setting, it was based in Jamaica. And so, you know, some parts of it are fictionalized, but I mean, it's based 100 % from my family. But it's because I wanted to see myself, you know, I'm Jamaican, I'm this girl, I can solve cases, you know, why not me? And so that's where that story was born. And also that actually

involved into what we came up with. It's called the Tales of the DMU. DMU is short for the Dalek Media Universe. These are serialized stories because some people, like I'm 100 % all in, I'm a writer, so I go down rabbit holes a lot. I know that Amazon had a serialized story on called Kendall Bella.

which they actually discontinued, but it was a place where people could put out serialized stories. And I had a couple of serialized stories on there. And then I went away and I'm like, well, I still need this. So I'm going to create a platform for it. And that is how Tales of the DMV was born. And so we offer that, especially for underrepresented and marginalized authors. And I mean, I have about three or four stories myself on there. I did one, it's based on my freelancing life called Dear Diary.

Mercedes Swan (1:04:24)
Yeah.

That's awesome. Aww. ⁓

Delnic Media (1:04:41)
And it's like a fiction story, but it's based on my life and it's like an interracial couple. And it just walks through like the different, like each journey is like a different freelance assignment that I had. Fiction lies, of course. Fiction. But it just allows, you know, it's an opportunity to show facets of myself, but also show people that you can see yourself in these stories and you can be that person. You don't have to limit yourself like,

Mercedes Swan (1:04:42)
yeah.

Delnic Media (1:05:10)
I'm not a creative person. We all have a story. We all have someone or something that happened that we could look back and like, my gosh, you had that time. And that's a story. Like your story doesn't have to, I think people think that you have to be creative. Yes, in a sense, but your story could be your creative. Like you can build from that. And so that is something we offer Tales of the DMU. And that's something we're going to be promoting much more in the future.

But one final thing I do want to share that kind of happened organically, but out of necessity ⁓ was ⁓ what happened with Senator Cory Booker. Unless you're not connected to the world, yeah, I know what I'm talking about. Where he broke the record and it was everything and all of the things. And so of course, everyone was talking about it. And so Jokina Reid actually put out a post.

Mercedes Swan (1:05:52)
Yes.

Delnic Media (1:06:07)
And there were so many other people that were like remixing her posts, but not giving her credit and like completely missing the force for them. It was a whole thing. And I felt the way about it because I followed her for a really long time. And so I was trying to figure out, well, what can I do? Like, I'm not, I don't consider myself an activist. I am a storyteller. But again, storytelling is very powerful and storytelling can affect change.

And so out of that, I reached out to her because I wanted to actually put her face front and center for what was such a powerful piece because she didn't just talk about, my goodness, he's making history. No, it was ancestral work. The ancestors were the heir, like seeing him through and that's how, like it gave me chills watching him. And so I loved how she put it forth. And so out of that, we created Black Linton Voices Matter because

Mercedes Swan (1:06:48)
I'm here.

Delnic Media (1:07:02)
You know we get suppressed all the time. Like the algorithm is just like, y'all talking about that again. Okay, block, suppress, hide. So, know, that inspired the Spotlight series, Black Lenten Voices Matter. And we, you know, featured it on Delta Media. We share it on all our showcase pages because it is important. think especially, mean, I don't know if anybody else knows this, but we know what happened to the Black Lives Matter.

It was destroyed. And I think that there's this idea that we have gone away, that it means that Black lives no longer matter. No, they matter more now than ever because everything that is happening and so whatever we can do to continue to push that forward and to remind people we're not going anywhere. And we got just as much a part of this, the fabric of this country as anyone else.

and we got the right to exist here, whatever we can do, do that, we're gonna continue to do. And that we do every Friday, we're feeding that on our website as well as all of our showcase and social media pages. So yeah, we put our money where our mouth is.

Mercedes Swan (1:08:12)
Yes, period. And

time and energy and love too. So for those of you listening, I will make sure that we have all of these, the books and the series and the pages and all of the above linked in the show notes so you can check them out. Because apparently Nicole is busy. She's busy. Just a little bit, okay? We're putting in work.

Okay, this has been ⁓ my gosh, so like so much so many nuggets. I feel like we probably could go on and on and on for like hours. I know me I was like cutting out cutting out questions here and there but we just got through so much. think it's been an impactful conversation either way. But I think I think we got to what we need to talk about. We got to talk about the tactical pieces like an agency but like also the heart of it of like following what you love, you know, really understanding your motivations and what you need. And so as we wrap,

Delnic Media (1:09:07)
Mm-hmm.

Mercedes Swan (1:09:08)
up this, I just want to say if you want to frame it as like a piece of advice or a guiding thought as we close our conversation is, if somebody is listening to this, they're thinking of kind of going on a path that you've gone on, whether it's a storytelling, the business, your traditional nine to five, what would your advice be for them going into this journey?

Delnic Media (1:09:26)
Yes.

Yeah, start. I think everybody, yes, like it's important because we talk ourselves out of things. So just do it. Ignore the noise, ignore the naysayers. Don't tell anybody, don't look for anybody's advice because they're gonna give you all of their insecurities and project them onto you. Just start, number one. Number two, study up.

Mercedes Swan (1:09:34)
That?

Delnic Media (1:09:57)
You know, learn as much as you can about whatever it is you're pursuing. Though I say that with a grain of salt because you're probably already got all the skills and the chops that you need in terms of whatever you're pursuing. And also look for support, look for mentorship. Something that I started recently just because I was getting, I've been getting approached like I'm more out there now. So now people are like, hey, can I pick your brain for a minute?

Mercedes Swan (1:10:08)
Uh-huh.

Delnic Media (1:10:26)
Like, can I ask you some questions? Sure, you can do that and you can pay me. Yeah, so I do have actually, I just rolled out just like some power sessions, like a one hour session where you can have a conversation if you want to talk because I've had people like who have books that they want to write. They're like, I don't know what to do or where to start. I'm like, you know what? I'm going to help people, but I also need to

Mercedes Swan (1:10:34)
Yeah!

Delnic Media (1:10:54)
And it's not about, one last thing I will say that I think is so important because I think people are like, why does everybody want to charge money all the time? Like, ugh, why is it always about money? For a lot of us, and I think you may agree with me on this, we are just recognizing our worth. And it has been a journey of self discovery to get here. And we are, I'm only just now feeling okay enough to say,

My time is valuable and precious and I cannot just hand it out to anyone who comes along because I also deserve to recognize my worth. And so a lot of times when we ascribe a value to the time is because we are saying that we are worth it and we are valuable enough to be paid for our time. I'm just, that's gonna be my little sermon. I'm gonna leave it there.

Mercedes Swan (1:11:48)
It's all good.

Delnic Media (1:11:49)
If you want to get some guidance on your book.

If you're trying to start a publishing company or break into the editing or freelance business, both things that I have done, I am available.

Mercedes Swan (1:12:01)
Yes, yes, and we will have that in the show notes too. Not to get, you know, too off, you know, too off wherever, because we want to close soon. But what I will say is, you know, for out there, right, you know, as your platform, and I'm talking from this about me, right, where I'm definitely having a growing platform where I just can't, I'm having a hard time keeping up with my DMs, my emails, my likes, comments, everything. It is a point, right, where it's like actually one,

Delnic Media (1:12:05)
Yes.

you

Mm-hmm.

Mercedes Swan (1:12:31)
This, I have to have a sustainable business to continue to pour into my online community. But also, yes, I deserve to be compensated for my skills, right? And so even if you are doing work that supports community, Allow your community to pour back into you and compensate you for the work that you're doing. So yes, and so for people who are out there like, don't wanna charge, like charge for your worth, right? Charge for what you need to be able to.

Delnic Media (1:12:35)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

Mercedes Swan (1:12:58)
to your point, like grow a business, have the cushion, create this life that you love. We deserve to be able to operate in our gifts and our talents and continue to do it. yeah, launch the business and make sure you get paid, okay? We don't need all the pick-your-brain consults for zero 99. For zero 99 every day, okay? All right, well, we talked so much, oh, sorry. We talked so much about.

Delnic Media (1:13:03)
Mm-hmm.

Absolutely.

Yes.

you

Okay? Like, seriously.

No, you're

Mercedes Swan (1:13:25)
all that you're accomplishing and doing, I'm super excited. I'm super excited for all of the progress and all of the efforts that you've been making in online space and with your book and things like that. And so of course I want to close and make sure everyone can find you and know where to connect with you. Well, we'll have those links, but as we wrap up, is there anything that you wanna share? And of course how people can connect with you in the best way.

Delnic Media (1:13:51)
Yes, so ⁓ LinkedIn, think is definitely like my headquarters, I would call it. ⁓ You can always find me on LinkedIn and my username or handle, whatever they call it, I don't even know, is just my full name, Nicole S. Palmer. So just put that into little search bar and you will see my beautiful face. ⁓ So yeah, definitely you can connect with me on LinkedIn.

You can check out our website, delmicmedia.com. We will be officially launching for submissions in the next month or so. So if you have a short story or you have a book, a manuscript that you want published, you definitely should check out delmicmedia.com because we are out here. Yes.

Mercedes Swan (1:14:37)
Doing the thing, yes! Okay, so y'all connect

with Nicole. Like I said, I feel like we could have talked about so much and has given so much insight. And also all of her content, I know she's been doing some really cool things on YouTube and content that she's been releasing, so I know there will be ⁓ so much good information there. I need to catch up, okay, I need to catch up personally. ⁓ But to all of our...

Delnic Media (1:14:46)
Seriously.

Thank you.

Mercedes Swan (1:15:01)
Watchers our listeners. Thank you so much for listening to this session I hope that whatever you've learned here, whatever nugget whatever piece of information, you know, you found this inspiring Thank you, Nicole for coming ⁓ And again, if you have any questions for us, let us know reach out And of course if you enjoyed this podcast, make sure that you subscribe Make sure that you share this with another professional sister in love and of course there are different ways for you to support the podcast on spot

Delnic Media (1:15:14)
Thank

Mercedes Swan (1:15:30)
Bye. So all of that being said, with much love and success to help you build your career, business and lifestyle that you love, we will see you next time. See you later.