Authors are famous for having day jobs that don’t include writing. This can often become frustrating because of stress, exhaustion, and time constraints. Instead of being an obstacle, though, your day job can be a powerful asset. Your unique experience can even inform a whole new structure for your book. That’s what happened for author and poet Melody Dean Dimick as she developed her young adult book, Backpack Blues. In cooperation with her publisher, Dimick decided that the best way for young adults to engage with her work was to teach them how to engage with poetry. She formatted her book to include not only her poetry but also teaching tools throughout the book that serves as resources to both students and teachers. This changed her book entirely, even introducing new themes. Dimick leaned into her unique gifts and experiences as a teacher to create something special. For some authors, unique experiences can inform content or characters. Watch the video below, though, to discover how your experience could transform the structure of your book.