Tell Publishing initially was created around 2010 by TJ Jefferson as a vessel to publish her writings but she never actually completed anything she had written nor published anything else at that time. Writing has always been her gift but she could never buckle down and do it consistently. A period of consistency came at Tennessee State University (years prior), when she joined the school’s award-winning newspaper staff, The Meter, around 2001. TJ was a sports writer and then became the sports editor her last two years of school. She also spent summers writing about up and coming basketball players out of Tennessee for the now-defunct Breakdown Sports Magazine. She graduated with her degree in communications, emphasis in print journalism. Instead of going the traditional journalism route after graduation, she detoured to Public Relations after interning for the Omari Rolle Foundation and then receiving a Media Rep position at Nashville State Community College and later starting her own firm – Fresh Touch Publicity, a boutique publicity company with clients in the arts, service-based businesses and nonprofit organizations.

With her own business plus her nonprofit board appointments and networking events, TJ had no time to devote to her own writings. Finally, in March 2016, she first published The #HERoineLegacy Magazine, where she told the stories of Black women. TJ received such a great reception to it which gave her the confidence to publish the second edition in March 2017 and each year in March until 2023. In December 2017, she published her first e-book “Stop Being Disrespectful by Low-balling Your Fees” on her own platforms and Amazon.

She’s been able to secure contracts with for profit and nonprofit organizations to create educational and informative content that speaks directly to their clientele. TJ reluctantly has embraced artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist with developing better marketing strategies for clients and faster dissemination of their newsletters, email marketing, announcements, web content, etc. She uses AI as a collaborative partner for ideas versus allowing it to do all of the work.

Also, TJ taught entrepreneurship to adults through Progeny Place/Co.Starters, which was a nine or thirteen-week collaborative cohort style class to help entrepreneurs from idea to launch. Additionally, she oversaw the after-school program at her alma mater, Hillcrest High School in Memphis, where she was able to hire teachers and community leaders to tutor and teach ACT Prep classes, as well as, money-making enrichment classes like cosmetology, art, music production, cooking and candle-making that weren’t offered during the school day.

TJ recently relocated to Tampa, Florida, where she is able to spend a lot of time writing on the beach and libraries and attending art galleries for ignite her creative side. Being organized and setting goals prompted her to designing the “Winning is the Only Game She Plays” goal-setting journal, bookmarks and a “Dear Daughter, Ask Me Anything” journal. She is a member of the Prose Society Writers Group, where they learn about writing techniques, ways to get published, participate in pomodoro technique-style write-ins, peer critiques of their writings, etc. She just finished writing her stage play Distance ÷ Desires = The Cost of Love. (Interested in being a sponsor? Click Here.) She participates in the monthly Ebony Talk Book Club through the North Greenwood Library in Clearwater.

TJ is passionate about Entrepreneurship, Storytelling, Collaborative Problem-Solving, and Philanthropy. She loves when she is able to integrate all or most of them in singular projects. TJ intentionally surrounds herself with people who are open to working in collaborative environments. She lives by a quote she penned “Accept the word ‘no’ like the snooze button on an alarm clock, don’t worry, someone’ll eventually wake up.”