Today we’d like to introduce you to Sydney Lemmons.
Hi Sydney, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I feel like my story is a little funny if you know me personally. In high school, I was sort of “volun-told” to be in my school’s FFA chapter because I was taking the agriculture classes because freshman Sydney wanted to be vet. I was told I was pretty good at public speaking and was then put into multiple FFA competitions for the next 4 years (it’s funny because I have no farming experience whatsoever… still to this day I have never owned a pair of boots). However my senior year, I became my chapter’s Reporter. My job was to run the social media accounts, take pictures throughout the year for the banquet slideshow, and make wrap up videos. These were things that came to me naturally as I have always been a creative.
When it came time for graduation and deciding what I wanted to do in college, I found the Design Communications major at Belmont University. It sounded like a good mix of graphic design and social media stuff — I was sold. Soon after, March 2020 rolled around the corner only a semester and a half into my college experience and we were sent home. Let me tell you… taking 3 hour studio classes on Zoom is not for the faint of heart. During this time, paying Belmont tuition money not on campus didn’t feel right and truthfully I wasn’t feeling 100% about my major.
During the summer of 2020 while I took gen-ed classes at Nashville State, I decided to research “social media major” just to see what would pop up. The first Google search stared back at me. “Belmont University introduces Social Media Management major Fall 2020.” I’m a big believer in signs and that definitely felt like one. The rest is history!
Flash forward to now, I work full time doing social media marketing but I also started my “bookstagram” @lemmonslibrary in August 2024 for fun! I caught myself in a creative slump at my job and wanted to combine something that I loved with something I could use as an outlet for ideas that I couldn’t use at my 9-5.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would say yes and no. When I created my account, I was immediately accepted by so many amazing individuals in the booksta community. There are so many people on there that are in the same situation I’m in — they needed a space to just get away from their normal social media and have fun!
But in the same capacity, now that I have grown my account, I can’t help but always have the “social media marketing” mindset. I see the people who maybe started their page around the same time I did and are surpassing me in followers, hitting those milestone numbers 5k, 10k, 15k with ease, while I seem to lose 8 followers every time I post. I struggle with noticing when my engagement is down, “why do some posts get 250+ likes when others barely get 80?” I have to constantly remind myself why I chose to create this account in the first place… to be stress. free.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
From 9-5, I do social media marketing for a non-profit organization here in Nashville. But from 5-9, I am logged into Instagram creating bookish content for readers under the name @lemmonslibrary. For the past two years, I have loved every second of being in this bookish space. I have had some amazing opportunities such as receiving physical arcs / PR from my favorite authors, been invited to attend book related events, and was even selected to be in Forever Publishing’s influencer program this past term. I’m proud of myself for taking the risk to start this account and to not worry what others would think. I have met so many amazing people through this platform and I’m so grateful for it every day.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Oh man, what to say about Nashville. As a Nashville native, I feel like what I like least is what everyone says — the traffic. How many people are moving here every day. The bad drivers. The constant construction. Why are we building apartments on every corner? I could go on.
But I do have a soft spot for her too. If I’m not at home, I’m at a concert, so I can appreciate my Music City for that. I love that I never run out of places to eat. When me and one of my girls get together, we make it a point to always try somewhere new. HOWEVER… we always come back to Emmy Squared, Hawkers, Pelatos, and 12/30. 12/30 SPECIFICALLY for the brussel sprouts!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sydneyleemiller.wixsite.com/my-site
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lemmonslibrary/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydneylemmons/
