Very Happy Thanksgiving to You All!

I am grateful for so many things in life! My friends and family. Good Health. Being able to continue my passion for writing. Of course, I am also very grateful for all of you! Last, but never least, I am so so grateful to be able to live in the United States. God Bless America and have a very very Happy Thanksgiving!
Caridad Thanksgiving

#WisdomWednesday – Small Steps, Big Changes

I’ve been hearing a lot about micro-goals lately, whether in relation to dieting or any other kind of task. Without really thinking about it, it’s something I’ve been doing for a lot of my life. While thinking about the big picture, like becoming a published author, I was setting smaller more achievable goals along the way. Write a chapter and the chapters became a book. Finish the book and look for an agent. Start the next book. Small steps leading to a big change. I took the same approach with my diet. Do ten minutes on the elliptical. Walk 10,000 steps. Lose 1 pound. Each small step leading to a bigger change.

Why is that so important? Setting goals that are unrealistic only sets you up to feel like a failure. No one is going to lose 100 pounds in a month or even a few months. It takes time. The same with writing. No one is going to become a bestseller overnight. It takes time and dedication.

But if you approach that goal with small steps, it not only seems more attainable, it is more attainable. When I do workshops and people say that they can’t imagine writing a book, I ask them “Do you think you could write a page a day?” The answer is invariably yes which prompts me to say, “Well if you did that, you’d have a book in a year, right?”

I’d like to think that my helping them think about doing such a big thing in small steps might help them reach that bigger goal, namely, writing a book.
micro-goals

#MotivationMonday – So you want to be a writer? Do you know what to do when you get ‘The Call’?

Good morning! I hope you all had a nice weekend. I’ve heard from some people that with time on their hands, they’re finally doing something they never had time to do before: Write a book. But what do you do if the book is finished and you’re thinking about how to publish it? Whether you self-publish or follow a traditional route, it’s important to understand the publishing process and the legal terms you may encounter in a publishing contract. If you’d like more information, please join me in my workshop tonight on Contract Issues for Writers! You can register for the workshop at the International Women’s Writing Guild website at https://iwwg.wildapricot.org/SP20-full/.

#MotivationMonday – Getting Organized for a New Phase in Life

So there are big changes coming to my life and one of the things I’ve been tackling is getting organized for that new phase in my life. What does that involve?

Downsizing the house as well as all my stuff in the house. It’s been quite a chore so far to sort out what I’m keeping for our new smaller space. It has been especially difficult with the clothing since thanks to my weight ups-and-downs I have clothes in different sizes that I’ve kept. New Goal: Get rid of it.

Planning for next year’s writing. My June 2020 Hallmark book, SOUTH BEACH LOVE, is done and I’m just waiting on edits. #3 in the At the Shore series, NEVER A BRIDE, will be out in January 2020. I’ve got a mess of books in The Calling is Reborn series to re-release as well as writing FIGHT TO LOVE which many of you have requested. I’ve also got a new book to write for Sourcebooks and I’m excited about this one since my goal is to include many of my family’s stories about our escape from the communist dictatorship in Cuba and the liberty and success we have found in the United States. To keep all that in order, I’ve gotten out the calendar and a notebook to track what I’ll be doing, namely a new release every month, whether they be new stories, traditionally published, or indie re-releases.

Getting healthier. As you may know from visiting, I’m committed to losing weight and getting healthier. I’ve been good about keeping to a workout routine and also watching what I eat. Next year may prove to be a challenge as I’m going to have to change up that routine, but my goal is to adapt and stick to it.
Set Goals and Get organized on Motivation Monday
Original Image by William Iven from Pixabay

#WednesdayWisdom – Fear of Failure

There are lots of things that can hold you back in life, but one of the biggest ones, at least for me, is fear of failure. A lot of that fear has to do with my writing life, I must confess. It can be draining to put all your heart and soul into a book and see it tank. It leaves its scars and it leaves its fears, namely the fear of failure. What if I write another one again and the same thing happens? It becomes a roadblock to your creativity until you tell yourself, “You can’t succeed unless you’re willing to fail.” It may feel like falling off a cliff, but do it to regain your creative freedom.

I think another part of the problem is that once writing becomes a “career” you start measuring your success based on sales which is probably one of the worst things you can do. Sales don’t necessarily mean you’ve written a good book and vice versa. What’s important is that you wrote the book of your heart and if even one person writes to you to say they liked it, you’ve succeeded!

So that’s my wisdom for today! I hope you won’t let fear of failure in your life keep you from reaching for your dreams.
fear of failure
Original Image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay

#TravelTuesday – Photos from #RWA2019

I had a nice time at the conference thanks to all the amazing people I met! It was awesome to get to know them and spend time with them. As for the conference itself, I could have done without all the politics people seemed to think it was appropriate to inject into speeches, etc. RWA was my safe space to get away and learn about writing and the publishing business. It’s sad to say it’s not that for me anymore. In spite of that, I did have a lovely time with many of the people who attended and who were there as I was to discuss writing, publishing, and how to take our careers to the next level. Today I’m sharing photos of some of the sights and some of those wonderful people. To see the full photo please click on the thumbnail.

#MotivationMonday – Inspiration and Perspiration

Wow, what a busy two weeks! I’ve been off to two different writing conferences and have come back charged up and inspired to get so many things done for the end of this year and next. Very exciting for me and hopefully for you as that will mean more stories, giveaways, and more.

The best part of both conferences was getting to meet new people and chatting with them about their writing and their lives. Such interesting people with such diverse backgrounds must add so much to the stories they tell. It was also great to get together with old friends and get to spend time with them since some of them are long-distance friends.

In addition to inspiration, there was also perspiration involved since I taught at the first conference and then had a number of meetings and signings at the second. All in all, however, I had a great time!

motivation monday writing inspiration and perspiration
Original Image by engin akyurt from Pixabay