It was such a pleasure to moderate the Exciting Women’s History Month event exceptionally hosted by Finiana at the Island Space Museum in South Florida.
National Caribbean American Heritage Month CARAH Entrepreneurship Awardee Dr. Solanges Viven mesmerized the packed audience telling tales from her Best selling book, Girls Can Move Mountains
The event connotated Art in its various forms shown through dance, drums, youth authors, and The Spoken word. It was all included in a delightful and entertaining form.
Indeed a delightful evening. Thanks Calibe, David and the Museum’s team for being the perfect host. Support the Island Museum, a rich piece of Caribbean history located at the Broward Mall, Plantation, South Florida.
I got the most devastating news. A close friend lost her 15-year-old. She had died of a massive asthma attack. Another friend lost his battle with the dreaded virus after months of organ failure. Yet another suffered as a result of multiple injuries to the body. Luckily she survived.
The media is filled with sad tales like these daily. It becomes harder to bear when it’s those close who are affected. Then there are the tales of things of joy! Weddings, births, graduations and those that warm our heart. These life events are customarily planned with huge anticipation.
And so it should be at regular intervals. For essential self-leadership it is important to pause and reflect. Something necessary to everyone at year end. We should take into account the past year’s success and plan to do things different… a necessity to improve your best. I am a firm believer in the fact that if you don’t look back you can’t move forward (well at least) not strategically. So I have always looked back on the path of my own personal journey and professional growth. As the sayings goes:
To stand still is to be left behind
Oh What A Pandemonium
So in 2021 we could not stand still. Deep reflects brought on innovative thinking to get things done safely as in the midst, many lost loved ones or were stalled by lengthy hospitalization. Work-from-home became the norm and association meetings had to continue. Death-by-zoom set in. It became necessary to find ways to bridge the two…in-person and virtual events. Enter the flexibility of the hybrid model and shared office spaces combined with robots to help ease the so-called labor shortage as employees took flight to become their own boss and take control of their time.
The health system seemed to have lost sight of its purpose. We don’t see sick patients. I was shocked when a doctor’s office said this matter-of-factly. No remorse. Then there was travel. On an unavoidable international trip, time ticked away as I spent days to get the mandated round-trip tests. Naturally, flights were missed. Being vaccinated meant nothing as tricksters began buying and selling fake vaccine cards. Sigh… the tricks never fail.
Oh What Fun it is to Ride
Driving is what I did too. Relocation is fun but getting used to a new area is even more enticing. But when you link the two to get things from the old while simultaneously slowly dragging the new across distances, a merged network becomes essential. Time to make a decision.
Book Signings & Events
Book signings at events such as Miami Book Fair, Keiser University’s Fall Festival, Car Show, Island Space Museum, New York Mets and more were the norm for networking and my coaching prowess. Again merging the new with the familiar and faraway must be faced as myriads of travel ensued.
Interviews With Powerful Women In Reggae
Organizing a Women’s History Month talk with Powerful Women in Reggae was one of my favorites. Matriarch / VP Records Founder Miss Patricia Chin launched her book My Reggae Music Journey and Dr. Claire Nelson of the Institute of Caribbean Studies thought it a great opportunity to bring these well-renowned women together. All in one place to discuss success and their journey. A delight indeed. Missed it? Grab your popcorn or a cup of tea and listen in.
Another fave was presenting to graduates of the Northern Caribbean University. An occasion when I presented on the topic Bust The Fear. Students leaned in and listened while anticipating their personal copies of the books Motivational Quotes for New Entrepreneurs and Your Career: Ditch it Switch it. Nothing brings me more joy than helping others develop and be recognized for their hard work as with the annual 30 Under 30 Recognition of young changemakers in Washington DC, where I serve as Chief Judge.
YouTube Interviews
My natural love for interviewing others around my research topic of Success and leadership continued in 2021. Don’t miss out on the top interviews. You can binge watch for personal growth here
What’s Next For 2022?
The inspirational GreenLight series will find a new addition in the form of new book RedLight, as I continue my writing love. My Safe Place was launched earlier this year with reviews that it has provided hope and meaning to many who use it as a daily devotional especially at this trying time of pandemic woes.
Helping aspiring authors publish their book for the first time is also a passion and will continue into 2022. Don’t hesitate to connect if you are interested in writing your own book or if you or someone you know is interested in a mid-life career change and is afraid to take the first step.
Looking back on the past 12 months, the memories made and the goals tackled, I am again thankful. I now look forward to the future and the expectations ahead. Can’t wait to see how it unfolds. Here’s to you and your family as we wish you health, peace, and hope that all will be well in 2022, and beyond.
Do you think ofretirementas a dead-end road to the Departure Lounge of life? Think again!Retirement, A New Adventureis full of ideas how to live an active, fun and enriching life inretirement. There are things to do, skills to learn, new technologies to embrace, people to meet, places to explore. What sets this book apart is the stories it provides from real life experiences of the author and others; stories that range from silly to serious, revealing how satisfying life inretirementcan be.
This Museum is a must visit when in Florida. Plan your visit to Learn more about this innovative initiative and don’t hesitate to donate unique and historical Caribbean artifacts. The Museum’s hardworking team are happy to shed the light!
Literary Conversation With Reggae Music Matriarch Miss Patricia Chin and Retirement Guru Miss Patricia Reid-Waugh. These Pioneers Encourage Professionals who Fear Retirement that age is just a number. Big things can happen at any age. Here’s how They did it
Writers write. Readers Read. Together they are one.
Always a pleasure to be invited to participate in Book Signing events. The newly launched Island Space Museum, Florida, boasts artifacts from across the Caribbean.
As winter peeps in 84-year old Reggae music matriarch Patricia Chin kicks off her new found love of writing and sharing her craft. She will be joined by fellow authors David Muir, Hugh Sinclair “0Chef Irie”, Cynthia Verna “Chef Thia” and yours truly – Dr. Shelly C. We will share exciting stories of our author journey, the island way.
Try new things. That’s what I did. I tried something new. Never did a trunk or treat before. I’m not an artist unlike my daughter. I’m a creator of written work–books, poems, short stories, and an encourager through daily Motivational Quotes on instagram. But my desire to participate in the Calvary’s annual Trunk or Treat event caused me weeks of agony. As I prayed I needed help. I searched the net. The ideas gleaned were generic based on movie characters, celebrity look-alikes and such. As I agonized, I shared my concept with a friend who is a creator of art…of things unique. She joined me in the vision and it emerged into something concrete.
How I Did It
My vision was to share from my book GreenLight: When God Says Go. It’s from a series of writings and I wanted to bring it to life. I got boxes and art supplies from Michaels. Bought tap lights from Amazon to portray all green traffic lights. Painted them with green art paint. Cut holes in the boxes and glued the tap lights into the holes.
I learnt that it was important to make sure your trunk matches the trunk host so I duplicated the above and cut additional holes into the box for my arms. I added my name to a piece of art board and glued it onto a head band to wear as the name of a street, green wig in tow. Remember, I am not an artist but I was pleased with my creation and the kids seemed delighted by the tap lights. I got many kiddie ‘asks’ to tap the lights as I wore them while the adults looked on intrigued. Pictures always tell a story, so here are a few.
How did you spend your time trick or treating? Do share. We would love to hear!
The holiday season brings many opportunities for authors. Families, co-workers, friends, networkers and even the Grinch shop for the perfect Gifts for book-lovers. From fiction, non fiction, Poetry, Sci-fi and sweet holiday romance for those hallmark enthusiasts who dream not only of movies but to curl up in the warmth of Christmas bliss. Their goal? To get lost in the world of the ideal relationship.
Marketers go crazy to capture the holiday magic for those on the naughty or nice list. So why shouldn’t authors…well author-preneurs participate? It’s become a common trend for non-traditional publishers to want to optimize the sweet fruits of their labor. They want to see their hard work nicely wrapped under the Christmas tree or at minimum, stuffed into Christmas stockings.
So how can authors prepare? I was chatting with a group of self published and traditionally published authors who long to boost their holiday sales. Why have the books gathering dust on Amazon’s platform or even yours? It seems the practice is to write it, publish it, and forget it, with the hopes that writing and publishing the book will attract sales. Not so. It does not work that way. Not for any type of author. The point is, after your book is published… unfortunately that’s when the hard work begins. You have to make the world know that it exists. So here are a few simple tips to help get you started. Don’t be overwhelmed. Choose one, two or a few and prepare for the most wonderful time of the year.
Create That Holiday Plan
Create a plan for the holidays. I am a firm believer in the saying if you are not planning you’re just practicing.
Evaluate where you are now and where you would like to be at the end of the holiday period. For example, you could include factors like doubling or tripling your year-to-date sales. If you are an experienced author with several books, take a loo at your past holiday sales. Project an increase in sales over past years.
Plan to up your Marketing and Promotional strategy. Sometimes just a little effort goes a long way from doing nothing at all.
Update your book covers. Make it festive (easier if you’re self-published) but whatever you do, make sure your cover looks professional.
Your Holiday Author Platform
Become more visible
Get your website holiday ready
Update your Amazon Author Central profile
Get more amazon reviews
Make your book covers more festive
Update your book description
Update your author bio. It’s a good idea to edit and review often on your amazon page. You would be surprised when you look back you seem to be looking at a stranger who essentially is a person you hardly recognize. Think of this like a resume. Update frequently.
Get a professional photo done and spread it across the different media networks
Build That Strategic Audience
Set up or expand your mailing list
Write blog posts
Create a newsletter… if that’s on your agenda
Find and connect with your audience. Engage, engage, engage them
Dig a little deep and find out who your followers are
Create images of your books in holiday settings on instagram
Create your own 12-Days of Christmas
Show. Don’t Tell
Increase your book reviews. Aim for 25 which means you have to go after many in order to get this done. You will receive promises but usually only lower percentage will come through
Create gift bags and other swags for giveaways
Create holiday videos. Already doing that? Do some more
Have a series? Make the first book FREE
Prep your own 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways
Holiday Party Connect. Collaborate.
Collaborate with other authors in Holiday Book Events
Invite your fans to an “ask the author” virtual Holiday party on social media
Get involved in local festivities (holiday markets, local fairs etc.)
Contact local independent bookstores
Hope these few tips will help get you underway. There are tons more but these few will get you started. Don’t get overwhelmed. Choose one, two or a few and Sell More Books this Holiday!
It’s an outstanding achievement especially for a first time author. Be proud of yourself. But then patrons buy your book and later a reader finds an error or worse–two. It may be his/her interpretation but an error none-the-less. You feel sad. Down. Disappointed in yourself. How could that happen? But before you throw in the ‘author’ towel, here are 3 simple things to do.
Write Quality Books
Write quality books. I can’t stress that enough. Those of you who have worked with me know that is most important. It makes the difference in the success of your product. Quality means, professionally done book cover, formatting, editing and more
Edit. Edit. Edit Some More
Of prime importance is the editing. Nothing is more distasteful than a product that wherever you read, you find errors. That being said, in professionally published books… be it traditional or self-published, you may find errors. That’s the reason reviewing your work with an editor is so important. These days errors are found even in the media. But the great thing now with the media is that it’s mainly online in many cases. Often in their haste to get the news out, they falter. But with online, errors can easily be edited and republished fast. In a printed book, this can also be done so get in touch with your publisher for immediate correction. If self-published, correct the manuscript and republish.
There Will Always Be Haters
Accept the fact. Know that you will always have haters and especially in Poetry, it’s your interpretation, your craft. If the errors are not spelling, then some will still complain because you write as you ‘see’ things.
So in summary, keep your head up. Do something about the complaint. Validate it and if its a fact, correct it. Then move on to writing and publishing your next book. Remember, life is filled with ups and downs. But it’s what you do about it that counts.
Need to write your book? Let’s connect.
Cheers!
Note this discussion does not go in-depth into writing and correcting errors. It is written as a simple recommendation to uplift and rebuild the new author’s inner drive to continue his/her craft.
Relatable, encouraging, inspiring are words that describes the book “My Safe Place is With You.
Amazon Reviews
Are you discouraged and feel like giving up? What is going on in your life that feels like a giant? Is it a career decision? A conflict on the job? Your health? A conflict at home? When you think about your future, does it look bleak? If so, be confident that it does not have to be.
In My Safe Place, Dr. Shelly Cameron talks about what to do when life’s tragedies hit, when you feel stuck, confused, and your life spirals out of control, where do you turn? How do you handle it? Where is your Refuge?
In this book you will find:
Inspirational Short Stories and Exhortations to Uplift you
Prayers and Encouragement for Difficult Journeys
Guidance to Identify God’s Purpose and Leading when you are Confused
Ditch It! Switch It! Yep, many are doing just that. In the book Your career, Ditch it Switch it, I encouraged you to reflect on the pandemic and switch your career. It’s the best time. Now more than ever many are doing it. Here’s CNN Headline news top tips to do it right.
Start your search to see the job options available in the market place
Like your current career? Stay with it
Hate your current career? Plan an escape
Take into consideration your current skills, qualification and experience.
Upgrade skills if needed to suit your new role
Update your Resume to match the job you’re looking for and review your social media profiles to make sure nothing unprofessional exist
It’s time to begin your search to Ditch it for the ideal career you want
Keep Motivated. Prepare yourself psychologically. The going can get rough especially while you are still in the same miserable job. So plan an escape while you wait. This can be:
Bathroom run (to breathe while on the job) but balance is key…. Don’t overdo it
Mental escape to your happy place (vacation getaway, home reno, time with family, time alone, time with your favorite hobby)
Experiencing that itch yet don’t know how to do it? Ask a Coach or let’s connect.
