Book – Page 5 – Success Strategies

My Writing Journey…

My writing journey began when I was 10 years old doing an important entrance exam to enter high school. I wrote a fiction story and was so engulfed that I did not realize I was doing an exam. Suffice it to say, I excelled. I went on to writing policies and procedures in the Pharmaceutical and healthcare industries in my International Human Resource Leadership Career.

Finding Meaning

My journey found meaning during my dissertation writing process as I pondered what to do for a 3-year writing project to meet the requirements for my doctoral studies. I wanted to do something that would make a difference to society. After deciding on researching the topics of Leadership and Success, my dissertation received outstanding recognition.

Challenges Along The Way

I was thrilled to have achieved my personal goal and Published my first book from my dissertation title Success Strategies of Leaders. The process was longer than anticipated and challenging as it involved translating the research from academic writing to storybook form in anticipation of public readership.

As many inquired about how to achieve success, I wrote Success Strategies Workbook to show them how. I was then recognized by the University for writing books based on my research as an example to other doctoral students. I was later invited to advise Doctoral students on the process I followed.

Community Leadership Initiatives

Along the way, I got involved with the Institute of Caribbean Studies in Washington DC doing work within our community, and was appointed as Chief Judge for the 30 Under-30 Millennial Change-makers. It was an initiative held at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) annually.

Same Goal–Different Paths

I subsequently published Books on Motivation to encourage New Entrepreneurs and individuals along their Career Success Journey. A few years later, I went on a slightly different path and published GreenLight, a book which contains stories of encouragement, inspiration, and exhortation. In response to reader request, I obliged and converted GreenLight into my first Audiobook. A different path but the process was enlightening and boosted my creativity.

Book Coach

As my writing journey progressed, aspiring new and longtime authors reached out asking for help. It transformed by role as coach for organizational Managers, employees, and Career Changers into my most enthusiastic role as Book Writing Coach as I responded to private and public calls for help. I also became a member of the writers community of South Florida for Authors of Color.

Satisfaction From New Authors

It brings me great joy and satisfaction as new writers experience novel personal growth when their first book has been released. My greatest pride is having worked closely with Reggae Music Matriarch Patricia Chin as she wrote to leave her legacy of a lifetime contribution, initially working close to Music Icons like Bob Marley while nurturing the careers of artists, Maxi Priest, Shaggy, Beenie Man, Sean Paul and more.

With more books on the horizon, my Writing and Book Coaching Journey continues. Thanks for allowing me to share my journey with you. Do share yours.

Cheers!

To Read Or Not To Read The AudioBook Way? 5 Benefits…

The book club. It was the first. The apologies came in droves. Oh I started but couldn’t finish. It was the kids, the husband, household chores and so much more. Who has time to read anyway?

My secret and I remained silent. I had ordered the required paperback to be read by the time the group met. But delivery time would be a few days before the meeting. For sure I would have barely started much less finished reading.

Audiobook Rescue

Then the idea came to me. Why not order the audiobook version online and start listening immediately? Then by the time the paperback arrived I could finish my reading with the hard copy. And that I did.

So as the group complained they finally asked and I told them what I did. The envy on their faces grew like a fiery furnace.

I shared that experience to acknowledge that audiobooks work. As an author of several books on Success, leadership, and career development, my last book was different. It was more inspirational. The book GreenLight is filled with anecdotes, uplifting short stories, prayers and exhortations. Readers share it’s encouraging benefits. Many inquired of its audio format. So I complied.

Audiobook Benefits

Not an audiobook reader? Here I share 5 advantages:

1. Better Time Management

2. Enjoy the convenience of multitasking. You can listen while working, commuting or running.

3. More than one one person can read simultaneously. Road trip anyone?

4. Greater reach for authors as consumers are given wider choices of eBook, paperback or audio. Whatever their reading style, there’s an option.

5. Ability to read more books in a shorter time.

So while some are skeptical, audiobooks is the fastest growing channel these days and offer great benefits to those still on the fence.

What kind of reader are you? Audio, paperback, eBook? Do share, we would love to hear!

Happy Reading!

Books: Readers Share Their Top Getaway Reads…

Readers Read. Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.

Anna Quindlen

Success Strategies

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. ~Ursula K. Le Guin

We have all had our favorite books that we have read from a young age. Some have left an impact on our lives. On a B&N public forum, a reader asked “What Book has stayed with you long after you’ve read it?” Fellow readers poured in with responses. Here I share a few that may prove worthwhile for your vacation, getaway, or a mid-summer night’s read.

Man’s Search for Meaning
Pecan Man
The Power
We Were the Lucky Ones
The Book Thief
Before I Fall
The Lovely Bones
It Ends with Us
The Sparrow
The Lovely Bones
One Hundred Years f solitude
The Alchemist
Harry Potter
We Were Yours
East of Eden
The Chrysalids
The Bible
The Savage Song
To Kill A Mockingbird
The Notebook
The Outsiders
A History of Loneliness
Tell Me Your Dreams

View original post 80 more words

Book Talk Shares Business Tips For Caribbean Americans …

Success Strategies

Where there’s purpose, there’s meaning. Reflecting on my Book Talk on Caribbean Americans and the Excerpt from Caribbean National Weekly Newspaper.

“Entering the business world in American can be a hard task when you’re a Caribbean immigrant, from navigating a new culture of commerce, to establishing your own value in the marketplace. Addressing this tricky quagmire, African-American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) hosted Dr. Shelly Cameron as she discussed her book, “Success Strategies of Caribbean American Leaders.”

The talk, explored strategies on how to be successful, inspired by effective traits from Caribbean-American business leaders, from the challenges they encountered after migration, to the factors that most influenced their success.

The project, said author Dr. Cameron, was inspired by the familiar confusion over “why some immigrants are successful yet others are still struggling?”

The book breaks down findings from a study at Nova Southeastern University, collaborating with successful Caribbean-Americans in…

View original post 66 more words

Writer To Entrepreneur: Top 11 Steps To Success…

You can make anything by writing.”
–C.S. Lewis

Developing your writing craft is not easy. As authors we stick to it because it’s our passion. The zeal with which we are connected is likened to a web but one in which we wish not to escape.

Many are the traditional thinking that authors hardly make money, let alone survive while working on their craft. But what do you say to the likes of Stephen King, Poet Maya Angelou, Harry Potter’s J.K. Rowling and countless others. You may say that they are successful because they are well known. Banish that thought and delve into the story of Stephen King who was rejected so many times that he actually threw in the trash his best selling novel. Were it not for his wife, the world would not have enjoyed this story’s amazing work.

So here I share excerpts of my presentation on the topic of “From Books to Bucks”, held at the South Florida’s Writers Book Festival.

Books 2 Bucks

Write Quality Work
Books can have babies. Think of workbooks, series, and so much more
Convert your book to Audio
Create an audience through tapping into Podcast listener-ship
Translate your Book into a different language. Oh the new audience it brings
Convert your book to film, movie, documentary
Written non-fiction? Immense business opportunities exists. Think of workshops, Spoken-Word, how-to events and more
In the arts? Use your book as the stepping stone to fashion and design
Want to develop and grow your passion? Stick with the right people
Become a Conference Speaker. Share your expertise
Don’t sit on it, enter your book for an Award

Want to go from Books to Bucks, Select from the list, focus your craft on the point(s) you believe you will get best win, then promote, promote, promote. Marketing your work is the key to success and it does not have to cost you a ton. Use social media wisely. It can help you grow into something you never thought you could be.

I end with encouraging you to Be Serious about your craft. SHOW UP and promote, promote, promote.

Cheers!

Book Festival Panel Lead: How To Make The Leap From Writer To Entrepreneur …

Humbled to lead Panel Discussion on How To Make The Leap From Writer To Entrepreneur at the South Florida Writers Group Book Festival and Writers Conference February 22-23.

Panelists, Dr. Susan Davis, Dr Thea White and Susie Ingram will discuss the writing craft and How to Make the Leap from Writer to Entrepreneur.

Admission is FREE. See you there.

The Reason Behind The Write…

The reason behind the write.

It’s all about you.

Your Success. Personal Development. Growth. Inspire. Encourage.

Select one. Connect. Take the leap

Cheers!

New Mayor’s Historical Appointment. Success And The Challenges He Had To Overcome…

I was flying out of the Fort Lauderdale International airport to Washington DC for a conference when I heard the familiar voice of Broward County’s newly appointed Mayor VC Holness announcing welcome to visitors. Mayor Holness made history recently when he was unanimously voted to become the first Black Mayor to lead the county. Indeed an achievement.

Success Strategies Research

Personally I extend my own congratulations because years ago when I conducted my research on Success Strategies of Caribbean American Leaders in the United States with Nova Southeastern University, Mayor Holness quite willingly agreed to participate in the phenomenalogical study. At the time he was Commissioner. In the research he shared the strategies he used to become successful as well as the challenges encountered along the way.

Regardless of how we feel about politics, his appointment signifies a goal he went after and achieved.

Mayor Holness continues to strive. To work hard to show those who wish to achieve that it can be done through hard work and dedication.

More of his story as well as those of other industry leaders in healthcare, aviation, education, media and more can be read in the book Success Strategies of Immigrant Leaders In The United States.

Thanks again Mayor VC Holness for your willingness to go beyond the call of duty to share your experience to benefit rising millennial leaders.

Cheers!

New York Times New Books: My Top 5…

Reading. The Thrill. The New York Times released its list of 17 New Books To Watch For. From the list I like 5. Here I share:

Coventry: Essays,’ by Rachel Cusk
The Institute,’ by Stephen King
Red at the Bone,’ by Jacqueline Woodson
‘The Testaments: The Sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale,’ by Margaret Atwood
‘Transaction Man: The Rise of the Deal and the Decline of the American Dream

Care to share those you like? Whichever you choose, Happy Reading!

Cheers!

Toni Morrison. Novelist, Essayist, Editor, Professor Emeritus. The Tale…

Inspired. Informed. Educated. An iconic life exceptionally captured in one piece by author and educator Tiffani Knowles.

Excerpt cited. Read Tiffani’s full piece here

It was 1965, after splitting from Harold, when she began her career as an editor at Random House where she was instrumental in publishing American writers and luminaries such as Angela Davis, Henry Dumas and Muhammad Ali.

Yet, she knew there was a story that still needed to be told, one she hadn’t read or seen before.

At first, she was private about her own writing and would do so as a pastime very early in the morning before her boys would wake.

“I remember reading the ‘Bluest Eye’ and thought it was wonderful,” said Robert Gottlieb, a Random House colleague and the chief editor of the Alfred Knopf sub-division.

When Random House got wind of the fact that she was publishing, they wanted to keep her work in house and so, with the exception of one book, Gottlieb got to edit all of her books while they were published through Knopf.

Her first book, as Morrison claimed, intentionally eliminated the white gaze without “codes or notes explaining things to white people,” as she decided to put the entire plot on the first page.

“Quiet as it’s kept, there were no marigolds in the fall of 1941. We thought, at the time, that it was because Pecola was having her father’s baby that the marigolds did not grow.”

It was 1970 and “The Bluest Eye” boasted a story inspired by a conversation Morrison had had with an elementary schoolmate in Lorain many years before.

Her friend told her she had been asking God to give her blue eyes and he never did.

“How painful … can you imagine that kind of pain?” Morrison recounted for filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders in the “The Pieces I Am” documentary. “So, I wanted to say, this kind of racism hurts. This is not lynchings and murders and drownings. This is interior pain. It’s so deep to know that an 11 year old would think that if only she had some characteristic of the white world, she would be OK.”

Book It…

Such a thrill when dreams come through. My Book GreenLight is now available in-store Barnes & Noble, Broward Mall, Plantation, Florida. Pick up your copy in-store today or order online then pickup in-store.

It’s the perfect gift for yourself or someone who will be overjoyed for a boost of daily inspiration.

Cheers!

South Florida Book Festival Writers Event…

The 8th Annual South Florida Book Festival shined brightly as authors, writers and poets came together to share pieces of their work with readers and booklovers who came from all across the USA. Event was held at the African American Research Library.