Interview with Arlene Garcia

Author of Little Book of Success

Where are you from originally and where do you reside now?

Danbury, CT and currently reside in Danbury.

If you currently reside somewhere besides where you were born, what’s the story that lead from there to here?

N/A

What made you decide to write and publish your first book?

I’ve always enjoyed reading since I was a young child. During my first year teaching, I would read urban fiction and romance novels nightly. My first book was a challenge/bet that I had between my mother and younger sister. I told them that I could write a book in a month. Then it became a dare and a challenge. I couldn’t back down. I have always been a woman of my word, so the challenge began.

Every day and night, I wrote and wrote. Since it was also my first year teaching, the pressure was on. In addition to teaching daily, which involved creating lesson
plans, teaching five Global History classes a day, and completing administrative
tasks, I would retire to writing in the evening or commence on the weekends. I
loved reading romance novels and fictional accounts in general. Because of my
love for reading and living through my own trials and tribulations, from dating to
attending college and ultimately the work force, why wouldn’t I be able to write
my own account?!
I wrote the book in one month, but the publishing process took a lot longer. It did
fairly well considering it was written on a bet. I was invited to speak on several
local radio stations in New York and Connecticut and television. The book, A
Coed With a Will, Keeps it Real, is available on Amazon and sold well at local
book events. I am the author of three books.
The Gatekeeping Behind Meritocracy:Voices of NYC High School Students used survey and focus group samplings of students in high achieving schools compared to lower achieving schools to examine why there are fewer black men graduating from high schools compared to other groups of students. The second book is a semi-autobiographical text titled, A Coed With a Will, Keeps It Real, Bonus Ten Ways to Improve Your SAT Score, which chronicles a young girl’s trials and tribulations into adulthood with bonus features at the end. The third is an inspirational children’s book to help young girls find their way titled, Oh What Will You Do?

How would you describe your books to first time readers?

Little Book of Success is a perfect gift for a recent college graduate to help prepare one for the game of life and win.

Anecdotal stories are intertwined with practical information that focuses on manifesting one’s destiny, defining success, and becoming financially literate. The author uses stories to provide insight regarding success, money, achievement, positive thinking, happiness, adversity, moving on, redemption and faith. The stories are witty, amusing, and uplifting.

“You become what you believe.”—and The Little Book of Success will show you how to create action and just do it.

Who do you feel is most likely to connect with the topics you write about?

Young adults and females

What unexpected or surprising thing did you learn during the process of writing and publishing?

The book editing process is very time consuming especially if you’re a perfectionist like me. The publishing process takes even longer. With a traditional publisher, it’s much easier to get your book displayed on bookshelves in a brick and mortar store such as Barnes & Noble. Self-publishing has fewer restraints with how you market your book, but you pay an upfront cost, approximately $1000, to have it published. You can do giveaways and engage with your audience. You are the face and marketer of your book. Creating an email list will help with promotion.

It is harder to get your books in actual stores but not impossible with self-publishing. If you keep track of your sales, you can offer the store manager a copy and negotiate the presence of your book in his or her stores. You also get to keep a higher percentage of your royalty with the self-publishing option. You will be responsible for buying your books from the self-publishing company to sell at events.
Your book will also be available online with stores such as Barnes & Noble and online with Amazon from the publisher. Internet promotion potential is huge with self-publishing from personal sites, Facebook, blogs and selling with sites like PayPal and Amazon.

If you could, what advice would you give to your past self before embarking on this journey?

I would have done more research on the difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing options. Since self-publishing gives you more autonomy over the process, it requires you to wear many hats from writer to promoter. More research in the promoting aspect of publishing a book would have been helpful and hiring a professional editor is essential. This process can appear to be intrusive but not something you should skip like I did for the first book.

How many people would you ideally like to reach with your books?

Since personal finance skills are rarely taught in schools, I would like to reach all 42 million adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 in the United States. The goal of this book is to educate and motivate the youth to become the best version of themselves. The book includes anecdotes about money, college and life. All items that are not taught in school. No one teaches students about personal finance, credit card debt and savings. In addition, the book looks at how our thinking affects our lives. In еѕѕеnсе, wе сrеаtе our оwn destinies bу how we uѕе оur mindѕ. We think оur own rеаlitу. It hаѕ bееn long dеbаtеd аbоut luсk, fаtе (оr аnу other words you сhоѕе), whеthеr thеу аrе thе deciding fасtоrѕ tо ѕuссеѕѕ оr iѕ it the wау уоu think? Nоthing hарреnѕ unlеѕѕ it iѕ thоught first. If wе hаvе a goal, we ѕеt аbоut to асhiеvе thаt goal. If we just ѕit bасk and think about nоthing сrеаtivе оur minds will quickly fill uр with nеgаtivе rubbiѕh, ѕоmеtimеѕ to the point оf depression оr a ѕtаtе оf араthу. To сhаngе уоur mind and change уоur lifе, you nееd to tаkе асtiоn. It all ѕtаrtѕ inѕidе оur heads. Thoughts become words and words become deeds.

What has been the biggest challenge and frustration during the process to date?

The biggest challenge has been marketing the books and reaching the youth.

What’s your biggest strengths when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

My biggest strengths as a writer has been my ability to focus, set goals, and hold myself accountable.

What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

My biggest weakness has been marketing my book to reach the desired readership and editing my work. It is very difficult to edit your own work.

When do you think you will write your next book?

I would like to write another children’s book. Perhaps, I will co-author one with my daughter, who is four, in the next few years.

Are you self published or did you use a hybrid publisher, or a traditional publisher?

Self-published