Interview with Minerva Perez

Author of I Gotta Story

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

I am a true Texan, born and raised, and proud of it! I now reside in the Houston, TX suburb of Sugar Land.

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

I was born in deep South Texas, San Juan, TX, but profession, TV Journalist, took me all over Texas major media markets: San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and Houston. Also worked in TV in Phoenix, AZ and Los Angeles, CA.

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

My career as a TV journalist took me to so many places and I met so many people: celebrities, politicians, the empowered and the unempowered. I met dictator Fidel Castro in Havana, President George H.W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and so many others that I decided to write a memoir about my fantastic journey and what happened along the way. Not all of it nice, not all of it serious. Thus, my first book I GOTTA STORY: MY 30 YEARS IN TV NEWS.

How would you describe your books to first time readers?

A book about my journey as a TV Journalist.

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

Future journalists and the die hard news junkie who remembers my name.

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

During the writing of my book, and thanks for social media, I got the chance to reconnect with people I worked with more than 30 years ago. I laughed and cried reminiscing about my long career.

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

I would warn about some of the people I worked with. Most of them were great and still friends today, but there were also a few snakes who bit every time I moved up. Thank goodness I don’t have to see them anymore.

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

I’d like my book to be a primer for up and coming TV journalists, if TV news survives the emerging social media storm. They should know what it’s like in the trenches of covering news. It’s a hard profession for women, especially women of color. Or at least, that was my experience.

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

Biggest challenge was coping with the snakes in the newsroom. And the discrimination I faced as a Latina in news.
There were a lot of put downs in front and behind my back. Most of it dealt with the way I pronounced my name, correctly, with a Spanish accent. That would send so many people to act like racists and they didn’t even realize it.

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

Even though I was on camera all my career, my strength was my writing. It comes easy, always did. Publishing the book was a challenge because I self-published but what a learning experience! I’m writing another one as we speak.

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

My biggest weakness was marketing. I know a lot of people and a lot of people know me due to my celebrity as a TV person. So that helped to sell a lot of books. I also traveled the country speaking about my book.

When do you think you will write your next book?

Working on MORE STORIES now. I was hoping to get it out before end of year, but maybe next year.

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

I am self published.