From Unemployed To Speaking At My First Book Fair: Between an Olympian and an Imposter
On March 9th, I woke up before dawn with mixed feelings: excitement, fear, anticipation, joy, and pride.
It was the day of my first appearance at a book fair… as an author!
The Hong Kong International Literary Festival invited me to participate both as an author, presenting my book, The Flight Home, and as a moderator, hosting a bilingual English/ Spanish session for the Spanish bestseller author Manuel Vilas.
As I chose my outfit for the occasion, a light pink blouse and dark jeans, I looked in the mirror at home and traveled back in time. Less than two years earlier, I was unemployed in a new country, Australia, trying to figure out what’s next. The outcome was my memoir and a new career as a public speaker and writer.
Now, I was about to go on stage and talk about my journey.
Was it all a dream?
My very first article, published in September 2022, was accurately titled “You Are Bigger Than A Job Title” and had 2 comments. Never in a million years would I have dared to dream of publishing one book, let alone three, and speaking at a book festival.
When I arrived at the venue, I saw The Flight Home alongside the other books by other authors and looked around, feeling like an imposter waiting to be unmasked.
Do I really deserve to be here?
A stranger grabbed a copy of my book and asked me to sign “an autograph.” I sat down and smiled as he asked me to dedicate it to Stephen, “with P. H,” he clarified. He said he was inspired by the positivity of my book and had come to meet me in person. I felt like an Olympian.
The stage
As I sat on a stool, the MC introduced me to the public, and a cameraman started filming the event. I grabbed the mic, feeling humbled for being there. I looked around and suddenly, I wasn’t nervous anymore; I was just grateful and happy.
I was living my writer’s dream right there and then.
I took a deep breath to suck it all in…
I talked about three things: positivity, connecting the dots, and writing your story.
Positivity: I talked about the power of positivity and finding the win in every situation. “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” It’s up to you to decide what you want that 90% to look like.
Connecting the dots: You can only connect the dots by looking backward. We are always sprinting in the hamster wheel, rushing to make the next decision, land the next job, and achieve the next big thing.
But sometimes, we need to press pause, take a moment of silence, and look back at our footprints to understand where we come from, find the invisible links connecting our experiences and our steps, and understand who we are and what matters to us.
Writing your story: Life is a white canvas, and it’s up to you to fill it and turn it into your masterpiece, your legacy. You don’t need permission from anyone to write your story on your terms. Put your hand up, grab the mic, use your brushes, and create your legacy, one stroke at a time.
The talk ended with questions from the audience, and it felt like a casual chat with friends.
After the session, I did a brief book signing and took pictures with some of the attendees. They were excited to see me, but I was definitely more excited to see them!
The bilingual session with the Spanish author was a new challenge in my career, considering I’m not an interpreter. I tried my best to be focused and seamlessly shift languages while keeping the audience engaged and enabling Manuel to share his journey.
It was a first, and it wasn’t perfect. I missed a few words, but I got the job done and made some new friends from the literary world. I had prepared, read his book, researched his work, and planned my questions.
“I did it!”
The seeds
The gift of writing is writing…
Living the writer’s life, experiencing your first book signing, participating in your first book fair, meeting readers who love your work, others who are discovering it, and authors who see you as one of theirs. It’s the community.
Making a living out of writing is not easy.
I’m just getting started, planting the seeds of my lemon tree. Everything takes time in the world of words: writing, editing, publishing, getting reviews, building a name…you can’t rush the process the same way you can’t make a tree grow faster.
All you can do is plant your seed, water it with love, and become the sun that shines bright into your work.
Your circumstances don’t define you: you can define them.
We all have anchors: It’s up to you to lift them and sail.
It all starts with an idea, a what-if, a bet on yourself.
A baby step is enough to create a new direction.
It’s up to you to write your story.
And if you need a little help, The Lemon Tree Mindset will show you the 19 lessons I used to reinvent myself.
Lemons & Lemonade 🌳🍋
What you missed: Publishing 3 Books in 1 Year was 50% Process, 50% Mindset.
Something cool: create your digital business card for FREE with all your links and books at WroteByMe, a cool digital hub to centralize all your work.
An invitation to a literary festival?! In Hong Kong?! What a dream 🤩 thank you so much for letting us take a peek. This was exhilarating to lay tired eyes on.
What a day and first fruits from those seeds you planted, Veronica. Congratulations!