iUniverse Author and Playmate Pilar Lastra on Conquering Your Insecurities

iUniverse Author Pilar Lastra

iUniverse Rising Star author Pilar Lastra talks frankly about writing her book, Treat Me Like Your Car

iUniverse self-published author Pilar Lastra appears very confident under the limelight that is LA,  but it would be presumptuous to assume  that she didn’t struggle with the same insecurities while writing her book that almost every other writer struggles with.

iUniverse rising star awardThe iUniverse Rising Star author of Treat Me Like Your Car is here to remind us that she is no different than countless other authors, musicians, or painters, who struggle with many of the same issues: having confidence in their voice, following their muse to the end and bringing it to completion, and finally effectively marketing and selling their finished work.

In this post, she tackles conquering your insecurities, taking charge of your success, and reminds us that being well known in LA and having your own radio audience is still not enough. If you want to be successful as a self-published author you have to hustle.

Getting it done

Ms. Lastra discusses with iUniverse publishing her struggle to find confidence as a writer, and what it takes to sell books:-

“When I first started writing “Treat Me Like Your Car”, the hardest thing to overcome was myself. Writing is such a vulnerable passion that sometimes the only thing slowing me down was my own insecurities and fears of what people would have to say about my work, my thoughts, and my advice.  There was this little voice inside my head that would always say “What if people think this is stupid? The only way to overcome that was to just write, and write, and write.

Then when I was all done, 7 years later, I sent it to out agents and waited, and waited, and waited until I got some feedback. The feedback was great and even still when I released my book I was afraid people would think it was dumb and no one would buy it.

Well now I get to tell that little voice spouting insecurities inside my head, “What if I would have listened to you? The only thing that would have happened is you would have always controlled my ability to succeed by instilling fear and self doubt; instead I shut you up and guess what? People bought and loved my book.”

Do I think it’s healthy to have conversations with yourself? Absolutely! The only thing that should control your success is you. The mind is powerful. So, taking control of your mind doesn’t make you crazy it makes you stronger.

For me it wasn’t as easy as “write it and they will buy it.” I had to work hard to find a clever way to self- promote my book. I chose to self publish because in today’s world you are able to reach millions of people through social media and the internet. The best advice I can give anyone is take advantage of the “Likes” on Facebook, get connected on Twitter, and invest a small amount of money on Google Ad Words on these sites.

iUniverse Treat Me Like Your Car

iUniverse author Pilar Lastra’s Editors Choice book

I was able to use my radio shows as a way to self-promote my book, but even if you do not have radio shows you do have contacts and resources. Promotion for your self-published book comes down to networking and getting the word out there. So be proactive in promoting your book and you will have success as self-published author.

Best of Luck and much success to you all!”

iUniverse Editors ChoicePilar Lastra

To learn more

You can find her at www.pilarlastra.com  and on Twitter

 

 

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