I hope you are having an awesome 2016 so far and are making progress on your goals. For many years my goal was to publish my book The Adventures of Isabelle Book I and last year I did it! With my busy schedule I don’t think I could have ever finished the book without all the fabulous writing retreats I took. This year I want to share this experience with other writers. If you have ever thought of writing a book or are in the process and could use some time, space and inspiration to do so, READ ON…!
Fellow author Maria Leonard Olsen and I are hosting a Writer’s Beach Retreat and we hope you can join us!
JOIN this women’s weekend retreat to free yourself from distractions, and reconnect with and strengthen your writing muscles.
Do you dream of getting away from it all, heading to the beach for some inspiration and quiet creative time to write? If so join us for this relaxing and rejuvenating experience by the Chesapeake Bay.
On this retreat published authors and a success coach will guide you through helpful writing exercises and teach you skills to help improve and SELL your writing. Join others in a supportive creative environment for this special event. Spring is a great time to awaken and strengthen the connection with your writing muse!
Carve out this quiet time to concentrate on your writing.
Learn best practices around publishing, marketing & selling your books.
Receive feedback & inspiration from likeminded talented people who are living their visions of success.
Rejuvenate with healthy meals, yoga, meditation & relaxation.
Receive individual attention to help improve your writing & editing skills.
Register Today:EARLY BIRD SPECIAL $139.00 (Regular Price $179.00 after March 25) Day Only Option for $60.00
For More Info Contact the Facilitators: Maria Leonard Olsen, Esq. 301.520.6548 or Nicole Cutts, Ph.D. 202.669.5777
Meet the Facilitators!
Nicole Cutts is the author of The Adventures of Isabelle Book I a fantasy adventure heroine’s quest novel. She is also a clinical psychologist, success coach and master facilitator. Her passion is helping women unite with their passion through their life’s work. Read more about Nicole HERE
Maria Leonard Olsen is a Bethesda-based attorney and writer. Her first book, “Mommy, Why’s Your Skin So Brown?” is a consciousness-raising children’s book about biracial children. Her second children’s book, “Healing for Hallie,” will be published this spring by Mirror Publishing. Her adult nonfiction book, “Not the Cleaver Family–How the Typical American Family Has Changed,” is in production by Tate Publishing. Maria graduated from Boston College and the University of Virginia School of Law. She practices civil litigation part time. Her writing has been published by The Washington Post, the Washingtonian, Washington for Women, Parenting Magazine, Babytalk, among others. She has presented at the Washington independent Review of Books, and numerous book fairs and diversity festivals. You can learn more about Maria HERE
It’s hard to handle jealousy of your success and your own jealousy of others. Sometimes this is in your own family. Listen below to learn how to handle haters…
Check out my interview on Fox 5 DC with Annie Yu below…
One of the biggest decisions a potential author faces is whether to self-publish or to seek a literary agent that can hopefully attain a traditional publisher for her book. While there are still benefits to traditional publishing there are several benefits for entrepreneurs and authors who want to bring a book to market via the route of self-publishing.
In the following article I will be sharing “The Top 4 Benefits to Self-Publishing” from my perspective as an entrepreneur, author, success coach and psychologist. I will also discuss some of the peculiar challenges and joys of self-publishing my book The Adventures of Isabelle Book I: The Embryo Goddess and the Morpho
The Top 4 Benefits of Self-Publishing
1) Financial Benefits
You get to keep more of profits you control this decide what you want to invest and make as profit
Higher royalties i.e. 40-60% vs. 10-15% for Hardcover, 8-10% for Softcover and 25% + for e-books that are traditionally published. Note the higher margin for e-books.
Good passive income stream once book written esp. e-books. Print on Demand (POD) allows you to print books for customers as they are ordered thus avoiding keeping a large inventory or having unsold books.
While you have to pay for editing, design and printing you can shop around to get good price
No wait on royalties but also NO ADVANCE as in traditional publishing.
2) Adds to Client Offerings.
Having a book means that you have a product from which your clients can benefit.
Feature in the Jamaican Gleaner*
You are able to help more people by sharing your knowledge and expertise.
You own all rights of truly self-published books. No constraints set by publishing house.
You maintain control of the creative aspects i.e. cover art, design. I’ve known authors who are unhappy with cover art and design when using traditional publisher.
On the Fox 5 DC set with Anchor Annie Yu
Question: What would I say has been my biggest challenge around publishing “The Adventures of Isabelle” a.k.a. What are the cons of self-publishing?
Answer: It’s difficult to do marketing and book promotion on my own. It’s challenging to get the work out there and it’s hard to get bookstores interested in self-published books but it is possible.
Question: What have I most enjoyed about the process a.k.a. more pros?
I also love the intimate events like the Cross-Generational Readings. I love when people tell me that they have gotten real enjoyment and a message from my book. It makes me happy to feel that people are actually getting something from my book!
What are some of the Additional Benefits of Self-Publishing?
Process is relatively easy with online publishing and programs that authors can use to create their books.
Faster process to bring books to market.
Self-published books can attract traditional publishers for future publications.
Self-publishing has empowered authors in new and exciting ways. One thing to keep in mind before you go this or the traditional route is to do your research and have a goal and a plan for your book.
If you want to consult about this or any other aspect of success coaching then let’s Connect…
Listen to my interview on WHUR 96.3 FM The Daily Drum with Harold Fisher below…
Embracing Your Heroine’s Quest at Work: How to Build Self-Confidence in Your Career
Self Confidence is simply trust in one’s self and one’s abilities. It involves self-love and compassion. Self-confidence is seeing yourself as imperfect and loving yourself anyway. Below I’ve shared a few tips that have worked for me and others to increase self-confidence.
I. Self-confidence starts in the body. Your link to emotional intelligence is in your physical body. You have to become attuned to how you feel, build self-awareness then be able to control your body and emotions to your advantage. This also helps you to be able to influence others which you must do to be successful in your work and career. Confidence is also self-love and when you truly love yourself you care for yourself and your body. You can build your self-esteem by showing love and compassion for yourself by how you care for your health and body. Important: Have some form of exercise and meditation.
II. See yourself as a heroine and your life as your heroine’s quest. You must clarify what your mission is and what YOUR vision of success is. The trials and triumphs of your life and career will have much more meaning when you recognize that you are on a quest and that you have a mission to complete while here on earth. Obstacles will be easier to overcome when you see the meaning and purpose in what you are doing. Realize that you are writing your story. I turned my story into a fairy tale adventure in The Adventures of Isabelle Book I.
III. You mustn’t fear success. You have to root this fear out and be rid of it. You can not simultaneously be self-confident and fear success! I have a another blog post at the Vision Quest Chronicles titled “Overcoming the Fear of Success” that can help you with this. Please check it out if you suspect this fear is holding you back.
IV. Put an end to perfectionism! Recall Don Miguel Ruiz’s fourth agreement; Always do your best, nothing more and nothing less. Don’t be afraid to fail. Focus on what you do well and what you accomplish and DON’T beat yourself up for what you don’t do. I suggest that people write down 3 good things they do each day and 5 things for which they are grateful. This builds self-esteem and keeps your mind focused in a positive direction.
V. Build your bravery muscles. Take risks. Take a chance on yourself. If your heart says go for it…go for it! What’s the worse that can happen? You can also build up your courage muscles in areas unrelated to the area in which your goals lie. You can get brave by taking risks and challenging yourself in other areas as well. Some suggestions include a) do one thing each day that you are afraid to do, b) learn something new, like a sport or skill, c) get physical with it, like rock climbing, SCUBA diving or even doing head stands or warrior pose in yoga! Being brave will get in your emotional and muscle memory with practice. Find and root out self-defeating beliefs, stories and thoughts. i.e. “no one will love me.”
Check out this helpful article Fearlessly Forward by my friend Tamara E. Holmes
VI. Confidence is not a substitute for Competence. Know your stuff. Build your skills and work hard. There is no substitute for a good work ethic and being skilled. Get training, put in extra time and focus on being of service at work. Present yourself professionally in dress and speech. You must create and maintain a positive professional image if you expect to get ahead and this will give you more confidence. Know how to take feedback and seek it out. Don’t take things personally and do your best (two of Miguel Ruiz’s other four agreements). Being highly emotionally intelligent is a must! Again this starts in the body.
I hope these tips were helpful. Feel free to leave a comment. You can check out my success coaching services here SUCCESS STORIES
I had a fabulously beautiful and productive time writing and touring on the French Riviera. My vids give a few updates and scenery. See a bunch of cool pics at Vision Quest Retreats with Dr. Nicole Cutts Facebook page
Welcome to my travel journal! Below is a sketch of my little holiday before working on Book II of The Adventures of Isabelle series. For pictures, which you may prefer, please click Vision Quest Retreats and you will be taken right to the album. Thurs. October 8: Left Dulles airport around 6:30 on British Airways (a lovely airline with good food) yes they do feed you. Was lucky enough to be in business class so I had a little sleeping birth/seat. I felt like I was in a ship or even space ship floating through the night sky. An eerie and somehow at the same time comfortable feeling. Watched Mad Max: Fury Road with Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy on the way and was really impressed with that movie. This isn’t a film review so I will just say I LOVED it! After this slept fitfully (it wasn’t late enough for my body to sleep). Breakfast of croissants and something else (too sleepy really to recall but I vaguely recall fruit)
Friday Oct. 9: Arrived groggily at London’s Heathrow airport at about 6:40 am. Would you believe it was foggy in England? I enjoyed a short layover in the very quiet departure lounge before boarding the plane for Nice. Aboard they fed me another breakfast! I went for the “English Breakfast” which should have just been called “Pork with Pork” I don’t do pork so I left the sausage and ham and just ate my little omelette and had more bread. Holiday hasn’t even started properly and I’ve probably gained 5 pounds!
flying into Nice airport
The Côte d’Azur floated into view at about 10:30. The scene was of gentle blue coastline dotted with light colored buildings. We touched down around 11:00. I quickly and easily retrieved my bags and breezed through customs etc. then found a taxi on the curb to take me the 20-30 mins to Villefranche-sur-Mer.
Arrived at the little apartment on the hillside and immediately fell in love with the place with it’s simple décor and large balcony with a stunning view of the port below. Walked up the long hill to lunch then back to unpack and take a big nap. Dinner was a walk down the hill to the old town and wending the way through the ancient streets to the little pizza place on the square. It was Friday night so the little down was bustling but not overly so as this isn’t the high season. After dinner the BIG climb up the hill and to bed.
Saturday Oct. 10: Awoke early to a brilliantly sunny day. After a simple but tasty breakfast on the terrace I made my way down the hill into town. It was market day in the little park. It was a small but colorful little market and had all sorts of fruits and veg and also clothes. I enjoyed picking up a few little different things to fill out my wardrobe. I had packed sparsely, unsure of the weather so I had a good excuse to shop 🙂 There was a man selling paella from a HUGE paella pan so I got some for lunch and some avocado and tomato to go with it. Had contemplated going to Nice but as it was kinda of late decided to take an easy day in Villefranche then get up early to make it to the farmers market in Nice on Sunday. I was good and hungry for lunch after trudging back up the hill and really enjoyed the paella looking out to sea from the sunny terrace. Life is yummy!
After a little afternoon siesta I felt like some exercise so took a walk back down the hill into town. I enjoyed exploring the quaint little town, passing by several little restaurants and shops with people out enjoying themselves on this warm early fall day. I passed through the Villefranche Pétanque club and stood for a while watching the players spread out into several different groups on the gravel area. Just lovely to watch people relaxing and enjoying each other on a sunny Saturday. After this I walked across the ramparts of the citadel then down to the sea wall surrounding it. The bright sun reflected off the yellow white rocks in a distinctly Mediterranean way with the azure sea as the backdrop. After this I walked along the Quai de l’Amiral Ponchardier that runs along the sea to the beach and the train station of Villefranche-sur-Mer. Another trudge back up the hill finished off a great workout.
Delicious dinner that night at La Caravelle in a little alley in the medieval part of Villefranche. I especially enjoyed the pate. They provided a little pot of almost crystalized onion that was sweat and delicious to go along with the pate. My main course was a fresh piece of their local dorade fish with mashed potatoes and veggies. Dessert? Apple tart with vanilla ice cream.
Sunday Oct. 11: Awoke early to have a full day in Nice. A walk down the hill into town to catch the #100 bus for the lovely 20 min ride along the coast. The bus drops you at the port. Then a walk to the farmers market. It was a beautiful little market with the pretty fruits, veggies, spices, meats and cheeses all arranged just so. Even though I had had breakfast before leaving the apartment I could not resist a pain au chocolat and another with almond and chocolate! Ok really good. I tell myself that I walked this off by strolling along the sea on the Quai des Etats-Unisand through Place Massena with it’s colorful edifices and lovely Fontaine du Soleil. Lunch of Salade Nicoise (of course) at Café de Nice then another walk, this time to and around the Place Garibaldi.After this I took the #15 bus up the hill to the Matisse Museum. I’ve always loved Matisse and he holds a sentimental place in my heart as one of my first childhood artistic inspirations so I was very excited to the museum. It’s in a lovely old building and the exhibition held many of his personal artifacts, and many sketches and maquettes of his work but very few of his finished very colorful pieces. In short I was disappointed with this museum but still glad that I went and saw what I saw, still inspiring!
Monday Oct. 12: Touring day! First stop LaMaeght Fondation museum of modern art. In short this museum was DIVINE! I loved the exhibition and the sculpture garden with the Miro Labyrinth. It was beautifully designed and if I had not so much wanted to see the nearby little medieval town of St-Paul de Vence would have stayed there for hours. I was introduced here to the powerfully disturbing paintings of Gerard Garouste.
After the museum I walked a short way down the hill then into the town of St-Paul de Vence. It was a charming medieval town and just fun to wander around through it’s narrow streets on the cobble stone streets. A highlight was the decorative walkway that was a new addition to the ancient streets. The place was replete with lovely little galleries and delightful shops. I picked up some tasty black olive tapenade and nougat with figs and pistachios (chewy and sweetly delicious). Every where you looked were perfect little vignetes for the eye, flowers, charming doorways and a gorgeous vista from the ramparts of the surrounding hillsides and down into the valley. Lunch here was a mini salmon quiche and a bottle of fruit juice. Dessert was taken in a little artsy café; a coffee éclair and espresso. The cream in the éclair was perfect, not too sweet and so light!
A coach ride from here to visit the Matisse Chapel, formerly Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence (Chapel of the Rosary). This chapel more than made up for the disappointment of the Matisse Museum in Nice! It’s a work of art designed and decorated solely by Henri Matisse. Built and decorated between 1949 and 1951, it’s an unusually modern and simple chapel with white tile walls decorated only in black line drawings. The simple stained glass is reminiscent of his cut outs and uses only the colors of yellow, blue and green. One of the most unusual and delightful elements was the carved door of the confessional that appears to emit a light pink light from within. Amazingly when you peer closely inside the confessional there is nothing but white light! The rose color comes from the light coming through the blue glass of the stained glass wall outside the confessional. (NOTE: Pictures prohibited in chapel so please forgive pics from online. All other images copyright Nicole Cutts, 2015)
The tour was meant to end with a visit to Tourettes-sur-Loup but the rainy day prevented this so instead concluded with the coach ride back down the mountains and along the coast through a damp and cloudy landscape. No matter as the day had been long and lovely. Picked up a few supplies in town then trudged back up the hill to the apartment. Dinner of leftover paella then to bed to get an early start on writing. My little holiday now done, it’s time to turn my focus to the rewriting of Book II of the Adventures of Isabelle: Journey to Orphalese. (You may read about this in my next installment.)
If you have been following this blog or our Facebook Page: The Adventures of Isabelle Book you know that Princess Isabelle of Xamayca featured in The Adventures of Isabelle Book I: The Embryo Goddess and the Morpho, has been having some pretty great adventures! From visiting a seal colony in La Jolla, CA to cavorting with Humpback Whales in the Pacific Northwest to chasing elusive Blue Morpho through the cloud forests of San Ramos, Costa Rica our royal highness has been on her heroine’s quest. Her Mission? To inspire others to clarify and achieve their mission in life.
This month I am accompanying our royal highness on one of her most exciting missions to date! I am here in Negril on our way to the capital of city of Kingston Jamaica where we have some very important business to take care of (delivering her story to Novelty Trading Co. Ltd. for Jamaican distribution).
In the meantime we are doing a mini promotional tour and exploring the country whose name and spirit inspired the creation of her mythical kingdom of Xamayca. Xamayca is in fact the native Arawak name for Jamaica. This is one of the more obvious allusions in this book rife with hidden clues and references to various aspects of a host of cultures, religions and myths. Many readers have enjoyed their journey through the book by recognizing and following some of these clues. I would love to hear about what you find. Pick up a copy of The Adventures of Isabelle Book I TODAY and drop us a line telling us what you find.
September 8: Big Exciting day! Did a 2 tank SCUBA dive with Negril Adventure Divers before having an interview re the book with the Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner! Happy and GRATEFUL to be LIVING MY VISION OF SUCCESS!
September 10: On the Road to Kingston! Today is the day we head to Kingston for my meeting with Novelty Trading Co. We awoke early to catch the 8:00 Knutsord Express to Kingston via the South Coast Rd. The morning started out a little scary (see vid below) but was a lovely 5 hour scenic drive. Get the story and some of the lovely scenery below.
Upon our arrival my Aunt Shirley and Uncle George Rodney (parents of Adventures of Isabelle Illustrator Wayne Rodney) met us at the bus depot. They took us to lunch then to the Gleaner Newspaper so I could meet with Keisha Hill the journalist who wrote the article on my trip here and the book. You can read the article here: The Gleaner. After this we went to visit Hi-Qo Gallery where we saw some fabulous Jamaican art to include a painting that I fell in love with. It’s the national bird of Jamaica a Doctor Bird, a type of hummingbird. After this we wound up at Devon House for ice cream where my friend Joanne picked us up to spend the night with her in Kingston.
September 11: Meeting with Novelty Trading Co.My big day started of wonderfully. Breakfast at Jo’s house of breadfruit, callaloo, plantain topped off with some delicious Blue Mountain coffee. After our meal we relaxed on the verandah and played with Jo’s Jack Russell Bella. After this I dressed and Buju the driver picked me up at 10:00. First stop was by Joanne’s business Pedal and Wheel Fitness then picked up aunt Shirley before heading downtown to Novelty Trading. I see why my aunt did not just want me to take a taxi there. Not easy to find (many streets in Kingston not marked) unless you really know the place. Great meeting with Ms. Morgan the General Manager. Then to visit uncle George’s studio, picked up patties for lunch and headed home. See the post meeting video below!
That night after my meeting with Novelty Joanne and her sister Tracey had a little get together for me at a Kingston wine bar/restaurant; Uncorked where I got to see some old friends. It was a lovely visit to Kingston! The next morning, tired but fulfilled we caught the 7:00 a.m. bus back to Negril to finish off our holiday! (See below vid for wrap up report.)
Thank you Goddess for safely conveying me on this mission and for allowing me to live my vision!
Wishing you all success and well being on your journeys!
