Carole Sacino is a respected thought leader, innovator, speaker, business and personal strategist, and she is author of one of SDP Publishing’s newest releases, Build Your A-Game: Be Seen—Be Heard—Be Remembered. In addition, Carole has co-authored Savvy Leadership Strategies for Women and Empowering Transformations for Women, and she is CEO of Turning Point Institute, which she founded in 2007.
Build Your A-Game connects readers with the idea of taking the reins to bring forth their best selves in life, work, and relationships. The aim of the book is to help you create/recreate awareness about your personal power: who you are from the inside out, from your professional brand to your presence. Its first day on Amazon, Build Your A Game reached #4 in Personal Success, #11 in Leadership, and #39 in Personal Finance! In this interview, Carole talks about how this book was largely inspired from revelations she had in a dream, yet informed and shaped by her entire life, and how we can all learn to “Be seen – Be heard – Be remembered!”
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? When did you start?
“I never started with intention of being a writer. I’m a good writer, but it wasn’t something that I really thought about. Then, over a year ago, I woke up in the middle of the night and felt like I needed to write down what I had been dreaming about. After a couple of hours, I looked at the manila folder that I had grabbed and realized I had started something. It was basically the beginning of Build Your A Game. It was a collection of my life, coming through in this kind of download of keywords and a diagram that became the basis of this book. And, I was thinking: ‘What is this meant to mean?’ As I looked at it more carefully, I realized these themes had always been part of my conversations and experience. These are all things that have been accumulating during my life.”
What motivated you to write Build Your A Game?
“Well, obviously some of that’s covered in my previous answer. When I looked at what I had and thought about what was coming out, I started to think: This is nothing new. There was a lot of self-doubt talk – someone has already done this, etc.
I decided to take my folder and ideas to a friend, figuring she was going to say that’s nice, but nothing new. But she had a different reaction than what I expected. She was overwhelmingly positive, and she said: ‘You need to get this out into the world.’ I pondered this for a little while longer, and decided to share it with a colleague, and she loved it. Of course, I got all excited!
Eventually, I called Lisa [Akoury Ross], ready to write a book. And then I froze; I wasn’t able to do it. I went back and forth on writing the book. And, then I ended up creating the process — the A game process, or the steps we take as we build our A game. It’s not a linear process. This process starts over and over again, and it’s automatic. All of this stuff that I’ve been through in my life, had to come out. Not for me, but to share the process. I got out of my ego and I realized that what I’ve learned, I can share to help others.”
Where do you get your inspiration?
“I get it from life. Every day, I wake up being curious. We don’t know what we don’t know until we know it. Until we have awareness, we can’t do anything about it. I want to help others to create awareness about something they didn’t know and figure out how to use that awareness to make other choices. Without awareness, we can’t proceed to action, because we won’t know.”
Which writers inspire you?
“In 2001, after 9-11, like a lot of people, I was doing a lot of soul searching. I thought: There has to be more to life. I turned to books as part of this. The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho – reading this was a turning point for me. It was a key book. Other writers that inspire me are, Wayne Dyer for the spiritual side; Jack Canfield’s Chicken Soup helped nurture me; Jim Colllins helped with business; and Seth Godin for a number of reasons.”
What have you written besides Build Your A Game? Where can we buy or see them?
“I am a co-author of two books: Empowering Transformation for Women, a collection of stories of women’s empowerment, and Savvy Leadership Strategies for Women. I was also the creator and host of “The AWE (Advancing Women Everywhere) Factor” radio show.”
Quickly, give us the genre of your book and a 30-word or less tagline:
“My book can fall under personal development, professional development, personal success, and leadership. To be seen, heard, and remembered – it’s a process that starts with awareness, personal authenticity, alliance, affluence (influence and how use it), advocate, and pay it forward to others.”
Who is your intended audience and why should they read your book?
“People who are interested in both the personal and professional and who want expand their in work and in life. Even though I do a lot of work with women, the book is really gender neutral.”
What other books are similar to your own? What makes them alike? What makes them different?
“There are thousands of books on leadership, each one has their own value. This is my authentic story, conversations about real life experiences. Some of the other books are very different, not stories but fact and figures.”
What are you working on right now? What’s it about?
“Building the platform for Build You’re A Game. The book is just one part of it. I am working on building my coaching business and speaking business. I’m also in the process of developing an online community for webinars and workshops, providing training and resources.”
How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?
“When I was writing the book, I was going through it. I had to revisit stuff I forgot about, including situations and scenarios that were challenging. I had to figure out what the learning opportunities were, and what would I have done differently. It was a humbling experience. I realized that once you break it down, you can break through. There’s nothing we can’t break through if we put our minds to it. You can make it through with resilience and bounce back. I faced adversity while writing the book. As I said, at first, I couldn’t write a word. But, I learned to trust the process and go with the flow.”
What is the hardest thing about writing?
“When I was on, I was on. I could write thousands of words. When I wasn’t on, I couldn’t write. I became able to accept the fact that this book would come out, but maybe not on my time. When I couldn’t write, I switched gears and went on to something else to get out of my head.”
What is the easiest thing about writing?
“Getting out of my head and into my heart. It has nothing to do with logical thinking. Start with one word and let it unfold.”
In what formats is your book available?
“Ebook, Kindle, Soft cover. It’s on Amazon, and will be going to other platforms.”
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
“Make a commitment and stick with it. Don’t try to do it alone. Take small steps or large toward your dream. Set actionable goals. Don’t edit as you go. Get it all out. Nothing is ever going to be good enough. Know when good is good enough. And, hire a good editor to help you through the process!”
How can we contact you or find out more about your books? How can readers discover more about you and you work?
Website: www.buildyourAgame.com
Blog: (will be up on site shortly)
Facebook: www.facebook.com/carole.sacino
Twitter: https://twitter.com/carolesacino
LinkedIn: www.linkedIn.com/IN/cms1013
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/carolesacino
What can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful?
“Readers could help by writing reviews. Share it with colleagues. Follow/connect on social media.”
Can you give us a snippet from your book that is meant to intrigue and tantalize us?
“Be seen – Be heard – Be remembered!
Everything starts with you! Think about it; once you choose to be conscious and aware of anything and everything around you … there is not one thing in life that isn’t connected to you. Now, does that mean you need to know everything? What is “everything”? Everything, to each of us, is individual and unlimited, based on our own personal desires to discover new knowledge and insights. We have the power of free will and choice in regard to how we want to handle any situation. What is important is how we use our personal power, professional presence, responsibility, accountability, and actions in our daily lives.
My intention for this book is simply to create awareness for you in areas that you may not have been thinking about or have forgotten about. Use this book as a gentle reminder, and more importantly, to think about what it is you want or desire in your life and how to go about creating it.”
Can you talk a little bit about the process of working with SDP Publishing and going through the process of self-publishing?
“Once I decided to do self-publishing, I did my homework. I searched all kinds of avenues, lots of options out there. I met Lisa at an event, and found her to be a person of quality and passion. She was actually pretty tough regarding what she was expecting of me!
She was prepared with the difficult questions I wasn’t ready to answer. Definitely, get someone like her to help you through the process. When I decided to say yes, she guided me. She asked me to write an outline. I had a lot in my head and to write, but not sure how to structure it, which she helped me with.
She found the best editor for me to help me structure it. My editor came back at me and helped me to organize. She kept me going, and it flowed in the right places at the right time. The process takes a lot longer than I expected, but it was so worth it in the end.
You need to have realistic expectations of how long the process will take. At SDP, they’re very good at the details. Their name is on it too. You won’t find that everywhere. Believe me, I checked. Everyone was very professional and thorough through the whole process. They’re honest, and tell you like it is. They will help you set reasonable expectations – even when you don’t want to hear it!”
Is there anything else you’d like to say?
“If you want to write a book, write a book! It may never get published, but write it’s all about the freedom to express yourself. Even if it’s never shared. It’s about what you want to express and how you can affect one person or a million. Writing should be about sharing something that’s important to you.”
SDP Publishing Solutions, LLC (formerly Sweet Dreams Publishing of Massachusetts) is a leading provider of independent publishing in Massachusetts. We offer optimal self publishing and independent publishing solutions for our authors. Located south of Boston, from literary agency representation to worldwide marketing – including international rights – we provide the best solutions for authors worldwide. Our services include developmental editing and copy editing, custom cover design and layout, book marketing, query letter and book proposals, literary agency representation, print and e-book development. We provide the best exposure for your book!
