Interview with Patricia Caetano – Celebrating one year of publication of her book “Comece por Aqui”

How long did it take to write your book?

It took me 7 days to write “Comece por Aqui”. Le me explain, I was invited by Alexandra, Livr(a)’s CEO, and at first I denied it because I had to get a visa to the United States and had already been denied it twice. So I thought about it and saw that it didn’t make sense. That was already October 24th. It was then that I looked for references of people who worked with visas in the networking group I’m part of, the Girl Gang, and started to organize the paperwork.

On October 30, I got an interview in Rio de Janeiro, at the time I was living in Vitória, Espirito Santo. I bought a ticket, stayed at a friend’s house and delivered the documents on the 30th and the interview was on the 31st in the morning. I hardly believed in the yes that the woman gave me. In fact, she did not say yes to me, she said BON VOYAGE. I turned my back before she even spoke Voyage, fearing she might reconsider… lol.

I left the place and, without believing it, I called her husband, friends and of course Alexandra saying I was going to New York. However, now I had another little problem – writing the book. Then I remembered the motto that I carry with me, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TRYING, THERE IS ONLY DOING!

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I went home, celebrated Halloween with my family, talked with my husband that I would need a lot of support until I delivered the book. Well, he also had his chores and was in a new job, so he couldn’t support me 24 hours a day. In those 7 days, I took the children to school, cooked, worked… in short, I did my activities and wrote at dawn accompanied by wine, I had a bottle a day practically (don’t do that, it requires continuous training). So I finished the book on the deadline the publisher gave me. November 7th.

What were your biggest challenges?

I had never written a book and, to be honest, I was a journalist, but writing was never my strong suit. During this process of creation I took all the labels from me and just kept doing, writing with love and with organization, I mapped out everything I would like to talk about by topic and in each topic I gave life and relived everything, it was a very enjoyable process.

Were you afraid of publishing? How did you overcome your fears? 

Everybody is afraid of judgment. Those questionings – wow, but she never wrote and now she’s writing.  Since when are you a writer? (this one I heard from someone in my family) and it gave me even more strength to do it. Whenever someone doubts me, I’m bitten by a bug. So I go there and DO IT, and I do it with mastery.

I was afraid not to charm people with my story, I was afraid not to sell the book

I was very much afraid. So I decided that if I heard it I would be going against everything I believe and I am. I just let the fear stay in its space and I went with my courage gaining my space and working.

What changed in your life after the publication?

The most important thing was what changed in me, I felt and proved that I am capable, even of writing a book, something that never crossed my mind. Now besides Woman, Mother, Entrepreneur, Speaker, Teacher, I am a writer, thanks to Livr(a).

What are your future plans? Can we expect more books?

My plan is to launch my next book, “Certo ou Errado, é outra história”, and only those who read the first one will fully understand the second one.  Today I’m living with my family in Portugal, we moved a while ago to live this dream. Here I am putting my Digital Marketing company to work, we are starting all over again, and this is very enjoyable and, at the same time, challenging. I like it!

What would you say to the reader who will start your book?

Take a glass of wine, a deep breath, and feel all the energy that “Comece por Aqui” brings. If you are lost and don’t know where to start, START HERE! and then tell me the strength you will get. It’s all inside you.

See too: Narratives Structures