Q&A4Her – Brenda Novak – Award Winning Author / Philanthropist
Brenda sold her first book, and the rest is history. Many of her novels have won or placed in contests such as the National Reader’s Choice, the Bookseller’s Best, the Write Touch, the Award of Excellence and the Beacon Award for Published Authors. Annually Ms. Novak runs an online auction on her web site – www.brendanovak.com that to date has raised over $1.3 Million to raise money for Juvenile Diabetes research. MyCity4Her recently caught up with the prolific and generous-hearted author and asked her to share her thoughts with our audience of successfully minded women in business and discuss designing a life that meets your needs and builds your dreams…
Did you ever imagine yourself achieving what you have?
When I was younger, if someone had told me I would one day be writing novels, I would’ve thought they were crazy. I never aspired to become an author. It wasn’t until I caught my daycare provider drugging my children with cough syrup to get them to sleep all day (so her job would be easy and she could sit around watching TV) that I decided I needed to work from home. That was the first time I thought of putting pen to paper. I was reading a great book at the time, and I remember thinking, “I wonder if I could do this?”
Fortunately, I decided to try. Here I am forty books later. I feel blessed that it has worked out so well, because I love what I do. Not long after that, I had the burning desire to fulfill another dream—to raise a significant amount of money for diabetes research (my youngest son suffers from this disease). I remember feeling as if I’d be lucky to raise $10,000, that $10,000 would be A LOT. I’ve actually raised $1.4 million so far—and am hoping to raise a lot more in my upcoming online auction which opens May 1st at www.brendanovak.com
2. What in hindsight would you say you underestimated about your industry or business and why?
Most people believe the difficult part of becoming a novelist is getting published. I contend that the difficult part of becoming a novelist is making it a viable career by staying published. Not only do you have to write one great book, you have to be able to follow that up with another great book—and another one. It’s a lot of long hours, a lot of work.
3. What is the best business related advice you have ever been given?
I was preparing a speech on the value of networking when I read this in Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Black Book of Connections: “All things being equal, people want to do business with their friends. All things being not quite so equal, people STILL want to do business with their friends. HINT: To climb the ladder of success, you don’t need more techniques and strategies, you need more friends.” This really brought home the message I was trying to deliver and has stuck with me. It’s very important to play nice with others.
4. What do you love most about what you do and why?
I love waking up each morning, knowing that I get to create a story I’ve never written or read before. I love the constant challenge that provides—to get the characters just right, to get the plot tight, to form each just the way I want it to read. Writing is a difficult endeavor, but I don’t know of a career that’s more rewarding. (It doesn’t hurt that I get to work in the comfort of my own home wearing sweats. <G>)
5. What if you knew then what you know now – What would you do differently and why?
If I knew then what I know now I would’ve started writing at a much younger age. I was nearly thirty before I learned what I really wanted to be. Imagine how much more I could’ve read and produced if I’d taken advantage of that other decade.
6. When you’re not working, how do you like to spend your time?
When I’m not working, I’m raising money for my annual online auction for diabetes research. When my youngest son was diagnosed with Type 1 at only five years old, I was devastated to learn of all the complications he would likely face—and soon I was burning with the desire to fight back. My auction has provided the vehicle I needed. So far I’ve raised $1.4 million for the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) in Miami and hope to set a new record this May! The DRI is solely focused on finding a cure for diabetes.
7. How do you define success?
I don’t define success by making a lot of money. I don’t define it by becoming a #1 New York Times Bestselling author. Those things are nice and I wouldn’t turn them away. But to me, the real meaning of success is living a balanced life. It’s achieving all you can professionally while not neglecting all the little responsibilities that make you a good wife and mother, a good sister, a good friend.
8. If you had to share one final thought with our audience of thousands of women in business, what would it be?
The advice I like to leave with people most often is very simple. Just one word. BELIEVE. If you truly believe in yourself and your dream, you will do whatever it takes to achieve it. You will keep working long after others have quit. You will refuse to take no for an answer. You will innovate to get around barriers and obstacles. You will never give up.
New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Brenda Novak has a brand new small-town contemporary series starting this year. Come meet the long-time friends who have made Whiskey Creek the “Heart of Gold Country,” with WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES, to be released in September. WHEN SNOW FALLS will be released in November and WHEN SUMMER COMES will hit bookstores in February 2013. Also, don’t miss her latest romantic suspense trilogy available now–INSIDE, IN SECONDS, & IN CLOSE. Brenda is a three-time Rita nominee. Her books have won many awards, including the National Reader Choice, the Bookseller’s Best, the Book Buyer’s Best, the Holt Medallion and many others. She also runs an annual on-line auction for diabetes research every May at www.brendanovak.com. To date, she’s raised over $1.3 million. Brenda considers herself lucky to be a mother of five and married to the love of her life.