Who are you? An Author or a hobby writer?

Bestselling Author, Bernadette Marie

You've heard the saying, "You are what you eat?" Consider this too, "You are what you think."

Much of what we accomplish in life starts with a mindset. You can't lose weight until you put your mind too it. You can't train for a marathon or knit a sweater with out putting your mind to it. You have to think it through first and then take the first step.

Wanting to write a book is that first step. Sitting down and doing it, the next step. There is a long list of what to do next, but at what point then are you not writing for a hobby? When you say to yourself and others, "I'm an author."

I often refer back to my black belt training when discussing the path to being a published author. At white belt you begin to learn what will be your mantras as you climb the ranks to black belt. And as you say them in class and you learn another with each belt they are are emphasized with, "Black Belt Excellence." From class one, you are instilled with knowing you're a black belt...in training.

You may only have a few chapters in your very first attempt at a manuscript, but when someone says, "What do you do," and you answer, "I'm an author," right away you are giving yourself that credibility of being just that. It's going to pique their interest and have them asking questions. (BAM your first pitch!) It's going to have you wanting to carve out that "serious" time to write. If asked and you reply, "Oh, I'm thinking about writing a book, but..." You're going to end up with people saying, "That's hard," "I tried that once," "My sister's friend's brother's roommate tried to write a book once." 

Published or not, you have to believe in the outcome of your journey enough to breathe it in and become it. Luke Skywalker was Jedi minded long before he met Yoda.

If your heart is in it and your mind is willing, rise to the challenge. 

"I am an author!"

Say it out loud and live it!


Bestselling Author Bernadette Marie is known for building families readers want to be part of. Her series The Keller Family has graced bestseller charts since its release in 2011, along with her other series and single title books. The married mother of five sons promises Happily Ever After always…and says she can write it, because she lives it. 

When not writing, Bernadette Marie is shuffling her sons to their many events—mostly hockey—and enjoying the beautiful views of the Colorado Rocky Mountains from her front step. She is also an accomplished martial artist with a second degree black belt in Tang Soo Do.

A chronic entrepreneur, Bernadette Marie opened her own publishing house in 2011, 5 Prince Publishing, so that she could publish the books she liked to write and help make the dreams of other aspiring authors come true too. Bernadette Marie is also the CEO of Illumination Author Events.

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