We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Candice Pedraza Yamnitz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Candice Pedraza below.
Candice Pedraza, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I think my purpose found me. I’ve been mentoring teens at camps and at church throughout my twenties. I got back into reading when I had my babies and I realized that I wasn’t finding the book I wanted to see. Positive messages and truthful characters weren’t in sight. I also didn’t see myself and my friends on the pages of all the YA fantasy books I was reading.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I write fantasy books. Some of my books are for my kids, chapter books, but my main goal is to speak to teens. I feel like I made my most life changing decisions when I was a young adult, and I would love to speak to the younger me. Plus, I just really love the art of telling stories.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three qualities that you need to write for publication are these:
1. Learn how to take criticism.
2. Perseverance
3. Keep learning the craft
If you can’t take criticism and you learn the rest, you will forever be jaded and you will be more likely to quit. The only way to get thicker skin is to offer up you writing for others to dissect. It’s an ugly process, but you learn to bounce back quicker and appreciate the people who tell you the truth before you get published.
The other two are much more easy to control. Well…for the most part.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
My current issue is trying to get over rejection and imposter syndrome. This feels like a down year even though I am still productive, and I am still hearing from new readers who enjoy my work. It’s easy to think that I should just quit or stop submitting my work. I don’t have control over how I am received, but I have plenty of control over learning and the amount of work that I get done. Publishing isn’t a fast industry. Books take time to write and edit until they are ready.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://candiceyamnitz.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/candiceyamnitz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/candiceyamnitz
Image Credits
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