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“Love me, hate me, just don’t be indifferent.” Erika Napoletano

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tacosHave you met Erika Napoletano? Sheโ€™s a pistol! She joined the APE team (Guy Kawasaki, Shawn Welch and me!) for a Google+ hangout and it was great fun.

I found Erika on Facebook with a link to her blog about someone stealing her content. A pet peeve of mine, you know if you're a regular reader of my blog. My second most popular post of all time is I'm Mad As Hell and I'm Not Gonna Take it Anymoreย and it is about the same topic. I think that one of the reasons that post is so popular is that I was inspired and just wrote this out to say what I wanted and needed to say. Erika talks about writing like this on her blog,ย that it's a catharsis for her, a release of her emotions and she just throws it up posts it and feels better. Her readers love it.

Erika is one straight up sister. And I love this about her.

In our pre-show chat Erika and I chatted a bit about telling it like it is and not apologizing. I am going to work on this, I need to put some “zing back in my thing.” That could be a new phrase, oh wait, it is now! Not worrying about upsetting the apple cart and really just throwing it out there is important. So the apple cart gets upset, so what? Self-editing is the kiss of death for writers. Guy Kawasaki recommends reading the book “If You Want to Write: a book about independence and spirit” by Brenda Ueland in APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur โ€” How to Publish a Bookย and after reading it, I recommend it as well. Brenda captures the essence of how to be a writer. Her words give you the inner spark to just get writing and stop over analyzing each word or thought.

“If you speak or write from yourself you cannot help being original. So, remember these two things: you are talented and you are original. Be sure of that. I say this because self-trust if one of the most important things in writing.” Brenda Ueland

So, fueled by Brenda, Erika and Guy who all push us to be our unique, true self, I say let's do it!

Please enjoy our Google+ hangout video which is peppered with lingo not usually seen or heard on my blog. If that isn't your bag, skip this video and watch Erika's TEDx talk below. I'm very proud of our APE Google+ author series of hangoutsย and the great discussions that we've had with our guests. I have such a girl crush on Erika that I've invited her to be my guest on #MyBookClub in September to talk about her book The Power of Un-Popular.

pie chart

Here is Erika's TEDx talk which we discussed in the G+ HOA. Two points I love from her talk:

  1. Stop apologizing
  2. Start being honest

Embrace the glorious in you! Surround yourself with the right people in your blanket fort. I know I will.

If you're interested, check out my Pinterest Board with our other author interviews.

Photo creditย Mike Tex/Flickr.ย Only tacos would do for this post.

Article by Peg Fitzpatrick

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16 Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing, Peg! I had so much fun on the Hangout with you, Guy, and Shawn — you guys just rock. THAT IS ALL! ๐Ÿ™‚

      1. Erika Napoletanoย I’ve had a craving for tacos since we had the hangout. I’m happy to share your TEDx talk and it was a fantastic hangout. I think I’ll plan a panel of APE authors for a future hangout, that would be fun!
        Thanks for being part of our APE series. ๐Ÿ™‚

        1. PegFitzpatrickย Mmmmmm…tacos ๐Ÿ™‚ I need to get all you guys out to Boulder or Denver and we’ll go to T|aco, my favorite taqueria. Mmmmmmargaritas, too.

  2. pegfitzpatrickย You know I am a huge fan ofย Erika Napoletanoย – her Ted talk is one of the mostย inspiring and emotionally charged presentations I’ve ever watched. I am so sorry I missed the G+ hangout, but can’t wait to watch that as well. Her honesty and no-holds-barred style are refreshing in the social media world where fake,ย phonyย and fraudulentย personalitiesย are prevalent.

    1. Rebekah Radiceย Erika Napoletanoย The best thing is that you can rewatch the HOAs, so brilliant G+. Erika’s TED and our G+ hangout are both filled with lots of great thoughts for writers and just for life.
      And I 100% agree with this “Her honesty and no-holds-barred style are refreshing in the social media world where fake,ย phonyย and fraudulentย personalitiesย are prevalent.” Thanks for being the real YOU too, Rebekah!

    2. Rebekah Radiceย pegfitzpatrickย You are entirely too kind. I’m glad you enjoyed the TEDx talk and I’m glad that people like you are in my world, Rebekah!

  3. BOOM. Love this Peggy! I have watched that TED talk over and over. It really is inspiring. Thank you for sharing your hangout, now I can watch that over and over. Hopefully a little bit of the awesomeness can rub off on me!

    1. thedomesticexecย Awww — I’m sure you have your own brand of awesome ๐Ÿ™‚ Thanks for the kind words and for stopping by today!

  4. Loved this. I have been a chronic edit-as-I-go girl, and I’m breaking myself of that habit. I can’t be me on the page when I’m trying to fix everything part way through a thought. I do go back and edit, finding better phrases and words than I had the first time around, but I’m trying to make a bigger effort not to censor myself. Upset the apple cart. With more apples on the ground, people can sort through to find what fits.

    1. eebeckย Try writing it all out and then editing afterwards. I always like to come back at a piece after I take a break from it and give it a refresh view. Sometimes I change quite a bit, sometimes just a few edits but you might be stopping your own thought process by editing as you write.

  5. Fantastic Ted Talk… Erik rocks. Great job with the Google Hangout Peg! I know that the hangouts can be a challenge with the technical fun, but you do an outstanding job. Great post Peg!!

    1. jaredeasleyย Hey Jared! Thank you very much. Doing what you love makes things much less “work.” I hope eventually the Google+ hangout process will stop changing and become more streamlined, a girl can dream right?

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