Hello, everyone. My name is Magdalena Golik. Everybody calls me Maggie. I am from Austria, Vienna, and I moved to the United States five years ago to be with my husband. I live in San Diego, California, and I work at a school part-time. I teach German to pre-K kids and I stumbled over an ad on Instagram with Sophie Howard about the Kindle Publishing Program. And what attracted me the most was probably her voice. It was very soothing, very easy to listen to her. She was very inspiring with her story and it was very genuine. That’s what I loved the most. I felt very connected to her, even though I don’t know her at all, but I could listen to her all day. And there was something about this business that really just caught my attention. I wanted to learn more and I started the program, I signed up for it.
And yeah, I just love books. I love the concept of books. I love the thought of the possibility of working from home and being independent. And before the program, I had some physical challenges that I struggled with. I still struggle with my health because of a spine surgery that didn’t go as hoped,ยง so I had a lot of fear of not being able to work and not being able to be independent, take care of myself, take care of my bills, and provide. I think I gained a lot of hope for the future with this program, starting the courses and listening to people that didn’t have a lot of experience and just did it and were successful, and that inspired me and motivated me to start it as well and do something I am passionate about.
I was never a good writer myself. I hated writing thesis or articles during my studies, I always had a writer’s block, but once I wrote something and it sounded good to me, I was really proud of myself and I loved it. I was just being honest with myself, I don’t think I’m good at it, but I thought, why not be a publisher? I would still have an input and the help of people writing for me, but creating an own business that way was just a great thought and I love the idea of it. So this definitely helped me, or just, it means a lot to me emotionally because I am brainstorming every day, I’m writing down ideas. I feel like I have a purpose and a possibility here of a secure future and that just made the biggest difference in my life, so I’m very thankful for that.
Doing these courses and sticking to the process just helped me believe in the work, and this support system that is being offered with this program, it just makes you feel not alone and it helps you a lot. It gives you a lot of inputs and information on how to even start, and what I really, really appreciate is that practice oriented way that they show you. And it’s a great self learning experience with a step-by-step plan on how to start a publishing business if you’re interested. And for those who are considering this path, I can only say your only loss is not actually doing it. So thank you for listening. Bye-bye.