We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jacqueline Martinez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jacqueline, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Making the decision to publish was a major risk, since I am a person who does not like to take chances with my finances, and paying for an editorial team was a large outlay of cash. Taking a leap of faith was something very significant, not only for the original investment, but also in terms of whether the public would accept me when putting a book on sale. Selling yourself is very different from writing a book. You question all the things you could have done as you review the steps to the final project.

People offer so much constructive criticism. They definitely question you all the time, but they also just tell you, “Oh, I loved it.” Connecting with all of them makes you realize that taking the risk was worth it. You slowly learn to quiet the voice doubting yourself when others appreciate your work. It’s very normal.

Now, selling the book and placing it on shelves is very challenging, especially in these times when there are constant publication issues in the print medium. I would like to be more involved in the community and the events that exist for writers and workshops. I think that would help me let more people know me, but it’s a little difficult. I would have to say that is my current risk.

When you have anxiety problems it’s hard to communicate effectively, which makes me sad. I get nervous, and it is difficult to present myself to the public. I am learning to be selective in who I share myself and my writing with, though, in the sense of finding ways to connect with people. This selectivity helps me to see in which environments I can feel safe to share and be able to let more people get to know me. Of course, you want to reach all the people, if it’s possible. I would like to connect with everyone without having to feel insecure or anxious.

Jacqueline, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started doing projects for school and participated in a writing workshop since I was a teenager. I gained a great deal of skill with that, but for some reason I dropped out of that years ago. I did some work for people who asked me if I’d write a poem or a song for them. Sometimes they told me their story, and I could write about them in the form of poetry or metaphor. Some of these works are published in my book, The Woman Behind the Shadows.

A little over a year ago I engaged Paloma Publishing House, which helped me launch this project. This feels different than the workshop or freelance writing because I feel empathy in every poem — the sadness or the love that people try to convey. They can identify with my words or what I think.

I am proud to have broken my own barrier by publishing. Now I’m working on diversity. I want my book in different languages, apart from Spanish. I would like people to feel less ashamed of their emotions and see that beautiful things can come from them. I would also like the people who are taking the time to read this to reflect on their evolution as a person. Writing and reading have that magnificent power of growth that can help them.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the most difficult challenges has been to empty my backpack, so to speak, of the beliefs that were instilled in me. I had to relearn everything. I wanted to change myself in order to teach my children acceptance and love, teach them that talent isn’t necessary, but persistence and discipline are.

I grew up in a family where it was said that you had to have the talent to do things, where they called us useless or belittled us without love and patience. They tried to teach us that feelings were to be minimized and made us have low regard for family. Many times we do not know the impact of our words or actions, so we take our unfortunate backstories into our decision making. That’s why I took on the task of relearning: to correct my mistakes so that I wouldn’t repeat the same story with my own children. That has been one of my biggest challenges.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I want people to know that they are not alone, that many of us go through related emotions or life stories. They are not necessarily the same, but they generate the same feelings, and others recognize them. They learn that through periods of darkness we learn to be stronger.

I would like to inspire women like me to get out of their comfort zone and fight for their goals. I have worked in cleaning, fruit fields, cooking, and other jobs; I am a simple woman with big dreams. That is what has motivated me: I am always nobody important, but I have defined what I want, and this is it. I want other women to know that I recognize this power in each of them. Any one of them can achieve her goals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jacquelinemalcaraz.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hiismejs?igsh=MWN2ZGZoN2F3M3p1aQ==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550051139729&mibextid=ZbWKwL

Image Credits
Laurie Edward Marisela Suaste