We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kevina Oyatedor a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kevina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
I believe success isn’t about money and fame. It is about getting to that finish line, accomplishing your goals by working hard, the family you grew up with and being humble. I remember the first time I wrote a novel and finished it. I’ve been writing it since I was 17. Sure it was messy, but the characters and story stuck with me over the years. I wanted to put a story that I wanted to read and finish no matter what.
Kevina, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Kevina. My penname is Kato. I reside in Maryland USA with my family. I’ve been an avid reader since forever. When I’m not reading or writing, I’m learning how to crochet. I enjoy baking, cooking and yoga. I was a dancer but not professionally. I’ve always wanted to write but did not know where to start. I researched thoroughly to hone and create more of my craft. What stopped me was procrastination and imposter syndrome. I found plenty websites and communities that shared my similar thoughts in their craft, making sure I stay connected with the friends I met over the years. Wattpad, a serialized writing site, has been my virtual home for years and the people I’ve met have been immensely and wonderful that give advice and have written and published amazing novels. I provided writing services. I’m a multi genre writer that included romance, young adult, humor, fantasy, mystery/thriller. I have written over 10 novels, unpublished and polishing them up. I want my fans to know that I’m a fan just like them, a cheerleader that roots for everyone including myself
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
When I began my journey, I believe I knew everything. I didn’t. Writing my first novel was not easy. The writing community was helpful with resources that I needed for marketing, querying, and writing. The website Wordhippo is an amazing thesaurus site to assist you from synonyms, antonyms, and definitions. Marketing was another thing I needed help with. With social media thriving, every creative needs an eye catching post or story to draw followers. Canva and Capcut help create unique media to promote work in progress novels and completed novels. Wattpad is amazing site that not only creatives join to write but also to bring writing advice to users.
Have you ever had to pivot?
My first attempt to self publish was bad. The cover was off, my novel was all over the place and I got nowhere. I’m my own editor, but without a second set of eyes, it won’t work. I had to start from scratch. I erased everything and took advice from the writing community to outline. I usually did not outline, I was more a write as you go person for my draft. Now I outline, I am taking lessons on creating book covers and media, and plan out my stories.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: katotheauthor
- Twitter: kevinaoyatedor
- Other: https://wattpad.com/kevinaoyatedor
Image Credits
The image was taken by me. The other images were created on the Canva app.