We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lina Younes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Lina , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?
I always wanted to publish books. I worked with some publishing houses on translating and editing books. I had the idea for my own books but I couldn’t afford it. I talked with some publishing houses’ owners to publish my books. A lot of them liked the idea and considered them appropriate English Academic books that suit the culture but they couldn’t afford it either due to known economical and financial conditions that hit the country. By accident. I got to know the Amazon kdp program and I got a tremendous help from a friend. Then I started publishing ebooks for children. But then I had more ideas for short guides related to relationships and happiness for adults. I was able to achieve my dream. Now I have around 10000 followers on Linkedin and I am using it as a platform to market my ebooks.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I have been working for almost 20 years. I was a teacher, coordinator, supervisor, translator, an interpreter. I worked with different publishing houses, ngos, and governmental organizations. I am always open for new opportunities to how to speak up and raise the voice to spread awareness among several issues regarding women, youth, and society. I had the chance to publish my ebooks on Amazon. This is familiar in countries as usa and india but not much in the Middle East so it is a nice and new challenge.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I gained almost around 10000 followers on LinkedIn which I consider as a success but it was not an easy one especially that it is a professional business platform. Nevertheless, I was able to use it to motivate people and help them regarding my English Language polls.I am currently using it to give online classes and market my ebooks. I always tell the youth it is not easy and what you see on the social media is not always the truth but you have to learn not to quit but to stand up every time you fall. It is okay not to be okay. It is okay to cry but you have eventually to wipe your tears away.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
The economic and financial problem that hit my country a few years ago and still left hard problems regarding layoffs, employment or losing the salary value after inflation. Nevertheless, this didn’t stop me from trying new opportunities and opening new doors. I did my KDP amazon project and enhanced my networking on the social media. I also was a speaker on some global events and got to know people from different countries. In addition, I started teaching some online classes. Whenever you see a door, knock on it hard, it may open to you a window of opportunity and hope.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.amazon.com/lina-younes/e/B09FB2QMJG
- Instagram: lina younes_w
- Linkedin: Lina Younes
- Other: http://voyagehouston.com/interview/community-highlights-meet-lina-younes-of-i-publish-ebooks-on-amazon/ https://shoutouthtx.com/meet-lina-younes-kdp-author-educator-supervisorhumanitarian/
Image Credits
My personal photo by me. The other photos from the amazon page.