We were lucky to catch up with Patricia Qaiyyim recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Patricia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
My first project as an author was significant to me and related to raising my children while serving in the Armed Forces. As a woman who served on active duty in the United States Air Force while raising her children, I was often asked why I chose to be a mom and serve in the Armed Forces. These questions came from family, friends, co-workers, and sometimes people I barely knew, and many revolved around leaving my children due to my military obligation. While serving, as far as I was concerned, I wasn’t doing anything unusual. This is because I served alongside other women raising their children while serving in uniform. While I did not enjoy leaving my children for days or months due to military obligations, for me, it was as normal as wearing the uniform.
As my career progressed, I found that many other “moms” in the military were often asked the same question. I wanted to tell others know that military service and motherhood were compatible. This resulted in my first book, Moms In The Military Raising A Child While Serving In The Armed Forces.
It was a very personal and meaningful project, so much so that it is a springboard for me to write a book on children being raised in the military. I think it is just as important for their voices to be heard as a way to help other children raised in the military know they are not alone in living the military lifestyle.
This project also reignited my passion for writing, resulting in my decision to professionally pursue writing after retirement. Something I had not considered earlier. And being able to start writing professionally at fifty and have a second career that I enjoy as much as the first is very meaningful.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I started my first career after two years of college. Instead of continuing to graduation, I followed my dream of serving in the United States Air Force. This was a goal I set for myself at the age of fifteen. I had two siblings who joined the military before I did and extended family members who had also served. So, for me, a career in the military seemed a natural course.
I am very proud of my service, and it provided many opportunities to serve my country and see the world. After more than twenty years in the service and several years as a contractor, I decided to pursue writing professionally. I have always enjoyed writing but had not considered it a career choice. But it has been a decision that I am excited about.
My goal with my writing is to motivate, educate, and inspire others. When deciding on a topic or subject for my writing, I ask myself, “In what way will this project meet that goal?” And I hope my books motivate, educate, or inspire my readers. I want my life and projects to inspire others to take that leap of faith or follow that dream, even if they are older, or maybe because they are older. In my twenties/thirties, I would not have envisioned myself as a professional writer, but here I am, working on my third manuscript. I want others to be brave enough to follow their dreams at any age.
I am most proud of taking the chance on myself to pursue my dream. I am also very proud of my first book, “Moms In The Military Raising A Child While Serving In the Armed Forces.” In this book, I share my story and the stories of more than twenty other moms raising their children while serving. This book provides my readers with a look inside our lives. I have heard from some readers how much they appreciated and learned from the book. When one of my sisters read the book, she shared with me that the book gave her such insights into my life and my service in the military, insights she had not considered. That was one confirmation that my book was doing precisely what I wanted it to do.
My second book, “Shrouded In Words: A Collection of Poetry” (published December 2023), is where I put my goal of inspiring others at the front. In this project, I want to inspire others to look within and without and see themselves as worthy. The idea for the title comes from the concept that there are many times when we are ‘hiding’ or ‘shrouding’ ourselves. We use words to hide behind, sometimes from others, and sometimes from ourselves. With this project, I removed my shrouds and expressed my thoughts, hopes, ideas, pain, and philosophies. I want others to be inspired to open up and share…to be honest with themselves and those around them.
My current project is a companion piece to my first book. One of the underlying themes for the women who contributed to my first book and I was a concern for our children living such a unique lifestyle, which was different from most of us. I also found that some people who did not serve expressed similar concerns. I wanted to find a way to answer the question. Military brats, as they are known, experience a very different lifestyle than most children of the United States, but one that provides unique opportunities. This was the motivation for the project. From my experience, as my children grew older, I could see the benefit of growing up in the military, but, as with “Moms In The Military,” I wanted to know more and educate others. So, the idea was born and is the motivation for this project. My goal is that this project will be educational as well as inspirational. I want the world to know what great opportunities are afforded to children growing up in the military, and I want other military brats to appreciate the benefits the military life has afforded them. I also hope it will helps them while growing up as military brats.
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
As a writer, I produce a new product every year or two; it can take a year or two between books/projects. As such, building brand loyalty on just your books can be difficult, especially when first starting out. I have learned that even when you are not putting out a product, you can still work to engage and attract potential clients. In fact, you must work to build up our clientele.
What has worked for me is trying to find something new to do/introduce my book every month to new potential readers. For example, this year, I have been a guest on three podcasts, written as a guest blogger, and attended seven other events where I could showcase my book. I also spoke to a group, sharing my story, book, and poetry. After almost every event, I noticed an increase in sales.
To find podcasts, I looked for those in line with my topic to reach readers who might be interested in my book but might not hear about me otherwise in this case, moms in the military. I reached out and offered my time, and I was able to appear on three platforms dedicated to military women, professional moms, and military families. With every podcast, I reached listeners who might not have heard of my book but might find it interesting and relatable. For one podcast, I offered a free book as a giveaway to pique the interest of the non-winners.
I also offered to be a guest blogger on a blog that showcases strong women as the main characters. In this case, the blogger typically discussed strong female protagonists, but when I broached her, she was happy to have me participate as her first non-fiction writer. What I liked about this opportunity is that I was allowed to introduce myself to readers who might not have picked up my book but might find a book about strong women in the military interesting and decide to check it out. And the blogger, also an author, is considering a fictional military woman as her next heroine.
Other events I participated in included book fairs, signings, and other markets. What I liked about these opportunities was the face-to-face opportunity to speak with people about my books. One event was at a local bookstore and came with the chance to leave some signed copies for sale. And a lot of people are really supportive of local artists. Even though most of these in-person events are not free, I often make it up in sales. And with these events, I also offer extras along with each book sold. This year, it was a bookmark, a pen, and one of my business cards. They might hold onto the bookmark and business card briefly, but most will hold on to a pen, which might encourage them to check back with me on my platforms/website and see what I have going on or available for them.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
When you are a new author and/or your clientele (readers in my case) are not looking to you frequently or using your product for their business or day-to-day lives, keeping in touch and fostering brand loyalty can take time and effort. I use social media to stay in touch and foster brand loyalty.
My social media platforms include LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I treat each platform as a stand-alone and ensure that what I add to one differs from the others. For example, what I put on Facebook might be similar to the other platforms with some changes. This is also necessary when working on Twitter, which has a word limit, or with LinkedIn, which I present more professionally.
I use the same colors and fonts on all posts to build my brand, including my logo and website. I want those on my platform to start recognizing my posts and website, and I almost always include a call to action. I also ensure that some of my posts on my platform align with my mission and vision. My mission is to inspire, motivate, and educate, so I strive to ensure that my posts do just that. Even on my personal platform, I use the same fonts, colors, etc.
I learned that because I am mixing my personal and professional platforms in the same fashion, I always keep it professional.
Another thing I do is follow other professional platforms that will relate to and share my posts. As a writer, I have joined several platforms for writers. Getting on other platforms allows me to reach and share my products and brand with even more people. These professional platforms often enable you to share posts about new books, upcoming projects, or opportunities.
I also use social media to inform my readers about events I participate in. Not only telling them when and where but inviting them to come out and say hello. Again, this allows me to speak with my readers and build that brand loyalty.
More recently, I decided to engage more with my clients/followers. Asking questions and sharing motivational inspiration has been well received.
Contact Info:
- Website: patriciaqaiyyim.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patriciaqaiyyim/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PatriciaQaiyyimAuthor/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricia-qaiyyim-veteran-author/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/pqaiyyim
- Other: Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Patricia-Qaiyyim/author/B0BPPWTXZY?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
Image Credits
Jamal Qaiyyim