We recently connected with Sara A. Freites and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Sara thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?
I wish I had started sooner! Mainly when it comes to my books. I wish I had sat down and written them and shopped them around agents and publishing houses much sooner than I did. I feel like I wasted a lot of time on other things when I should have been focusing on my writing.
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 am the author of 2 ( soon to be 3 ) young adult novels, and I am also a cosplayer, actress, model and painter. I like to say I do a little bit of everything here and there, but those are my main focuses.
I got into the industry by stepping out of my comfort zone, networking and talking to people who have been doing these things for years, getting advice and so on. I put myself out there (once I felt comfortable with what I had to offer) on social media and started doing appearances at events and conventions, and this helped me do more networking.
Both of my books, Rise of Midnight and its sequel Rise of Daybreak, are for sale on Amazon (ebook, paperback + hardcover) and Barnes & Noble (paperback with colored illustrations). My books are meant for readers who like to escape reality and pretend to be someone else for a while as they become part of the story. The Rise of Midnight series was specifically written for young adult women, but I have found that not only have older women really enjoy it, but so have men of a wide range in age.
I am also a photographers model for hire. I’ve been modeling since I was 17. I bring a lot to the table as far as experience, costumes, doing my own hair/wigs, doing many different makeup looks, and knowing what will look good on camera and what won’t. I’ve been in a handful of magazines, calendars and fashion shows, but I typically just stick with cosplay modeling.
As far as acting, I have been in several music videos and commercials locally. I’ve also worked on indie films and fan films on YouTube, more recently video game fan films. I can do several accents, and when I act, I try to really become the character, no matter how big or small the project is. My everything goes into it.
I also cosplay: I’m a princess/super hero for hire for little girls birthday parties, events, children’s hospital visits and charity events. My most requested characters right now are Elsa, Wonder Woman and Rapunzel, but I have many more costumes to chose from! My mermaid costume for pool parties has been getting really popular because I use a swim-able mermaid tail and can actually get in the water.
Lastly, I paint and draw pet portraits. I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember, I just wish I had thought to sell my art much sooner! Pet portraits are my favorite type of portraits to do, as I’m a HUGE animal lover!
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
For me, it’s knowing that someone enjoyed something I made/did. I get so much out of someone letting me know that what I did made an positive impact on them. If something I create can make someone smile, then I know I’m doing something right.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Oh this is a tough one. Social media can be so fickle, and you never know what’s going to help push you to get seen. What I do for IG is, I share pictures and stories of ALL the things I do: writing, acting, playing my violin or piano, my books, cosplaying, modeling, etc. I also make sure to interact with people and make new friends. Just being active and showing people what you are up to can kick up interest. Believe it or not, a lot of people on social media like to see other people thriving and doing new things, so sharing your successes, your processes etc really helps! And people love interaction, so commenting back, maybe following others and supporting them too really helps grow your following online. Plus, it’s just awesome to support other creators like me!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Sara-A.-Freites/author/B082QRTSKL?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/s.a.f.ire_art/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SAFire.Art86
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfHGCugRiq93qRtBKRew7HGWHPHvEJXy1
- Other: My book trailer https://youtu.be/utDA5jhRivk TikTok https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMdTwvYaj/ Where you can get my books: Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09BT2YNJG?binding=paperback&ref=dbs_m_mng_wim_sft_tpbk_tkin Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/%22Sara%20A.%20Freites%22;jsessionid=5A57FA26651CACF370CB7D0F17CA26C8.prodny_store02-atgap04?Ntk=P_key_Contributor_List&Ns=P_Sales_Rank&Ntx=mode+matchall