If you have ever wanted to turn your writing into a profitable part-time or even full-time business but feel stuck or lack the confidence to take the next step, this episode of Star Maker LIVE is for you.
In my live show today, I sat down with Veronica Llorca-Smith 🍋. She is a published author, keynote speaker, and the creator of The Lemon Tree Mindset, a Substack newsletter with over 14,000 subscribers. We talked about how she went from being unemployed during the pandemic to building a highly successful business around her writing.
🎧 Key Insights
Don’t Just Make Lemonade—Plant the Seeds 🍋 Veronica told me how she spent six months looking for work during the pandemic with no luck. Instead of giving up, she used that hard time to completely reinvent herself. Her motto is that when life gives you lemons, you shouldn’t just make a lemonade, but plant the seeds and grow your own tree.
The Smart Way to Use a Paywall 🧱 We talked about how she runs her newsletter. Veronica keeps her main articles free so everyone gets a great experience. But if readers want the actual step-by-step exercises to practice what she teaches, that part goes behind the paywall. She also loves to group her posts into weekly themes, which keeps readers coming back for more.
Making Money Outside the Inbox 💼 Your newsletter can be a great starting point for other jobs. Veronica uses her writing to find coaching clients, sell digital courses, and land big speaking gigs at companies that pay up to $5,000 for a single talk.
How She Landed a Deal with Penguin Books 🐧 You don’t have to wait for a big publisher to find you. Veronica actually reached out to the bosses at Penguin Random House directly on LinkedIn. She didn’t just sell them on her book idea; she showed them that she already had a busy Substack community ready to buy it.
💡 The 3-Step “Introvert Camera-Confidence Hack”
Veronica used to be incredibly shy when she was younger (hard to believe when seeing her poise and confidence during this interview). She believes confidence isn’t something you are born with, it’s just a skill you learn by doing it over and over again.
She shared a great, free little idea she used to get comfortable on camera:
Record yourself talking to camera for 10 to 15 minutes. Then…
Step 1: Watch with the Sound Off 📺 Play it back with the volume muted. Look only at your body language, your hands, and your facial expressions.
Step 2: Listen with your Eyes Closed 🎙️ Listen to the audio without looking at the screen. Pay attention to how fast you are talking, the tone of your voice, and how often you use filler words like “umm” or “ahh”.
Step 3: Put it All Together 🎬 Finally, watch and listen to the whole clip normally. Do this a few times, and you will see your confidence on camera grow faster.
🔗 Connect with Veronica
Substack: The Lemon Tree Mindset
Website: veronicallorcasmith.com
Until next time, be good to yourself and be good to others!
Thank you Michael Kuhn, Patricio Cuesta, Michael Patrick, David C. White, SovereignSignal by ProfMubarak, and many others for tuning into my LIVE with Veronica Llorca-Smith 🍋! Join me for my next Star Maker LIVE in the app.
