Multiply Your Talents (Use Your Gifts)

There are headstones

with the names of highly gifted people

who died with those gifts still inside them.

Brilliant people who passed

but never passed that intellect on

for anyone else’s benefit.

They died smart.

Highly passionate people

who never dared to love fully,

and wealthy people who are so poor,

all they have is money.

Doing More with What You Have

These days, I am focusing more on shifting my mindset from trying to figure out how to do something new to maximize what I already have. This includes how to best nurture my personal and business relationships.

Gone are the days of randomly following people on social media and only liking their posts. How can we actually work together? I hope to participate in more collaborations.

We spend so much time at the start of the year trying to figure out what new, shiny thing we can go after when we already have shiny things around us and within us. How can we repurpose content we already have into something greater? How can we build on relationships we’ve already fostered into something better?

Instead of “What can I do?” I ask myself, “What can I do with what I have?”

Going forward, I am reminding myself that my gifts have no limits.

And I hope you are too.

From teaching and mentoring to sitting down on panels with the crème de la crème to share your perspective, Self-Publishing a book is about far more than book royalties. It is also the easiest way to become an authority in your field. It puts you in rooms you would otherwise not be qualified to be in.

Malcolm X said his alma mater was books and a good library. He had a book with him every time he was on a plane. “I could spend the rest of my life reading,” he said, “Just satisfying my curiosity.”

And, while Maya Angelou spoke six languages, studied modern dance in San Francisco, and spent a year in New York studying African dance with Pearl Primus, she never went to college.

Malcolm and Maya both lectured at universities, although they never attended one. The people came to them despite them not having the degrees and certifications because they were exceptional at being themselves.

People will pay you to be yourself. To talk your talk. To let your light shine.

While writing books, I remember that I am not limited to only writing books. I can use my gifts to make an even more significant impact.

And so can you.

Yecheilyah’s 3rd Annual Poetry Contest Winners: Friday is the Day!

Friday, November 1st is here and we are announcing the winners of this year’s poetry contest. The winners are notified ahead of time so we can prepare their interviews, but I will swear them to secrecy (lol) until we make the announcement.

We have selected 2 winners (1st and 2nd place) and four honorable mentions.

But that’s not all.

Please be sure to check your email if you entered a poem for the 2019 contest to learn more and for further instructions on what to do next.

As a reminder:

The 1st Place Grand-Prize Winner will be awarded the following:

$50 Barnes and Noble Giftcard
Publishing in the 2020 2nd Edition Literary Korner Publishing Magazine for Poets
Publishing and Author Spotlight Interview on Yecheilyah’s Blog (over 2900 subscribers, 70k views a week)
Spotlight across Yecheilyah’s social media
Spotlight in Yecheilyah’s email list
Signed copy of I am Soul with matching bookmark

2nd Place Awarded the following:

Publishing in the 2020 2nd Edition Literary Korner Publishing Magazine for Poets
Publishing and Author Spotlight Interview on Yecheilyah’s Blog (over 2900 subscribers, 70k views a week)
Spotlight across Yecheilyah’s social media
Spotlight in Yecheilyah’s email list

A digital version of the 2020 Literary Korner Publishing Digital Magazine will be available February 2020 featuring the winning poems. The Print version will be available fall of 2020. We will not feature the winning poems on the blog this year because they are featured in the magazine.

If you have not already purchased this year’s LitMag of our 2018 winners you can do so HERE. Your support helps to sponsor this and future contests. Thanks to everyone who contributed so far!

Okie dokie. We will see who wins on Friday!

MogulCon 2019 | Atlanta Marriott Perimeter Center Ballroom

I learn something new every time I vend. This weekend’s MogulCon event was about learning, networking and allowing things to flow. It also further solidified my belief that vending is more about discoverability than profit. I met two wonderful ladies and we proved to be a good fit for helping each other in an area I had been praying about for some time. To learn more about the pros and cons of author vending click here.

FINAL COUNTDOWN: Yecheilyah’s 2nd Annual Poetry Contest Ends Soon! Enter TODAY

It’s the final countdown people!

You have until midnight tomorrow (Tuesday, 7/31) to enter your poem into my 2nd Annual Poetry Contest.

The contest is heating up and we have some very talented poets out there!

…and some awesome prizes! We are giving away money, publishing, promotion, books and more! DO NOT miss out on this. There is NO entry fee to enter.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ENTRANCE GUIDELINES BY CLICKING HERE.

Submit a poem on self-love / self-care in some way, subscribe to the email list (you need to subscribe so you get updates on the contest) and then email your poem to: yecheilyah(at)yecheilyahysrayl(dot)com

Go Go Go!!

You Are Good Enough – Use Your Gifts

Use it. Don’t lose it.

ONE DAY LEFT!

There is just ONE DAY LEFT to enter your email for The Stella Trilogy Spring Giveaway! Enter now for your chance to win:

Paperback copies of The Stella Trilogy (all books in the series) autographed by me with my special seal WITH matching bookmarks for each book AND a $25 Amazon gift card*. Card is wrapped in specialty gift box and has NO expiration date and is redeemable across amazon products! That’s right, you don’t have to use it for books! Just use it!

Share this with your friends! 3 FREE groundbreaking short reads PLUS an Amazon Gift card with the ONLY requirement of entering their email address! It doesn’t get any better than this. I really want YOU to win!

Three random winners are selected. Enter NOW.

*1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners randomly selected. Amazon gift-card is only awarded to the 1st place winner.

This contest ends: TOMORROW! There is just ONE MORE DAY left to win!

“In the book Stella: A Road to Freedom #3 Joseph’s story. In this 3rd installment of the series this book told the story of Joseph’s journey in finding himself. The truths that he faced were an eye opener for him. Joseph and his friends, all young, embark on this journey to fight for equality and freedom. In their journey they learn just hoe much racial inequality there is. They learn that even the friends that they that choose to align themselves with can possibly get them killed. Their alliances with one another in this fight showed just how unaware of the seriousness of the road they were traveling. This book was well written. I was worried for them being young and traveling across the country to fight for the freedoms of integration. I love the history that is told in this book and when it comes to telling this story through Joseph’s eyes, you have to question whether or not we as a society today are still traveling this same road to freedom and if we will ever find it. The characters in this book are relatable and the writer continues to leave readers wanting to take a look back into history. This series should be required reading in middle schools and high schools around the country…its just that good!”

– Constance Humphrey

The Stella Spring Giveaway Starts Today!

Today’s The Day! The Stella Spring Giveaway is Under Way!

But quickly, let’s review:

The Stella Spring Giveaway includes paperback signed copies of all 3 books in The Stella Trilogy PLUS matching Bookmarks. The Stella Trilogy is a 3 Part Standalone Series about one woman and her family’s struggle for identity and freedom. By standalone, I mean it was written to be read in any order as a standalone novella. Short, sweet, and to the point, start at Book Three and work your way down to Book One. Or, read in chronological order, you decide! Already have this series? Win it for someone else! Have teens? This Historical, Young Adult Series is perfect for getting their summer reading list off to a great start.

So now that we know what The Stella Trilogy Spring Giveaway is, I have a surprise. I told you we were starting this exciting Spring Giveaway and that there will be 3 winners. What I didn’t tell you is that I have thrown in another prize!

2^nd and 3^rd Place winners will receive The Stella Trilogy with matching bookmarks, as promised. BUT the first place winner will receive an extra gift!

$25 Amazon Gift Card

Gift Card is nested inside a specialty gift box!
Gift Card has no expiration date!
Gift Card is redeemable towards millions of items store-wide at Amazon.com!

Spread The Word

Don’t be shy! Share This Link on your blog or across your social media pages. Let your friends know of this unique opportunity to win. All that is required is their email address! Each contestant can only enter once. BUT extra entries can be unlocked!

(If you have eBook versions, this is the perfect opportunity to get this series in paperback, signed and with my special seal!)

You can enter the contest HERE.

The contest begins Today! April 12, 2016 and ends Tuesday, April 26, 2016 so there’s plenty of time to enter: ENTER HERE

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See What The Readers Are Saying!

Kathryn Reed on Between Slavery and Freedom (Stella, Book 1)

“Yecheilyah Ysrayl takes us on a colorful and thought provoking journey through the eyes of a mulatto slave woman Stella. Generations later, Stella’s descendant Cynthia May has no idea of Stella’s life as a slave, nor the true identity of their bloodline. Since Cynthia is a racist she is in for a rude awakening. Stella is reminiscent of a wonderfully written slave narrative, a story of history and pain, it is a brilliant opener of the Stella series.”

Colleen Chesebro on Beyond The Colored Line (Stella, Book 2)

“By the time the Great Depression eases, Stella and her family move to segregated Chicago, where life is not much better. Aunt Sara, a school teacher, struggles to wait for the school district to pay her. Sara has made the step into white society by dating an affluent doctor and encourages Stella to do the same. After a discussion with Aunt Sara, Stella decides to pass for white. Sidney McNair is born and enters a white society where she had the freedom to go where she chooses and to buy whatever she likes. Stella has crossed the colored line.

”Christa Wojo. on The Road to Freedom (Stella, Book 3)

“The Road to Freedom – Joseph’s Story is something of a prequel to Beyond the Colored Line, and Stella’s son tells us about his own journey through turbulent times when South fights hard and dirty to stay segregated. Joseph and a group of his young, impassioned friends want to do something about it but don’t know exactly what. Like the first book, Ysrayl works her magic of putting the reader into her characters’ minds to witness history through their emotions and perspectives. At one point in the story, the friends are trapped in their vehicle as it’s mobbed by a pack of violent racists. My heart was literally pounding at this point. I was horrified that anyone had to experience such ugly cruelty.”