Best-selling author, publisher, and mentor Adriana Monique Alvarez is rewriting the future of publishing with a female-led revolution that is challenging time-honored traditions.
Once exclusively dominated by men, publishing is today being turned on its head by Alvarez and her company AMA Publishing, which is mentoring women step-by-step in the business of setting up their own publishing houses.
Alvarez encourages women to tell their own stories, then helps them to get onto the bestseller lists in media organizations like The Wall Street Journal. Her business course then mentors many of these same writers in how to build their own successful publishing companies.
The business was born out of personal need. As an author with a story to tell, she became frustrated by the amount of waiting involved in the publishing process.
“I was waiting for publishers to notice me, waiting for someone else to make it happen. I was at home with two young children and I knew this wasn’t going to be it for me. I took a lot of criticism, mainly from other women, who thought I should focus on raising my young children, but I was a woman on a mission and no one was going to stop me once I set my mind to it ” she tells us.
Women First
“I have always been someone who prefers action to theory,” says Adriana. “In my youth, I traveled the world and volunteered, I was curious but I also wanted to change lives when I could. My journey inspires everything I do. I reached this point in my life by believing in myself. I made mistakes and when I created my course it was designed to help fast-track the process for others,” says Adriana.
With a string of bestsellers behind her, she promises her authors they will achieve their goal to create, launch and publish successful titles, and the proof is in media titles that include not only The Wall Street Journal,but also Amazon bestseller lists.
She launched her certification course last year to meet demand, providing a step-by-step process to becoming CEO of your own publishing house. Her graduates are creating six-figure businesses, often in their first six months of launching.
“There’s a big difference between being an entrepreneur and a CEO. Entrepreneurs are usually very hands-on, they juggle a lot of balls and often do everything themselves. Being CEO means you bring on people who support you in your growth, it’s the next step and it takes a change in your mindset. It takes courage, and trust in yourself and others while you hold the big vision. Those who are ready know very quickly that this is the path for them,” she explains.
Building her business, she stole every moment she could to plan her own success story. She wanted to write, she wanted to have a bestseller, she wanted to take all she knew about business and she wanted to take other women on the journey with her. She started networking to make that happen.
Scaling The Business For Women
Adriana is the master of the multi-author book and her titles speak to mothers, survivors, soul travelers, and those seeking deeper meaning in their lives. While the men who have traditionally run publishing are following formulas that have always worked for them, Adriana is leading a revolution in publishing right under their noses.
She’s the author of four books including the International Bestselling Books, She Made It Happen, and Trailblazers, along with a string of inspirational titles written by women for women. She is an international speaker and her advice extends beyond the world of publishing to include subjects as diverse as digital marketing, the gender gap, women in business, the rise of the Mumpreneur, and how to write a bestseller.
“Every time one of my students or graduates publishes a title I feel so proud, it is a great feeling and I didn’t expect to feel that way. Watching them create new titles, launch on Amazon, rise up the bestseller lists, it’s a win for all of us. They have a voice and they now have access to a platform and the support network they need to encourage, inspire, share and succeed. Best of all is that as we support each other, we inspire others to take the leap of faith, to believe they too can do it,” explains Adriana from her home in Colorado.
One of the subjects close to her own heart is the triumph over tragedy. Her latest book is called Conversations with Nina. “The book is about my daughter Nina,” she says, “who was stillborn while we were working in Albania, and how she guides me in my business.” The book will be released next year.
She is also working with a Wall Street Journal bestselling team on a new multi-author book project, The Younger Self Letters – How Successful Leaders and Entrepreneurs Turned Trials into Triumphs. Adriana lends her name to a book published by one of her successful graduates that highlights the struggles these authors have overcome in their own lives.
Her accolades come from all over the globe as her graduates establish themselves in the competitive world of publishing and begin to see their businesses grow. She has launched over 200 authors and the list of successful publishing companies launched by her graduates is growing.
“The best thing that happens with our women’s network is that we harness our power to create businesses that are run by women. Our titles appeal to women readers and the authors are also women. Through our networks, we support each other, inspire, encourage, and by publishing multi-author books the power of our marketing is multiplied,” says Adriana.
Adversity Is Inspiration
Family remains at the heart of her life and moving back to Colorado with her husband Derek, who has worked with her since the business launched, and their two sons, has given her a new sense of purpose.
“I have wanderlust, I love to travel and have so many memories from my days volunteering. When my grandparents passed away they left this beautiful rural property and my husband convinced me it was time to settle down. We’re restoring the property and our boys love it. My husband now wants to retire to look after the farm and we’re hiring a virtual army of people to replace him. I’m still planning retreats and events but our traveling these days is much closer to home,” she says.
She’s been called the Rich Witch, a Divine Creator, she is the master of the guaranteed bestseller and her business advice is sought out across the globe. Her latest course is a free masterclass that outlines the steps she has taken to reach the top of her chosen field and answers all the questions future publishers may have about whether this course is the one for them.
“After watching this, business people will know if this is for them or not. The students who come through my course are usually women who are already successful in their chosen field. We have ministers, financial advisors, health coaches, life coaches, and entrepreneurs who have experience, knowledge and they have refined their message. The next step is to create a bestseller to add to their bios and to increase their incomes. There are women out there who may not know they need this but once they hear about it, their hearts say yes,” explains Adriana.
In the same way, she said yes when everyone in her life was saying ‘no, slow down, focus on being a Mum’, she followed her intuition and trusted herself. Adversity is a challenge to Adriana, her daughter Nina may not be with her physically but she lives in her heart, acts as a guiding compass when life takes a turn for better or worse, and she has a network that is changing the face of publishing, one story at a time.
For Adriana Monique Alvarez, the world is a small place and while she may not have the same freedom to travel she once had, her voice is heard across the globe by women from all walks of life who have a vision – and now they have a mentor to help their vision become reality.