Bernadette Boas is the author of Shedding the Corporate Bitch: Shifting Your Bitches to Riches in Life and Business. The book received huge positive feedback in amazon (av. 4.5 stars from 29 reviews). The description starts with: “For twenty-five years she was a corporate bitch, and now has shifted from bitch to rich”. Sounds interesting, this is why I decided to go one to one with Bernadette, who hides a lot more interesting things around her.

– What is your book Shedding the Corporate Bitch: Shifting Your Bitches to Riches in Life and Business about?
– The book is my true story of how despite being a sassy and precocious young girl, from a tight family unit of fourteen, my desire and greed for position, power and prosperity transformed me into a corporate tyrant. It wasn’t until I was handed a pink slip and heard the words ‘you’re fired’ from my mentor of 12 years, did I confront my inner demons and decided to shift from bitch to rich. The book gives a glimpse of the motives and agenda of the many corporate bullies out there… and helps others, especially victims of such tyrants, an understanding of their behavior.

– How you decide to write the story?
– I didn’t have a choice to write my story. After being fired and realizing how cruel I was to so many people throughout my 25 year career, including myself, I owed them an apology and accountability. It is my apology to all of them.
– What was the biggest challenge during the write up process?
– Admitting the tyrant that I was, was simple, compared to confronting the reasons why I was that person – insecurity, low self-worth, intimidations. No one who worked with or experienced me would ever call me those things, but I did a great job in masking them. But I had to confront those inner demons if I was going to shift away from that person. It caused me to stop writing at one point.. delaying the completion of the book for about 3 months. Fortunately my editor kicked me in the butt, and made me face all of the junk I was feeling, and helped me push through my fear and get it out on paper.
– Tell us something more about your main character?
– Is it close to someone from your real life? It is me, all of me. Readers often write me and tell me how happy they were that I was so truthful in my story, and that they appreciated putting light on the motives of a bully. I am grateful for their appreciation of it, because I didn’t find I had a choice – those that I had hurt over the years were deserving of nothing less.
– How much time you need to finish the story and to publish it?
– I wrote the book in 10 months, which is a while being that it was my own story. However, I only wrote on the weekend, so it took time, and like I said, there was about 3 months I wasn’t writing.
– Who are you?
– Today, I am a happy, loving and giving person; free of all of the artificial and negative attitudes and possessions I thought would make me happy. And I have never been more successful, content and fulfilled. It is wonderful to let the junk go.
– What are your writing habits?
– One key to my writing is my accountability coach. I meet with her every Friday for 30 minutes. She structures my schedule, helps me think through ideas and blocks, and holds me accountable to any excuses, fears or doubts I have in my writing. I could do it without her, but I never would want to. My habit really center on time blocking. I am one who needs a chunk of time to write and have that time outside of my business time or I feel stressed. So I write on Wednesday’s and the weekends; both Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 – 6:00. Then on an exception basis, I will write whenever…but I need more structure to my writing.
– Are you satisfied by the sales of the book and do you plan another one?
– I am happy with the sale of the book as it was and is a means to an end; as I am currently adapting the book into a screenplay, Confessions of a Corporate Bitch, which I just completed. I will be writing another book, as many people have asked me to extend the Shedding the Corporate Bitch Story to how I have changed since I finished the book in 2011. And what lessons, advice or tough love I would have for others. It will be called Shift to RICHes in Business and Life.
– What are you doing to promote by the best possible way your book?
– I host my own radio show, Shedding the Bitch, each Tuesday, so I use that, as well in all of my business writing, blogging, and social media activity. I am very active online.
– You are a scriptwriter as well. What is the difference between writing a script for TV/Movie production and a novel?
– Great question, as I didn’t know what to think when writing a screenplay. It is dramatically different. A book allows you 254 pages of ‘words’ to tell your story any way you want to. Scripts on the other hand only allow for 110 pages of ‘action’ with dialogue being the secondary focus. So you have to be able to tell a story in pictures more so – and that is hard. As well, books have no budgets in the story, and when writing a screenplay you have to consider the cost of producing the story, i.e. my book highlights my 12 brothers and sisters; well you can’t afford to have 12 actors in your movie. You can’t necessarily have a lot of different locations or use/reference certain music, photos, etc.. as they each have a big price tag attached to them. So, you have to ‘adapt’ your story down and differently. It has been an unbelievable learning process, and I have loved it – even with a lot of tears and fears throughout the process. I could write a book on this journey as well.
– You are living in Atlanta, few years ago I visited the city and liked it very much. What are the Top 3 places that every Atlanta guest must visit?
– Love it…. definitely the Georgia Aquarium, it is a gem! I would also have them go down to Olympic Centennial Park, with the history that both the young and old can relate to when it comes to the incidences that happened there during the 1996 Olympics. Lastly, I would say, many tourist always want to go to The Varsity Drive In. The oldest drive through I believe in the country. It is huge and always packed.
– How important is for a company to hire a professional executive coach like you and what you are trying to change in your speeches?
– Just as I have a coach to help me grow while pursuing my goals, anyone who is determined to achieve their dreams, need someone to support them, guide them and hold them accountable. They need a cheerleader and a champion in their corner, and that is what I am for my clients. But they have to be determined and dedicated to their success, because I am considered a tough love coach. I am often more invested in their goals then they are at times. My job is to get them to value their dreams and themselves as much and more than I value them.
– As a representative of authors, what do you think is the most important for a writer in order to put more attention on his book?
– Be true to your story. Don’t allow others, despite good or bad feedback, let you goes against your values and what you believe in. Stay true to you and your story – there are tons of readers out there for your writing. Believe in that!
– Ask yourself a question (And don’t forget to answer!)
– What causes me to get stuck in my own writing? Disbelief that others will want to read it, or in the case of my screenplay – buy and produce it. But it is that fear that pushes me forward. I always want to prove my fears wrong, so I go against ever fear cell in my body and keep pushing.

Check out more about Bernadette at her web page
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Take a look at her book
Shedding the Corporate Bitch: Shifting Your Bitches to Riches in Life and Business