From Jobless To Book Deal With Penguin Random House | Interview with Author Veronica Llorca-Smith

In 2020, my good friend Veronica Llorca-Smith hit rock bottom. Burned out from climbing the corporate ladder, she felt like she was losing herself. By 2021, life had thrown her another curveball: she was unemployed, stranded abroad with her two young daughters without her hubby by her side, and grappling with uncertainty as COVID restrictions made returning home impossible. But Veronica didn’t give up. She refused to let her circumstances define her. Instead, she asked herself: “What can I do? What’s under my control?” And then, she took action. One day on the beach of the Gold Coast of Australia she thought to herself: “I can do something about my misery. Sitting here without my husband. No job in sight. I can write a book!” So she put pen to paper and started writing. This is how “The Lemon Tree Mindset” (a quick and inspiring read; also available via Kindle Unlimited) was born. Veronica self-published it via Amazon KDP in January 2023. Fast forward through her incredible transformation: * 2022: Veronica started writing. She poured her experiences into words, published her first article on Medium, and found her voice. She also stepped into public speaking, sharing her journey to inspire others. * 2023: Not only did she write, but she published four books in one year, each offering actionable lessons to help readers unlock their own potential. Also, she started writing on Substack. * 2024: Besides becoming a Substack bestseller, Veronica achieved the ultimate milestone: landing a book deal with Penguin Random House, the world’s top publisher, for her book The Anti-Procrastinator (Jan 2025) —a topic she lives and breathes. With this book, Veronica wants to de-douchify the self productivity and self improvement space. 🎧 In this podcast, Veronica opens up about: 🍋 How she flipped the script on adversity. Stuck abroad and jobless, Veronica stopped seeing herself as a victim. She dug deep, reframed her mindset, and planted the seeds of a new career. 🍋 Her bold approach to landing a Penguin Random House deal. Veronica didn’t wait for her book to be perfect. Instead, she reached out, pitched herself confidently, and asked publishers what they needed. She collaborated with her editor to bring a fresh, much-needed perspective to the douchified self-improvement space. 🍋 What it takes to reinvent yourself. Veronica doesn’t sugarcoat it—reinvention is messy. But she proves that when you embrace clarity, lean into your strengths, and take risks, you can build an entirely new path. 🍋 How she wrote her book in just 3 months. With a tight deadline, Veronica juggled writing, public speaking, and motherhood by staying laser-focused and disciplined. “When life gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade. Use the seeds to plant your own lemon tree.” Veronica’s journey is living proof that your present doesn’t define your future—you do. 🎧 Join our chat as Veronica shares her incredible story, from being jobless, getting rejections to resilience, and how she’s empowering others to achieve their dreams. This is the conversation you didn’t know you needed. You can decide how to dive in: listen to the Substack podcast for an in-depth audio experience or watch the video on YouTube if you love engaging visuals. The choice is yours! CLICK here to watch our interview and learn more about Veronica’s unique approach and strategy: ✅TABLE OF CONTENTS 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:10 Who is Veronica Llorca-Smith? 00:02:09 How Veronica Left the Corporate World 00:05:17 How Veronica Got her Impressive Testimonials 00:05:56 What is Veronica’s Newsletter and How She’s Growing It 00:07:51 Going Over Veronica’s Books 00:13:38 How Veronica’s Books became Amazon Bestsellers 00:15:10 Is Pre-Launching a Book Important? 00:20:40 Veronica Getting Published with Penguin Random House 00:26:26 How Long It Took Veronica to Write Her Book 00:27:07 Day in the Lift of Veronica 00:28:47 Switching Between being a Writer and Entrepreneur 00:32:00 How Much Does Veronica Make from her Books? 00:33:59 How Veronica Balances Writing and Traveling 00:37:02 Advice to People Wanting to Publish a Book 00:39:27 The Triangle of LinkedIn, Medium, and Substack 00:41:47 What is Veronica’s Marketing Funnel 00:43:15 Long-Form Content vs Short-Form Content 00:45:58 Does Veronica Read a Lot? 00:47:09 Talking about Veronica’s Public Speaking 00:49:36 How Veronica Got Her Paid Subscribers 00:51:01 Personal Questions for Veronica 🍋Hugry for more lemonade? You can watch our live workshop here. We talk about: * 3 Powerful Mindset Shifts to Overcome Your Biggest Challenges as a Writer Just upgrade and join us for 60 min+ insights, fun and lots of lemons(see what I’ve got in my hand!). Just do it! Join more than 300 soulful Club Members and get access to 25 workshop replays, unique email marketing insights, inspiring live sessions with all podcast guests, Q&As and access to our invite-only community for paid members. “When life gives you lemons…use the seeds to plant your own lemon tree!” I hope this story inspired you. Your lemonade-drinking and the growing lemon tree watching🍋 P.S. Veronica hosted a webinar with the VP of Penguin Random House (PRH) SEA, Nora Nazerene, on practical questions related to publishing. Click here to watch the replay. P.P.S. This is me. Honeymooning in Bella Italia back in 2018. I’m oaking up the romance while sipping bittersweet lemonade. Those unforgettable Italian vibes…🍋❤️ This is a public episode. 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