Latest / Corpus Christi Originals Podcast / #4 | Abel Ozuna

Transcript

#4 | Abel Ozuna · Corpus Christi Originals Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Meet Team.
0:01
SPEAKER_00: Board game champ bus driving 1.
0:04
SPEAKER_00: I drive 55,000 miles in my bus each year.
0:07
SPEAKER_00: If people knew what I know, lives could be safe.
0:10
SPEAKER_00: Like how they are simply I simply can't speak.
0:12
SPEAKER_00: On my route the other day, a car tried to skip past me and ends up right in my blind spot.
0:17
SPEAKER_00: I turned slowly, so I can avoid it.
0:19
SPEAKER_00: But no car should be in the blind spot for 40,000 pound bus.
0:23
SPEAKER_00: It's our road.
0:24
SPEAKER_00: It's our safety.
0:26
SPEAKER_00: Visit www.sharetheroadsafely.gov.
0:30
SPEAKER_01: What's going on, y'all?
0:34
SPEAKER_01: In this episode, we have Abel Abel Otsuna with the Local Influencers Podcast and Costa Bend Creator Con.
0:45
SPEAKER_01: Abel talks about uh a little bit about himself, about what he's working on, entrepreneurship, a bunch of different topics.
0:52
SPEAKER_01: He's an awesome guy, uh, an awesome person.
0:56
SPEAKER_01: Uh behind all this, all the stuff that he's doing for the city.
0:59
SPEAKER_01: And uh stay tuned to this podcast if this is something you want to hear.
1:02
SPEAKER_01: Thanks a lot.
1:03
SPEAKER_01: Alright, we're going.
1:05
SPEAKER_01: Alright, Abel, welcome to the show.
1:07
SPEAKER_01: Glad to have you.
1:09
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
1:09
SPEAKER_04: I'm excited to be here.
1:11
SPEAKER_04: Like I was telling you before, I'm usually the one on the other end, so it's exciting.
1:15
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
1:16
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
1:17
SPEAKER_01: So you've been podcasting for what, seven plus years or something like that?
1:22
SPEAKER_04: Uh yeah, probably yeah, I I can't do math right now.
1:26
SPEAKER_04: I've been awake since four.
1:28
SPEAKER_04: So, yeah, like 2014, I think.
1:30
SPEAKER_04: I used to have a podcasting deal with ABC Family or Freeform.
1:34
SPEAKER_04: I used to have a deal with them, and that's how I kind of got into it.
1:38
SPEAKER_04: But yeah, I've been doing it for a very long time.
1:40
SPEAKER_01: That's that's so awesome.
1:42
SPEAKER_01: ABC Family.
1:43
SPEAKER_01: That's that's big.
1:43
SPEAKER_01: It sounds big.
1:45
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it was.
1:46
SPEAKER_04: It was a good gig for a while.
1:48
SPEAKER_04: Um, I got to like review TV shows, and then so I would get access to they had like a special website, and you review, like you watch TV shows before they come out, and so I would record my podcast, and then my podcast would come out the same day the TV show comes out.
2:04
SPEAKER_04: So I'd get an event screening of all their shows, and then I got to interview a bunch of like TV, like a bunch of the actors on the shows, like directors, writers, all that stuff.
2:13
SPEAKER_01: That's so awesome.
2:15
SPEAKER_01: Well was that like your day job or uh No, I did that all on the side.
2:19
SPEAKER_04: I have I've always had a full-time job.
2:21
SPEAKER_01: Wow, what so what do you do?
2:23
SPEAKER_04: Uh I'm in retail management.
2:25
SPEAKER_04: I've been a retail manager since 2008.
2:28
SPEAKER_01: Oh, wow.
2:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah start from the bottom, huh?
2:31
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I've literally uh yeah, I've done I've done quite a I've been through it and I've been through a lot.
2:39
SPEAKER_01: Wow, that's tough.
2:40
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so so for so you were up since four in the morning, you said?
2:45
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so it's my birthday today.
2:47
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, happy birthday.
2:48
SPEAKER_01: Happy birthday, I'm so sorry.
2:50
SPEAKER_04: No, thanks.
2:51
SPEAKER_04: I woke up at 4 a.m.
2:52
SPEAKER_04: and I uh because I knew that this week out or like this next couple days I'm gonna be eating bad and drinking some alcohol, so I had to go to the gym.
3:01
SPEAKER_04: Um I went to the gym at 4 a.m.
3:03
SPEAKER_04: I slept like four hours because last night or this midnight I had like a big announcement come out.
3:09
SPEAKER_04: And um then I had a meeting at 10 a.m.
3:12
SPEAKER_04: And so yeah, it's been I've yeah, I've been busy all day.
3:17
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, it seems I I've listened to your I listened to some of your local influencers podcasts just to kind of get a feel for uh kind of who you are before we came on.
3:27
SPEAKER_01: So it seems it sounds like you're really busy.
3:29
SPEAKER_01: You have a lot of stuff going on.
3:31
SPEAKER_01: I found out about the traveling library.
3:34
SPEAKER_04: Um I actually just departed ways with them, um, but they are actually doing great things.
3:42
SPEAKER_04: So yeah, the traveling library is like a local nonprofit, and they are um hoping to raise literacy rates for people in the like kids in the coastal bin, kids that they're trying to give books to kids that don't have access to books, so like in low-income zip code.
3:55
SPEAKER_04: So I unfortunately, because of my new venture, I had to kind of separate ways just because I have way too much of my plate.
4:01
SPEAKER_01: Right.
4:01
SPEAKER_01: So, what's your what's your current venture?
4:04
SPEAKER_04: So we just announced today on my birthday.
4:07
SPEAKER_04: Um so we are creating our very first convention here in town called Coastal Band Creator Con.
4:14
SPEAKER_04: And I just announced the entire team that's behind it.
4:16
SPEAKER_04: There's 14 of us, and we're all creators of all kinds.
4:20
SPEAKER_04: So we have podcasters, bloggers, stylists, um brand owners, um, content creators of all kinds, and we're all 14 of us are coming up, and we're hosting our very first convention uh in summer of 2023.
4:36
SPEAKER_04: Um, and it's gonna be a convention at the well, like I guess I shouldn't say yet.
4:41
SPEAKER_04: Uh almost it.
4:42
SPEAKER_04: Uh it's gonna be a convention um summer 2023, and we're gonna have like just different creators, speakers, we're gonna have panels, um, like how to start a TikTok and how to do YouTube.
4:54
SPEAKER_04: We're gonna have musicians uh talk about their art forms, and uh then we're gonna have a bunch of vendors and stuff.
5:00
SPEAKER_04: So yeah, we just announced the team today on my birthday.
5:03
SPEAKER_01: So amazing, amazing.
5:05
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I saw that list.
5:06
SPEAKER_01: There's a there's a lot of people on there.
5:08
SPEAKER_01: So what why do you so why?
5:10
SPEAKER_01: Why?
5:11
SPEAKER_01: What's the reason behind uh the CreatorCon?
5:15
SPEAKER_04: So I lived in Houston.
5:17
SPEAKER_04: I also travel quite a bit, so I've been to conventions like in LA and Houston, they have lots of conventions.
5:24
SPEAKER_04: Um I know that we have like Corpus Christi Comic Con, we also have like an expo here.
5:28
SPEAKER_04: Those are kind of like uh pop culture fan, like fandom kind of related things, and those are cool.
5:34
SPEAKER_04: Like I love those things, but I feel like um the coastal bin, we are like three or four years behind a lot like the larger cities, yeah.
5:43
SPEAKER_04: And I feel like it's about time that um we have something here, like why you know, there's VidCon and there's all these cons in LA and stuff, and why not the coastal bin?
5:53
SPEAKER_04: You know, and um so creating in general is very important to me.
5:59
SPEAKER_04: I'm a very creative person, so I have like four books published.
6:02
SPEAKER_04: I'm writing two right now.
6:04
SPEAKER_04: Uh I have I don't know, I think like six podcasts, maybe.
6:08
SPEAKER_04: I don't know.
6:09
SPEAKER_04: Uh at this point I lost track of how many podcasts I do.
6:12
SPEAKER_04: I lost some track about how many podcasts I do.
6:15
SPEAKER_04: Um, and so creating of all kinds is important to me.
6:18
SPEAKER_04: And I appreciate other I like being around creatives, and so it was important to me that uh the Coastal Band Creator Clown.
6:24
SPEAKER_04: It was like a the whole idea of it is uh it's a uh convention created by creators for creators.
6:31
SPEAKER_04: Um and so also we're gonna our vendors will be um highlighting small business owners here locally who are like our main vendors are gonna be.
6:41
SPEAKER_01: Wow, that's awesome.
6:43
SPEAKER_01: It's kind of it's kind of a selfless thing, I think, to to be able to share your craft, you know what I mean, share what you know with other people.
6:50
SPEAKER_01: That's so that's uh that's pretty cool what you're doing.
6:52
SPEAKER_01: I really like that.
6:54
SPEAKER_04: Uh yeah, for sure.
6:56
SPEAKER_04: I I always say, like, um, I if someone doesn't if you ask someone a question and they're afraid to give you the answer, afraid to give you like their trade secrets or whatever, you're probably not around the right person because usually people want you the others around them to succeed.
7:13
SPEAKER_04: And so if you like that saying is if you're the smartest person in the room, you need to find another room to get in, you know, and so being in this group of people that I've um become friends with because of the local influencers podcast, um, some of them I've been friends with a lot of my life, but like probably more than half are probably uh people that I've interviewed or are gonna be on the podcast.
7:34
SPEAKER_04: And so I pick their brains about things, and so I always just am like challenging myself and sharing my knowledge with whatever in any way I can.
7:43
SPEAKER_04: So yeah, if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room.
7:46
SPEAKER_01: Wow, man, that's good advice.
7:48
SPEAKER_01: Real good advice.
7:49
SPEAKER_01: Uh just keep growing.
7:50
SPEAKER_01: Man, so you write, you have several books out.
7:54
SPEAKER_01: Um, how often do you write?
7:57
SPEAKER_04: My editor would probably like to hear, she'd probably like to hear that I write daily.
8:03
SPEAKER_04: Um, but I write like whenever I feel like it.
8:08
SPEAKER_01: How long have you been doing it?
8:10
SPEAKER_04: I have I've been my first book was published 2000 and trying to think.
8:20
SPEAKER_04: Like 2015, I think my first book was published.
8:23
SPEAKER_04: Um, but I I wrote that that book like it was published in 2015, but I started right, it took me about two years to write that first book.
8:30
SPEAKER_04: Um and then my second, third book, I knocked them out within like six months of each other.
8:36
SPEAKER_04: My fourth book took about a year or two to write, and now I'm going on a year, a little over a year, for my fifth book, and I'm coming around the corner to wrapping that one up, kinda, kinda.
8:47
SPEAKER_04: If my editor listens to this, I'm almost done.
8:50
SPEAKER_01: Wow, that's no small task, man.
8:52
SPEAKER_01: Not at all.
8:54
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's uh a lot of work, especially like when I keep on pushing like a deadline back.
9:00
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, sorry, it's not gonna happen.
9:03
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
9:03
SPEAKER_01: So you're so you're you're pretty busy with that.
9:06
SPEAKER_01: You got other stuff.
9:07
SPEAKER_01: So um, can you run me through a typical day that you have with all the things you have going on?
9:13
SPEAKER_04: Uh so yeah, I am a retail management, so like that's 40 hours a week.
9:18
SPEAKER_04: Um, just you know, right now I'm mainly working mornings, but usually on retail, anybody in retail knows that our shifts can vary, you know.
9:26
SPEAKER_04: Um so really I either wake up really early or there's some there's some days that I'm awake very early, like around 4 a.m.
9:36
SPEAKER_04: And then I'm work, I go to work, get to work six or seven o'clock in the morning.
9:41
SPEAKER_04: Um I work till four, and then I start recording at five, and there's days I record like four per four podcasts in one night, and I'm done by like nine uh close to midnight probably, and then I edit and upload everything myself.
9:56
SPEAKER_04: So I go to bed like at 1 a.m.
9:57
SPEAKER_04: So like four to one a.m.
9:58
SPEAKER_04: that's probably when I'm in like my hardcore recording, uh, because I do a lot of bulk recording, especially for the local influencers, I record those like three months in advance.
10:08
SPEAKER_04: Um and so when I'm recording the local influencers, that's whenever it's really tough for me because I'm like up from probably four to five in the four or five in the morning to about probably twelve or one a.m.
10:19
SPEAKER_04: And that's that lasts about a week, and then after that it's usually like five in the morning to about close to midnight.
10:28
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
10:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
10:29
SPEAKER_01: So why do you do that to yourself?
10:32
SPEAKER_04: Um, I'm toxic.
10:36
SPEAKER_04: I'm toxic, and it's funny because my friends will be like, I have an idea, and I'm like, let's do it.
10:42
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
10:44
SPEAKER_04: Like we're there's an I there's a project for another podcast that's like kind of in the works, kind of not really, and um it's just like something that we're playing with, so it's just like I don't know.
10:56
SPEAKER_04: I just I don't know, man.
10:58
SPEAKER_04: I just and the crazy thing is I have horrible anxiety, and so like whenever I want to do something, like I want to get it done now.
11:05
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, I need to do everything now.
11:06
SPEAKER_04: Like with Coastal Bank Creator Con.
11:08
SPEAKER_04: Um, it was funny because I just sent all these people an Instagram message, like, hey, I have this idea, blah blah blah.
11:15
SPEAKER_04: I was like in the middle of the night.
11:17
SPEAKER_04: I was like, this is the logo, this is what my idea is, and everyone's like, Yeah, I'm like, what?
11:22
SPEAKER_04: Y'all are for real?
11:24
SPEAKER_04: And here you are about to sign a contract to get an official date in a couple weeks.
11:27
SPEAKER_01: So awesome, man.
11:28
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
11:29
SPEAKER_01: That's making things happen, and it's like uh entrepreneurs, you know, we never run out of ideas, like we're always full of ideas, and it's just like we gotta get it going, and that's awesome that you're doing that stuff, you're making it happen.
11:44
SPEAKER_01: That's so awesome.
11:47
SPEAKER_01: So you have a network, you have a network of podcasts.
11:51
SPEAKER_01: Man, that's so awesome.
11:52
SPEAKER_01: So, how do you on those days that are rough, how do you keep yourself from quitting?
12:00
SPEAKER_04: Um I have uh people that re like that kind of like kind of are relying or like accountability partners, you know.
12:09
SPEAKER_04: Like on some podcasts, I have people that um like co-hosts that like if I we book a like a day, we're like, hey, we're gonna record this day at this time, they block their time out in the calendar, and I even though I'm like exhausted, I can't bail on them because they've already kind of blocked their calendar out, you know.
12:27
SPEAKER_04: Also, the listeners, um, we're growing lists, like uh listenership's growing across all of my podcasts big time lately.
12:34
SPEAKER_04: And um the listeners, you know, if you're not consistent with your content, you'll lose them.
12:41
SPEAKER_04: And so my listeners this week will be disappointed because like my other podcast, we're taking a week off because my birthday, I'm like, I'm not recording this week.
12:47
SPEAKER_04: Right, and so uh I don't record on weeks of um birth like celebrations.
12:53
SPEAKER_04: I don't we record on those weeks.
12:55
SPEAKER_04: I take time off for myself when I need to, but um yeah, man, it's just like being held accountable.
13:01
SPEAKER_04: Like I I also like I told you, I have anxiety, so I feel like if I'm not doing something, or if I'm not doing it, I'm letting people down, letting myself down.
13:09
SPEAKER_03: Right.
13:09
SPEAKER_04: And um yeah, it's not my my goal is to just like keep on going.
13:15
SPEAKER_04: I always want more.
13:16
SPEAKER_04: Like, what can I do?
13:17
SPEAKER_04: What can I do to get more?
13:19
SPEAKER_04: I'm not ever satisfied.
13:21
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
13:22
SPEAKER_01: So so do you think that plays into like you you being anxious a lot or oh yeah.
13:28
SPEAKER_04: My mental health is crazy.
13:29
SPEAKER_04: I have two therapists.
13:31
SPEAKER_04: I told you I'm toxic.
13:32
SPEAKER_04: Uh I have two therapists.
13:34
SPEAKER_04: Um uh therapy really helps me personally.
13:38
SPEAKER_04: Um, it does help me a lot, but it's just I'm naturally an anxious person, and um, but it's like weird because I have like the anxiety where um if I'm not doing anything, I feel like I could be doing something, but then if I'm doing something like the other day I went to watch the new Batman movie, and I loved it.
13:57
SPEAKER_04: It was so good, but I felt like it was so long that I started getting anxious because I'm like, I don't have time for three hours or to do nothing.
14:04
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, you know.
14:05
SPEAKER_04: So like I like get anxious because I want to rest, but then when I'm resting, I get anxious because I should be doing something.
14:11
SPEAKER_01: Wow, man.
14:12
SPEAKER_01: That's tough.
14:13
SPEAKER_01: That's really tough.
14:14
SPEAKER_04: So I just don't sleep.
14:16
SPEAKER_01: So it's so it's so like you can't just chill out and rest for a day.
14:20
SPEAKER_01: Like you'll get anxious because of it.
14:23
SPEAKER_04: Even when I'm like laying down in bed, like last night I was laying in bed to like almost midnight, and I was so excited because midnight was like my first of all, it's like my birthday.
14:31
SPEAKER_04: I'm not really one to celebrate birthdays that much, but it was like special to me because we're announcing the team for Cross Event Creator Con.
14:38
SPEAKER_04: I knew I had this meeting this morning that was very important.
14:42
SPEAKER_04: And uh even like last night, I was like, okay, I turned Netflix off, I laid in bed, and then I started editing all my photos.
14:49
SPEAKER_04: I've had all these photos sitting on my phone for a long time, and um my friends like, don't forget, like you have to, and that's another thing is like creating like an influence like content, you know.
14:59
SPEAKER_04: Um like this is my second year in a row being nominated on the band's like the locals list.
15:06
SPEAKER_04: And so like pushing out content, and um my friends are like, Don't forget, like all those photos we took, like you have to upload them, you have to edit them, and I'm like, and so like even in bed, I'm just like editing pictures and getting like scheduling my content, and yeah, yeah, for sure.
15:24
SPEAKER_04: I never I can never uh I'm hoping I can take a nap out of this, but I seriously doubt it.
15:30
SPEAKER_01: Right on, right on.
15:32
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I get like that sometimes.
15:33
SPEAKER_01: I have so many projects and I'll get anxiety, I'll get I'll get anxious, and I'm like, oh.
15:38
SPEAKER_01: And then uh I just gotta slow down and just chill out, take a take a breather, you know.
15:45
SPEAKER_04: I wish I could do that.
15:46
SPEAKER_04: Like I I just I don't know, man.
15:51
SPEAKER_04: I've been at it.
15:52
SPEAKER_04: Like, I was cutting it like close today.
15:54
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, all right, like I went to lunch for my brother.
15:56
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, alright, I gotta run to Target.
15:58
SPEAKER_04: I forgot to get a cell phone because I got a hotel room just because I live out like further from where my uh event is tonight.
16:05
SPEAKER_04: So I'm like, I'm gonna get a hotel room close by so I don't have to worry about drinking and driving.
16:10
SPEAKER_04: Um, and I was like, I gotta run to Target, I gotta do this, and it was like 3.20.
16:14
SPEAKER_04: And I'm like, oh, okay, I should probably start heading back to the hotel.
16:17
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, and yeah, that's how I am.
16:19
SPEAKER_01: Like, I'll lose track of time, like, oh shoot, I only have a little bit of time to do this.
16:23
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm like that.
16:25
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I'm telling you, I've got up at four.
16:27
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, oh man, my meeting's not till 10.
16:30
SPEAKER_04: Dude, I'm gonna I have plenty of time and work out, I can do all the things, and then by the time I know, I'm like rushing downtown.
16:38
SPEAKER_01: Like 10 minutes till you're like, oh shit, that I had time.
16:41
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, let's me.
16:43
SPEAKER_01: Awesome, awesome.
16:44
SPEAKER_01: Uh let me see.
16:45
SPEAKER_01: So oh, you mentioned in uh podcast um you feel like everybody has a story in them.
16:54
SPEAKER_01: Um, so why do you why do you believe that?
16:59
SPEAKER_04: I think everyone has a story um to tell, whether they tell that or not, as far as like writing or not, or expressing it or not, that's up to every person.
17:10
SPEAKER_04: But everyone lives a life.
17:11
SPEAKER_04: Like we all live a life, day-to-day things.
17:15
SPEAKER_04: We go through sometimes sometimes it's very mundane, it's very like routine, but everyone has something happening in their life, or something that has happened, or something that has changed their perspective on life, or perspective on something, and so I just feel like everyone does have a story to tell.
17:32
SPEAKER_04: And again, whether they met that manifests into something else uh of storytelling of some kind, and you know, uh my storytelling just happens to be writing and um podcasting is my outlet.
17:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
17:45
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
17:46
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I really don't read like I like audiobooks rather than actually reading the book.
17:51
SPEAKER_01: I do that too.
17:52
SPEAKER_01: You do that too.
17:53
SPEAKER_04: I don't read books.
17:54
SPEAKER_04: I I listen to audiobooks because I'm on the go so much.
17:58
SPEAKER_04: I have like I'm just I do listen to a lot of audiobooks, so what are you listening to now?
18:04
SPEAKER_04: Um right now I'm actually listening to, I can tell you, man, I have it pulled up here.
18:09
SPEAKER_04: I was just at Barnes and Noble um working on some stuff, and uh I'm listening to it's a book called Shadow of Night.
18:19
SPEAKER_04: It's like a I like a lot of fantasy books.
18:22
SPEAKER_04: Cool.
18:23
SPEAKER_04: That's mainly what I write.
18:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you had so you had two you had you had four books on Amazon and two of them were like, I don't know, uh would you say that they're like it could be like a situation that happens in somebody's life, and the other two were like more fantasy, or no?
18:42
SPEAKER_04: Um they're both all all my books are fantasy, but I do take aspects from my life, or um, like in one of my first books, the town that it's based on is called Midway, and I based that kind of in my life because I I went to Tulosa Midway high school.
18:58
SPEAKER_04: Okay, and uh Tulsa Midway my whole life, basically.
19:00
SPEAKER_04: And so I I was thinking of like you know, a small southern town, and I was like, oh well where I live is very small, everyone knows each other, and um so I named it Midway.
19:11
SPEAKER_04: Well, not I didn't name like the book Midway, but like the town the things are based on is Midway, and so yeah, um I take like certain aspects of my life and then certain like I get influenced by like I because of all the books I read, like if I listen to a book or something, I'm always like, Well, what happened to that character?
19:29
SPEAKER_04: Or like I always wonder, I'm always like interested in the side characters, and so I'm like, Well, if I don't know what's gonna happen with them, like I'll just I'll write my own book and I'll tell them, you know, and I pull aspects of my of books and I'm like I I'll write their own ending to for myself.
19:44
SPEAKER_01: Wow, add things to it.
19:45
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's like imagination.
19:47
SPEAKER_01: Like that's what I was saying.
19:49
SPEAKER_01: That's no small task.
19:50
SPEAKER_01: I you like I could do like books, but not fantasy because I don't know, I just don't have the experience with it.
19:57
SPEAKER_01: More the book books that I read are like informational.
20:00
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I listen to those every now and then, but uh fantasy is fun to write because like I'll catch myself like when I'm in the zone.
20:08
SPEAKER_04: Well, um it's it's weird, but like if you're a writer, you probably know like um if like I'll be typing and like these words are just coming out, and they're just like I can see it all happening in my head, and there's times like I'm laughing at like stuff that the characters in my book that I'm writing, you know what I mean?
20:28
SPEAKER_04: But to me, in my head, I'm visualizing it like a movie kind of.
20:32
SPEAKER_04: Like I visualize it and I see these characters in my head, and so when I see them and I can hear their voices, and um like I hear their voices and I hear them talking to each other, like teasing each other.
20:43
SPEAKER_04: I start laughing as I'm typing or um when I killed someone off, I was like very, very, very devastated.
20:49
SPEAKER_01: Like well, yeah, it's like they're real to you.
20:52
SPEAKER_01: That's pretty cool.
20:53
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's very weird though.
20:55
SPEAKER_04: I don't know, it's very you're singing out loud, it's very weird.
20:58
SPEAKER_01: Just to be able to put it on the page is it's it's something to me because you gotta have the words and you gotta know how to write sentences and stuff.
21:05
SPEAKER_01: I don't know, you know what I mean?
21:07
SPEAKER_01: It's very difficult.
21:07
SPEAKER_01: So how do you do do you edit it yourself?
21:09
SPEAKER_01: Or well, you had an editor, right?
21:11
SPEAKER_04: You said yeah, so yeah.
21:13
SPEAKER_04: Um I uh she hates me.
21:16
SPEAKER_04: Um so I have been working with the same editor for my last three books.
21:20
SPEAKER_04: My first editor, it didn't work out.
21:22
SPEAKER_04: Um, but my last my editor now, I've been working here for the last three books that I have.
21:27
SPEAKER_04: And um so what I do basically is I just like will write like just a rough draft, like very, very rough.
21:33
SPEAKER_04: Like sometimes like if I can't think of like a like say my characters are going to a restaurant and I can't think of the name for a restaurant like made up, I'm just like type restaurant name here, and I keep going.
21:44
SPEAKER_04: And I and I'll put it like in bold letters or something so I see it, and then I go through and I'll reread it myself and I'll fix things on my own, then I send it to her, and we just go back and forth probably like two or three times, and then um it's pretty simple.
21:57
SPEAKER_04: Well, I say that, but it's not very simple.
22:00
SPEAKER_04: But and then there's some things that like my editor will make suggestions on, and I'm like, I don't like it.
22:05
SPEAKER_04: Like I hate her suggestions sometimes.
22:07
SPEAKER_04: But she's usually right, you know.
22:10
SPEAKER_01: But yeah, I was gonna ask you.
22:11
SPEAKER_01: So like do they did they ever change the story?
22:13
SPEAKER_01: Do they ever ask you to change the story?
22:16
SPEAKER_04: Not the story, but the way the story is told is changed usually.
22:21
SPEAKER_01: Interesting.
22:22
SPEAKER_01: So not like plot twists and all that other stuff.
22:26
SPEAKER_04: Uh yeah, because I like a good cliffhanger, and my editor hates them.
22:31
SPEAKER_04: And so she's like, every time I'm gonna leave a cliffhanger, she's like, she pushes back a little bit, but I explain myself and then she's like, okay.
22:39
SPEAKER_04: But yeah, so we kind of bump back and bump back and forth, but that's why I knew that she was the right person, because she wasn't afraid to talk like back to me, you know.
22:49
SPEAKER_04: And I'm a leader, like because I've been in management for so long, I just have like a natural leadership kind of um that's just like one of my skills being a leader, and so like I'm naturally assertive.
23:00
SPEAKER_04: I'm naturally like this is the way I want it, and it's the way it gets done.
23:04
SPEAKER_04: And so um I I like that she like pushed back on me, she's not afraid to like that's her job, you know.
23:10
SPEAKER_04: I'm paying her to literally tell me that I suck.
23:12
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, yeah, for real, man.
23:14
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
23:15
SPEAKER_01: So uh did you find like did you did you find her like online or uh how how do you do that?
23:20
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, actually, I found my whole team online because I have a book uh I have a like a book cover designer, and then I have and he's designed all my books, and then I have um a formatter, so the person that actually gets like the print and like the type of print, everything to fit in the book, and then my editor.
23:37
SPEAKER_04: So I they've all been my formatter and my um cover artists have been working with me since my very first book, and they're both based in different countries.
23:48
SPEAKER_04: One of them's actually based out of Ukraine, but he just moved to Poland.
23:53
SPEAKER_04: Um, and then the other one is based out of Australia, and then um my formatter is in the I'm sorry, my editor is in the UK, and so we're all in different time zones, and so that's kind of hard, but so we're online and we've had this relationship and it works.
24:11
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so do you so you pub do you publish, do you you self-publish it?
24:14
SPEAKER_01: I guess once a week.
24:15
SPEAKER_04: Yes, I I own a publishing company, yeah.
24:18
SPEAKER_01: Wow, that's cool, man.
24:19
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
24:20
SPEAKER_01: What's the name of the company?
24:21
SPEAKER_04: It's just uh A O I V publishing.
24:24
SPEAKER_04: It's my initials, and so I own so like if anyone someone looked it up, they'd find my publishing company.
24:31
SPEAKER_04: It's very I don't know, it's very weird being on the like I told you, I'm very used to being assertive, so being on this side of it, like you ask me the questions, like it's very weird.
24:39
SPEAKER_04: I feel like I'm bragging about myself or not, you know.
24:41
SPEAKER_04: But it's no for it's just sharing not a like when you Google my name, there's quite a bit pops up.
24:47
SPEAKER_04: But yeah.
24:49
SPEAKER_04: It's like it's mended a lot.
24:51
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I don't feel like you're bragging.
24:52
SPEAKER_01: Just you, I mean, it's cool.
24:53
SPEAKER_01: This is what this is what I want.
24:55
SPEAKER_01: I want for people to talk about themselves, you know what I mean?
24:59
SPEAKER_01: Uh people in the city um that have different experiences, and that's kind of like your like your podcast, you know what I mean?
25:06
SPEAKER_01: You local influencers.
25:08
SPEAKER_01: It's just just it's kind of like that, you know what I mean?
25:11
SPEAKER_01: Do share your stuff, uh, what's going on, and sometimes sometimes it's people like you that are never behind the on the other side, you know, that that need to hear your story because you you got a lot of stuff going on, you know what I mean?
25:25
SPEAKER_01: And it's like, how does he do it?
25:27
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
25:28
SPEAKER_01: Because I got stuff going on too, and sometimes you know, it's just somebody to relate to.
25:32
SPEAKER_01: That's another thing.
25:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, you can relate to somebody that that has ideas and wants to get get stuff done, and it's like uh it's cool to be able to talk to people that you can relate to, and you even listen to, you know.
25:44
SPEAKER_01: So don't feel like you're bragging.
25:46
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you're gonna whenever you're gonna be able to do it.
25:48
SPEAKER_01: It's like you said, people have a story to tell, you know what I mean?
25:51
SPEAKER_01: And I feel like this is one of the ways to get that out there, podcasting, having a conversation, you know what I mean?
25:58
SPEAKER_01: Because uh especially when you have a conversation, people can just listen in.
26:02
SPEAKER_01: It's like a fly on the wall, you know.
26:04
SPEAKER_01: People are just listening into the conversation, and I think that that it it'll help, you know, uh creators and uh people like us.
26:12
SPEAKER_01: So you went to Teloso Midway, yeah.
26:15
SPEAKER_01: My whole life elementary, middle school, and high school?
26:18
SPEAKER_04: Uh yes.
26:20
SPEAKER_01: Awesome, man.
26:21
SPEAKER_04: You uh elementary, I was there like in second grade or something, so basically, yeah, my whole life.
26:26
SPEAKER_01: Nice.
26:26
SPEAKER_04: So I grew up with the same people from when I was young until we graduated.
26:31
SPEAKER_01: So you still know that you still talk to them now?
26:34
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, actually, most a lot of them.
26:36
SPEAKER_04: We were very close, a lot of us.
26:38
SPEAKER_04: And then um, my very, very best friend, her and I have been friends since we were in sixth grade.
26:43
SPEAKER_04: Uh, so like we were, I don't know, how old are you in sixth grade?
26:46
SPEAKER_04: Like 11 or 12, I guess.
26:48
SPEAKER_04: So we've been friends for over 20 years.
26:50
SPEAKER_04: And then um I have another friend who's actually on the team for Close Event Creator Con.
26:55
SPEAKER_04: We've been friends since um we were very young kids.
26:58
SPEAKER_04: We live, we grew up in the same neighborhood together.
27:00
SPEAKER_01: Wow, it's amazing to have lifelong friends like that.
27:04
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
27:06
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I have a handful.
27:06
SPEAKER_04: I'm lucky.
27:07
SPEAKER_04: Not a lot of people do.
27:08
SPEAKER_01: Well, yeah, very true.
27:10
SPEAKER_01: Well, that's kind of sometimes it's all you need.
27:12
SPEAKER_01: Like you don't really need a lot.
27:14
SPEAKER_01: I mean, just those few will help bring you up.
27:16
SPEAKER_01: That's what I I I mean it's kind of hard to keep up with all of them if you do have a lot, you know.
27:21
SPEAKER_01: So it's all good.
27:23
SPEAKER_01: Did you ever did you go to college or uh I did and I dropped out multiple times.
27:30
SPEAKER_04: I hated college.
27:32
SPEAKER_01: Why'd you hate it so much?
27:34
SPEAKER_04: Uh because I have uh like a certain problem, like I don't like people to tell me what to do.
27:40
SPEAKER_04: That's why I am a leader.
27:41
SPEAKER_04: Like I um like a professor telling me like I have to be in class or I can't, or you know, I'm like, no, I'm paying you.
27:49
SPEAKER_04: I don't have to be here if I don't want to be here today.
27:52
SPEAKER_04: You know, and I just have a problem with like authority.
27:56
SPEAKER_04: Um like if someone tells me to do something, I will purposely do whatever it takes not to do it.
28:03
SPEAKER_04: Except my editor, if she's listening, I do whatever she says.
28:07
SPEAKER_04: But um, everyone else knows me by now.
28:10
SPEAKER_04: Usually, um, if someone tells me to do something, I will do, I will do everything but do it.
28:15
SPEAKER_04: I hate being told what to do, but I'd love to tell people what to do.
28:20
SPEAKER_04: Toxic, I'm telling you, red flags.
28:24
SPEAKER_01: What's your definition of toxic?
28:27
SPEAKER_04: Me.
28:27
SPEAKER_04: Uh red flags.
28:29
SPEAKER_04: Uh I think just uh probably just I don't know, man.
28:36
SPEAKER_04: Just I think everybody probably has a little toxicity in them, but uh I just uh I embrace mine.
28:46
SPEAKER_04: I embrace it because also I as much as I am I joke around and say I'm toxic, I do put others before me like a lot, like anyone on my team will tell you, um, team being like the cross fan creator con.
28:59
SPEAKER_04: Um our meetings are very much um a collaborative.
29:02
SPEAKER_04: Like I ask every I send out an agenda for every meeting and and every single topic has at the very end, before we move on to the next topic, has a round table discussion.
29:13
SPEAKER_04: And so we discuss every single thing.
29:15
SPEAKER_04: I don't make any decisions without a majority um uh like you know agreeing.
29:22
SPEAKER_04: Uh I want people to disagree with me, and you know, I like I said, I I do like that.
29:27
SPEAKER_04: That's why I like my editor because she tells me like you suck.
29:31
SPEAKER_04: And uh I like when my team is like, well, Able, like let's try it like this, but I don't I I do I have to be the one in control.
29:38
SPEAKER_04: Like it's just like a control thing for me.
29:39
SPEAKER_04: Like at the end of the day, in the back of my mind, I know that I could do things without anybody if I needed to, but I don't do that.
29:46
SPEAKER_04: It's just if somebody tells me, Able, you gotta do this, I'm like, the hell I do.
29:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, that's that's really a really good leadership quality, I believe.
29:54
SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, listening to the opinion of others, especially the those that are on your team, instead of just saying you do this without question, you know what I mean?
30:02
SPEAKER_01: Uh question.
30:03
SPEAKER_04: Teachers, teachers should be the best students.
30:06
SPEAKER_01: Right on.
30:07
SPEAKER_01: Yep, that makes a good leader, I think.
30:09
SPEAKER_01: So you so that round table, that's your uh uh what's that part of like your organization or um yeah?
30:15
SPEAKER_04: So it's the round table.
30:17
SPEAKER_04: So like it's the for the convention, every meeting, like we have a set, like like this last like yesterday's meeting, we had nine topics, and at the end of every topic, we have a round table.
30:28
SPEAKER_04: So it's just like a discussion before we move on to the next topic where we all like finalize, like, okay, we all agree, we all are on the same page, let's move on.
30:37
SPEAKER_04: And so we that's the time for everyone to kind of voice their opinion because I'll go through the agenda and I'll say, like, hey, this is what's going on, this, this, this, and then we'll get to the round table part of that section.
30:48
SPEAKER_04: Everyone just tells me, like, well, what if we did this, able or able try this, or reach out to this person, or and then we all agree and we move on to the next topic.
30:57
SPEAKER_04: And so just that's the kind of round table discussion.
31:00
SPEAKER_04: I get everyone's input.
31:01
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's awesome.
31:03
SPEAKER_01: That's that's pretty cool.
31:04
SPEAKER_01: And that's for I keep forgetting the name.
31:06
SPEAKER_04: Uh uh Coastal Band Creator Con.
31:08
SPEAKER_04: That's cool.
31:09
SPEAKER_04: We just announced today.
31:11
SPEAKER_01: So awesome, man.
31:12
SPEAKER_01: I can't wait to see how it comes out.
31:13
SPEAKER_01: So, do you have a place in mind where y'all gonna have it?
31:16
SPEAKER_01: Or yeah, all right, awesome, cool.
31:19
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, we awesome.
31:21
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, man, that's gonna be uh it's gonna be big.
31:25
SPEAKER_01: All right, man.
31:26
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
31:27
SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
31:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I was listening.
31:28
SPEAKER_01: Another thing, I don't know, I'm gonna change gears, I guess, here.
31:31
SPEAKER_01: Uh you were talking about pricing your books or pricing a press pricing something, right?
31:38
SPEAKER_01: Um so a lot of times people don't understand how because I I have I sell stuff, right?
31:46
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes it's like people want it to be a certain price, but when uh when you create it and you make it, you feel like it's a certain price.
31:56
SPEAKER_01: So it's like, how do you know what a fair price is?
32:00
SPEAKER_01: Like, say you're selling your books or something like that.
32:04
SPEAKER_01: Uh, how do you how do you think about that?
32:08
SPEAKER_04: Um I think I've always said like my friends and family, they're the ones that are gonna pay the full price, like because they should be your biggest supporter.
32:16
SPEAKER_04: So friends and family shouldn't be hitting you up with that friends and family discount because they should be your big support, biggest supporters.
32:22
SPEAKER_04: And if they're asking for a discount, you should probably look at them twice.
32:26
SPEAKER_04: Um and then um I also feel that as a creator of of content in general, um no one knows uh how much work goes on behind the scenes.
32:41
SPEAKER_04: Uh, you know, no one knows that I'm like I said, I'm in bed until 1 a.m.
32:46
SPEAKER_04: editing a photo because I have to create content for my social media pages.
32:50
SPEAKER_04: And um, that's what I signed up for, right?
32:52
SPEAKER_04: So that's what I do.
32:53
SPEAKER_04: I don't complain about it.
32:54
SPEAKER_04: But um I, you know, if I put a price out there and they don't like it, well, it's not meant to be for them.
33:00
SPEAKER_03: Right.
33:01
SPEAKER_04: And for the people that it is meant to be for, it's gonna find them and they're gonna pay it because they know my value.
33:07
SPEAKER_04: And if they don't value me, well then maybe at this time it's just not for you.
33:11
SPEAKER_01: Right.
33:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's good.
33:12
SPEAKER_01: I like that.
33:13
SPEAKER_01: I really like that.
33:14
SPEAKER_01: If it's not for them, it's not for them.
33:16
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, you know, it's not for them at this time, maybe later it'll be for them, but at this time, this is what I this is what I think I'm worth, and this is my work is worth.
33:25
SPEAKER_04: And if you don't see that, well then, you know, you can go and I don't know, do something else with your time.
33:32
SPEAKER_01: Do something else, yeah.
33:34
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's awesome.
33:35
SPEAKER_01: Ah man, I had something else in mind.
33:37
SPEAKER_01: I forgot what I was gonna ask you.
33:38
SPEAKER_01: Um, do you I forgot.
33:42
SPEAKER_01: Do you have anything you want to share?
33:45
SPEAKER_04: Uh no, just uh I do have a lot going on.
33:48
SPEAKER_04: We have the Coastal Band Creator Con.
33:50
SPEAKER_04: So it's uh it's gonna be a convention.
33:52
SPEAKER_04: It's not gonna be just for creators, um, it's gonna be for all types of like families, and uh, we're gonna have just we have this, it's gonna be panels of people.
34:02
SPEAKER_04: We're gonna have vendors, people to shop.
34:05
SPEAKER_04: Um, in the evening, we're gonna have a block party outside of the location.
34:08
SPEAKER_04: I can't say where yet.
34:10
SPEAKER_04: Um, but we'll have like a little block party with some food trucks and a DJ.
34:14
SPEAKER_04: Um, and so we're gonna have vendors and stuff for people to shop and just have a good time.
34:18
SPEAKER_04: And then, like I said, we'll have those panels um for people to learn how to do like TikTok and how to do you start YouTube, how to start your influence.
34:27
SPEAKER_04: And um yeah, it's just uh that's my biggest thing right now that I'm focused on, other than my podcast.
34:34
SPEAKER_04: Like I I do have quite a few of them.
34:37
SPEAKER_04: I've shelved a couple of them, not permanently, but for now because of time constraints, you know, I've kind of prioritized my time and other things, and so um, but yeah, that's kind of it.
34:48
SPEAKER_04: Like I said, Coastal Van CreatorCon is happening in 2023.
34:52
SPEAKER_04: So summer of 2023, it is happening.
34:55
SPEAKER_04: The next few weeks we'll have a date, um, a date, and we'll be able to announce the location once the I sign the ballot line.
35:03
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, right now it's pending.
35:05
SPEAKER_04: So um it's gonna be a lot of fun.
35:08
SPEAKER_04: But I just I I appreciate you having me on, and I whenever I saw you reach out to me and like the podcast.
35:15
SPEAKER_04: I I love love when other people are like locally doing their own thing and like trying to just better our city with their own creativity.
35:27
SPEAKER_01: So awesome, you're welcome.
35:29
SPEAKER_01: Thanks for coming on.
35:30
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, thanks.
35:32
SPEAKER_01: All right, y'all.
35:32
SPEAKER_01: Well, it's a good, I guess we'll wrap it up here.
35:34
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for coming on.
35:35
SPEAKER_01: I really appreciate you sharing with us.
35:37
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, sure.
35:38
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
35:39
SPEAKER_01: Okay, we'll see you soon.
35:40
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
35:41
SPEAKER_01: All right, you guys.
35:41
SPEAKER_01: That was Abel Ozuna with the Local Influencers Podcast and Coastal Bend Creator Con.
35:48
SPEAKER_01: Uh, thanks for listening.
35:50
SPEAKER_01: Check out the merch store, Corpus Christi Originals.com.
35:54
SPEAKER_01: I'll leave the link to Abel and his uh his event that's gonna be happening in the show notes.
35:59
SPEAKER_01: And thanks a lot for listening, you guys.
36:01
SPEAKER_01: Stay tuned for some more episodes.
36:02
SPEAKER_01: Bye.