It’s almost my favorite time of year: Novel Possible time!

For the past two years, I’ve run a challenge every November with a few simple guidelines:

* Mission Prompts arrive every day

* You can choose to accept the mission and write it, or not

* The Mission Prompt self-destructs after we reach midnight around the world

* Write as many days as you like

* No falling behind and no guilt

Writing can be fun!

If you’d like to play around with me this November, join us for Novel Possible.

You can play the daily mission prompts in our substack community, or receive them in a podcast app.

This challenge is available to all paid members of Book Alchemy.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to join us for the third year of Novel possible here:

*To support the show, please visit membership.secretlibrarypodcast.com.

So many of us take soul-sucking jobs for a living, while we promise ourselves that we’ll write at night or on the weekends… but years go by and we haven’t made progress, and instead feel defeated and depressed. If you’re in this camp, know that you’re not alone. Sonal Champsee is back on the Secret Library podcast to share her day job tales from software engineering, freelance writing, and real estate before focusing entirely on her own writing career. But more writing time doesn’t necessarily lead to ease and flow. Tune into the full episode to learn how she’s moved through the obstacles in her writing life.

Topics:

* Sonal’s history with engineering, freelance copywriting, and real estate on the search for financial freedom to focus on writing

* The small writing steps that Sonal took to sustain herself while working in jobs she hated

* Struggling with consistency and deadlines as an author when only accountable to yourself

* Handling rejection and finding an editor who really cares and keeps you motivated

* Remembering that uncertainty as a new (and veteran) writer is normal as you cultivate trust and confidence

* What Sonal would tell her younger writing self and the habit she wished she had developed sooner

Resources:

* Sonal’s past ep: Stone Soup: Murky Middle Advice | Sonal Champsee

About Sonal:

Sonal Champsee’s short fiction and essays have been published by magazines such as The New Quarterly, Ricepaper, and Today’s Parent. Her novel-in-progress, Everyone Can’t Be Wrong, was shortlisted for the 2022 UBC/HarperCollins Canada Best New Fiction prize. She was a finalist for the Writer’s Union of Canada’s 2017 Emerging Writers Short Prose contest, and has had a play produced by Prathidhwani Drama Wing in Seattle. Sonal holds an MFA in Creative Writing from UBC, and has studied writers such as with Gail Anderson-Dargatz, Sarah Selecky, Zsuzsi Gartner and Jessica Westhead. She served on the prose editorial board for PRISM International for five years, and is a creative writing instructor for Sarah Selecky’s Writing School. Sonal lives in Toronto.

Connect with Sonal:

* Website

* Instagram: @sonalchampsee

* Subscriber to Sonal's Newsletter

Work with Caroline:

* Work with Caroline 1:1

* Join the waitlist for the Manageable Yet Meaningful Writing Lab

* Learn more about individual course options

*To support the show, please visit membership.secretlibrarypodcast.com.

I can’t think of anyone more fitting for our penultimate episode of the season than Jacqueline Winspear, a Secret Library veteran and author of 20+ books. Her series, Maisie Dobbs, ends this spring after two decades with the release of The Comfort of Ghosts this spring*.* Throughout our conversation, Jacqueline shares how she knew the series was ready to wrap and what to include in the last book. We discuss what’s next for Jacqueline, and the need to give yourself permission to write the story that keeps calling you. I’m so honored to have Jacqueline on during this special season of her career, and know you’ll find tons of gems in this episode.

Topics:

* How Jacqueline knew her upcoming novel would be the final (and 18th) book in her Maisie Dobbs series

* How to stop plot from overtaking character development, especially through a series

* How to wrap up the last book if you have a big cast

* The different ways Jacqueline explores the impact of war in Maisie Dobbs

* Next books Jacqueline is considering working on.

* The growth that writing memoirs brings and how it can inform fiction writing

* Overcoming being “typecast” as an author to resist being stuck in one lane

Episode Resources:

* Upcoming Maisie Dobbs: The Comfort of Ghosts

* Listen: Jacqueline Winspear | Publishing a Series

* Listen: #144 : Staying Motivated through Dark Places | Jacqueline Winspear

About Jacqueline:

Jacqueline Winspear is the author of eighteen novels in the award-winning, New York Times, National and International bestselling series featuring psychologist-investigator Maisie Dobbs. In addition, Jacqueline’s 2023 non-series novel, The White Lady, was a New York Times and National bestseller, and her 2014 WW1 novel, The Care and Management of Lies, was again a New York Times and National bestseller, as well as a Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalist. Jacqueline has also published two non-fiction books, What Would Maisie Do? and an Edgar-nominated memoir, This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing. Jacqueline’s work encompasses essays and journalism covering a wide range of subjects, from women working in wildfire management to articles on international education and social history.

Connect with Jacqueline:

* Website

* Facebook

Work with Caroline:

* Work with Caroline 1:1

* Join the waitlist for the Manageable Yet Meaningful Writing Lab

* Learn more about individual course options

*To support the show, please visit membership.secretlibrarypodcast.com.

Approaching the topic of money can be hard because it not only brings up feelings of stress, overwhelm, scarcity, and more — but it also can have a massive effect on our nervous system. The good news, though? We can use different techniques to heal and train our nervous system and how we respond to stressful situations. Sonya Brewer, psychotherapist, trauma specialist and relationship expert, joins me today on the Secret Library Podcast. We discuss how she helps people safely engage with money topics so it feels helpful rather than creating more fear and difficulty. This conversation gave me so much relief (and honestly, a bit of excitement) for not only how I face my finances, but how I can actively consider feelings about worth, my work, and my money mindset. If you’re someone who is typically avoidant of all things money, this one is for you.

Topics:

* How Sonya helps people safely engage with money topics without creating more fear and difficulty

* Normalizing the feelings that come up about money and the automatic flight, fight or freeze mode our nervous system can respond with

* Putting your creativity and financial awareness together (by actually creating space) to protect your mental health and your finances

* The Internal Family Systems therapy model and how it can impact how you engage with @ money

* How to productively communicate with your inner critic

* Balancing protecting your dreams with connecting with people who support your dreaming

* Reframing your relationship with fear and knowing that it’s just the price of admission

Episode Resources

* Internal Family Systems by Richard C. Schwartz

About Sonya

Sonya Brewer is a trauma specialist and relationship expert who specializes in creative life and relationship design for overachieving trauma survivors and their partners. She loves helping trauma survivors feel more alive, connected and authentic so they can create the lives and relationships they truly want.

Connect with Sonya

* Badass Boundaries

* Instagram: @sonyabrewersomatics

* Facebook

Work with Caroline:

* Work with Caroline 1:1

* Join the waitlist for the Manageable Yet Meaningful Writing Lab

* Learn more about individual course options

*To support the show, please visit membership.secretlibrarypodcast.com.

There’s historical fiction, then there’s pre-historical fiction. Judith Lindbergh’s newest book is based in the 5th century BC and she’s masterful at not only researching but connecting the past to her readers today. I’m thrilled to have her on this episode of the Secret Library as she shares her experiences of working with a large traditional publisher, then transferring to a smaller press. Judith is also no stranger to rejection, and she shares how the power of community is the core thing that encouraged her to keep going. Whether you’re wanting to write something that goes against the grain of contemporary fiction, or you are having trouble finding motivation after rejection, there’s so much to learn from this episode. Enjoy!

Topics:

* Judith’s story of getting dropped after a really successful first (published) book and how she overcame this

* Creative ideas for using your advance that isn’t soul sucking and how this has sustained Judith for 15 years

* The value of community as a writer, especially through the lulls and rejections when you want to quit writing

* Judith’s current experience with a smaller press after her first publication with Viking

* How Judith has researched, created, and has begun executing her own book marketing/tour

* Judith’s inspiration for writing about women warriors and a matriarchal culture and how she uses this to drive engagement to her book

* Recognizing the different ways we evolve through our writing and how it impacts the stories we tell

Resources:

* About Akmaral

* Madeline Miller

* Sue Mon Kidd

* The Siberian Ice Maiden

About Judith:

Judith Lindbergh’s new novel, Akmaral, about a nomad woman warrior on the ancient Central Asian steppes, is forthcoming from Regal House Publishing on May 7, 2024. Her debut novel, The Thrall’s Tale, about three women in the first Viking Age settlement in Greenland, was an IndieBound Pick, a Borders Original Voices Selection, and praised by Pulitzer Prize winners Geraldine Brooks and Robert Olen Butler. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including in Newsweek, Zibby Magazine, Next Avenue, Writer’s Digest, Edible Jersey, Literary Mama, Archaeology Magazine, Other Voices, and UP HERE: The North at the Center of the World published by University of Washington Press. She also contributed to the Smithsonian Institution’s exhibition Vikings: The Norse Atlantic Saga and provided expert commentary on two documentary series for The History Channel. Judith received a 2024 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. She is the Founder/Director of The Writers Circle, a New Jersey-based creative writing center where she teaches aspiring and accomplished writers from ages 8-80.

Connect with Judith:

* Website

* Instagram: @judithlindbergh

* Facebook

Work with Caroline:

* Work with Caroline 1:1

* Join the waitlist for the Manageable Yet Meaningful Writing Lab

* Learn more about individual course options

*To support the show, please visit membership.secretlibrarypodcast.com.

My guest this week is Carl Richards, who is the author of the One Page Financial Plan: A simple way to be smart about your money, and the Behavior Gap: Simple ways to stop doing dumb things with money. He was also the creator of the Sketch Guy Column, which appeared weekly for a decade in the New York Times. Carl has many other qualifications, but I wanted to include him in this season of the SLP because of his incredible ability to distill concepts down about money, meaning, the ways we interact with money, the ways we support and nurture our creativity by viewing money as another resource, along with our time our effort, our energy — our life force, This conversation had many brain exploding, exciting moments. It was such a joy to speak with Carl, and I'm delighted to share this conversation with you. I think it will surprise you and I can't wait to hear what you think.

Topics:

* Carl’s philosophy when thinking about money and the rift that is currently causing so many problems

* How profit equals permission and allows us to access the things we really care about

* Time, money, energy and attention as the four uses of capital and how to employ them

* Managing the tension of wanting to do something new but feeling too scared

* Learning to be okay with failure and letting it teach you something

* Being intentional with what you want your pinnacle of success or happiness to look like

* Focusing on the pursuit of craft to find enduring happiness

Episode Resources:

* Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin

* When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron

* 50 Fires Podcast

* So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport

About Carl:

Carl Richards is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and the director of investor education for the BAM ALLIANCE, a community of over 130 independent wealth management firms throughout the United States. He is the creator of the weekly Sketch Guy column in the The New York Times, and is a columnist for Morningstar Advisor. Carl has also been featured on Marketplace Money, The Leonard Lopate Show, Oprah.com and Forbes.com. In addition, Carl has become a frequent keynote speaker at financial planning conferences and visual learning events around the world.

Through his simple sketches, Carl makes complex financial concepts easy to understand. His sketches also serve as the foundation for his first book, The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money (Portfolio/Penguin). Carl’s art appeared in a solo show at the Kimball Art Center, in Park City, Utah. Other showings include The Parson’s Gallery in New York, The Shultz Museum, and an exhibit at the Mansion House in London. His commissioned work is on display in businesses and educational institutions across the country. He lives with his family in Park City, Utah.

Connect with Carl:

* Website

* Behavior Gap Radio

* Instagram: @behaviorgap

Work with Caroline:

* Work with Caroline 1:1

* Join the waitlist for the Manageable Yet Meaningful Writing Lab

* Learn more about individual course options

My guest this week is Billy Broas. He is the author, along with Tiago Forte, of the forthcoming Simple Marketing for Smart People. Before you panicabout the word marketing, hear me out. Billy's created systems to help creative and nerdy people understand marketing, like those of us who write and love books. I’ve studied with Billy to help me get the word out about courses and books at Book Alchemy and the Secret Library. I wanted to share Billy's expertise with you for us to help get your wonderful books in the hands of readers who will enjoy and benefit from them. The first step: they need to know yours books exist. Let’s get started with Billy Broas!

Topics:

* How Billy transitioned from brewmaster to marketing consultant and why he chose to write this book

* How today’s approach to email and social media have watered down writing and marketing; learning from old school methods of good storytelling

* How to reach readers without giving up your identity

* The five guiding principles of Billy’s messaging framework

* How being yourself unreservedly helps you find the best readers for your work

* Knowing you aren’t writing your book for to be even clearer in who you want to reach

Episode Resources:

* Building a Second Brain

* The Five Light Bulbs

Connect with Billy:

* Website

* Instagram: @fivelightbulbs

* Facebook

* LinkedIn

*To support the show, please visit membership.secretlibrarypodcast.com.

Summary:

Today’s episode of the Secret Library is such a treat – we are joined by Erika Rasure, an internationally recognized leader, educator, and researcher in holistic financial wellness. Throughout the episode, we chat about our respective experiences as writers who are also Enneagram 4s and how Erika uses the Enneagram in her work. We also spend a lot of time talking about how creatives often wait for the “perfect conditions” before starting their work, but in reality, these circumstances don’t actually exist and we have to be willing to change our conditions and take the next step forward. Erika shares why this barrier alone was almost the reason she didn’t write her upcoming book that she is now co-authoring with Bari Tessler. I feel honored to witness such vulnerability from Erika because this transparency is something that the creative space so dearly needs. Enjoy!

Topics:

* How Erika found herself in the financial therapy and transformational coaching space and when she got the idea to write her book

* Why Erika loves the Enneagram and how she leans on this in her work with her clients

* The shame, vulnerability, and innermost thoughts that many authors face when writing their books (and wanting to make money from it)

* How Erika experienced the loss of motivation when it came to her writing and entrepreneurship and becoming comfortable with asking for support

* Finding a path forward even if the conditions you find yourself in aren’t the most favorable and how Erika came across the opportunity to co-author with Bari Tessler

* The importance of internal work to help make things happen for you on the outside

Episode Resources:

* The Art of Money Mentorship Program

* Find your Enneagram

Connect with Erika:

* LinkedIn

*To support the show, please visit membership.secretlibrarypodcast.com.

Summary:

What if book franchises were as extensive as movie franchises? Would you buy a perfume or a sweater that was curated specifically for your favorite book? Finding new ways to make money as a writer is a theme throughout season 10 and I’m excited to dig deeper with Heidi Fiedler in today’s episode of the Secret Library. Heidi is a writer and editor who has worked on hundreds of children’s books, giving her tons of experience in the publishing world — traditional and indie. We share our hopes for a future where the burden of success is taken off the writer’s back, where the publishing industry is more collaborative and creative. If you’re dreaming about possibilities for the future of publishing, this episode is for you.

Topics:

* What Heidi is currently asking herself about money and writing

* Recent changes that Heidi has noticed with veteran writers asking, “How do I make this work?”

* The disconnect between how many books are being sold and writer income

* Why the idea of “smaller press, smaller money” isn’t necessarily true, plus the pros and cons of smaller advances

* Getting creative with ways writers make money to create an all-encompassing experience

* Patterns Heidi has seen with income for children’s books authors

* Brighter spots of hope for writers to earn more in this day and age

* Why Caroline and Heidi want you to pursue your “what if” idea of a book

Episode Resources:

* Le Labo Fragrances

* Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction by Patricia Highsmith

* The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

About Heidi:

Writer and editor Heidi Fiedler has worked on hundreds of children’s books for clients ranging from Chronicle to Bravery Magazine. She teaches masterclasses and coaches writers, so they can move forward with confidence and ease. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, mother, and son.

Connect with Heidi:

* Website

* Instagram: @heidifiedler

Work with Caroline:

* Work with Caroline 1:1

* Join the waitlist for the Manageable Yet Meaningful Writing Lab

* Learn more about individual course options

Summary

This week on the Secret Library podcast, my guest is Kern Carter. Kern Carter, based in Toronto, Canada, is an author, educator, and mentor celebrated for his captivating storytelling. With three books published and two more on the horizon for 2024, Kern has garnered critical acclaim and a devoted following. Through partnerships with various organizations, he amplifies the voices of countless writers who may not have had the opportunity otherwise. Kern's dedication extends to teaching part-time at a local college and conducting workshops on writing craft and the business of being an author. This conversation made me feel like a human bottle of champagne, and I cannot think of a better episode to share for Leap Day. We chat about diversifying your income as an author, self-publishing vs. traditional publishing, and how to thrive as an artist. So let's leap ahead with Kern Carter.

Topics

* What made Kern create Writers Are Superstars and the foundation it was built on

* Why making money as a writer needs to be centered but why so often we put it to the background

* Breaking up with the belief that writers need to be tortured and The Real Writer mentality

* The dichotomy of being considered a real writer only if you’re traditionally published rather than self-published

* Multiple forms of income as the writer’s solution to thriving

* Some of the creative projects that Kern has/is currently worked on to bring in more income

* Highlighting the value add of writers and why it’s time to start showcasing this

* Exploring technology to find ways that artists can be compensated every time their work is engaged with

* Discussing if there’s a public benefit to an author being signed to a publisher

Episode Resources

* Writers Are Superstars

* Trapital Podcast

* Poor Things (movie)

Connect with Kern

* Website

* Instagram: @kerncarter

About Kern

“Writing made me brave. The words that fear prevented me from saying verbally effortlessly poured onto pages. When my first, independent book came out in 2014, and readers I didn’t know sent me messages about what it meant to them—what my words meant to their lives—it changed me. It gave me the confidence to start speaking out loud the words that were in my head but paralyzed by anxiety. And when thousands of copies were sold, when high schools incorporated my story into their classroom and local bookstores carried and sold copies, I felt unleashed.

When I signed my first publishing deal in 2021, it felt fateful that it was a story about young boys and girls. Those years of uncertainty and insecurity are still clear in my mind, further exaggerated when I became a parent at 18. So when I write these stories, I invent the characters and situations, but all of the emotions I infuse into these characters are based on genuine emotions I’ve experienced.”

Work with Caroline:

* Work with Caroline 1:1

* Join the waitlist for the Manageable Yet Meaningful Writing Lab

* Learn more about individual course options