The Secret Library Podcast Caroline Donahue

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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


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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 that we interact with money, the ways that 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 sort of 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


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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


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*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


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*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 starting to ask, “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


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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 start writing Writers Are Superstars and what was the start of his foundational question
* 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 may be inventing the characters and situations, but all of the emotions I infuse into these characters are based on genuine emotions I’ve experienced.


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