The Secret Library Podcast Caroline Donahue

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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


Get full access to Book Alchemy at www.book-alchemy.com/subscribe

*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


Get full access to Book Alchemy at www.book-alchemy.com/subscribe

*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


Get full access to Book Alchemy at www.book-alchemy.com/subscribe

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


Get full access to Book Alchemy at www.book-alchemy.com/subscribe

*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


Get full access to Book Alchemy at www.book-alchemy.com/subscribe

*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


Get full access to Book Alchemy at www.book-alchemy.com/subscribe