*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...

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...

*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...

*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...

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...

Summary My first guest this season is Bari Tessler, author of The Art of Money, The Art of Money Workbook, and the creator of the year long Art of Money School. She has been my money mentor since I met her over 20 years ago. I knew she had to be our first guest for this season because she was the first guest ever on this show, and has generously brought the art of money into all of our conversations. In this episode, we look at money beliefs creatives hold about themselves and how we can...

Welcome back to the Secret Library podcast! In season 10, we are switching up the show in more ways than one, the first of which is starting with a solo episode. This time around, we are looking at money. The world has been shaky for the past several years and I find that economic shifts really hurt those on the fringes first while the upturns tend to benefit us last. Let’s get ahead of this conversation, moving toward prevention and flexibility. I have found that making a plan and engaging...

This is the final episode of season ninth season of the Secret Library. In this episode, there's no guest, it's just you and me to take a final look at this very important topic, which is publishing now, which is constantly changing. Over the past eight years of hosting the show, it's always been my goal to address each topic in such a way that it will be valid for a long time, I wanted to create a library of interviews and conversations that would be supportive to a writer discovering the...

We’ve got a repeat guest this week on the podcast to give us such a fun update! AL Berggren was on the show in season six to share about her self-publishing journey, and this week she’s back to let us know where her book, Secret Crying Minds, stands! She’s been working with BooksOffice to get her novel adapted to film, one of her lifelong dreams and the motivation behind all of her writing. Along with that, we also talk about getting focused to endure day-long writing sessions to prioritize...

We’ve had a lot of amazing authors on the show to date, but something we haven’t highlighted as much are the authors of children’s books. So with that, I’m so excited to have Jo Loring-Fisher on the show today to give us a bit of insight on the publishing process of a children’s book and how it differs from other genres. Jo has so much to share about her journey a writer, what she wishes she would have known, and the state of creative arts today. I learned a bit and I think you will,...

It’s always such a treat to read a novel that has a main character who is a writer, but writing a main character who is a writer is a whole different thing. Huma Qureshi, author of Playing Games, is on the Secret Library today and she’s sharing her journey of finally writing the book that she knew she was always meant to write — even in her 40s. Huma talks through the magic of flow, humanizing your characters, and working through every motion of the writing process. This episode is such a...

I’m delighted to have Craig Mod, book producer and author, on the show today. In our conversation, he shares how he created his own press after receiving rejection after rejection. We also get to hear about his creative process which is a real treat because Craig’s books are really like no other, they are a work of art alongside amazing writing. Craig shows us how you can do publishing your own way, there’s so much to takeaway from this episode. It’s my hope you’ll leave feeling a little bit...

What a rare moment to have the perspective of literary agent and author on the podcast. Jennifer Herrera is on the Secret Library today and she’s sharing the current state of the publishing industry — most notably, how you can write to make sure you’re a sure thing in this risk-adverse environment. So much to learn from this episode!  Visit this episode's show notes page here. Connect with Caroline on Instagram: @carodonahue Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This might be one of the most vulnerable episodes of the Secret Library I’ve shared so far. Joanna Penn joins and shares why she’s chosen to publish on Kickstarter rather than going the traditional route. We also do a bit of a live coaching session as we talk through the shadow over all, but also my shadow about publishing. Learn how to embrace it, and get the courage to put your work out there (all of it!). This episode is full of gems, enjoy! Visit this episode's show notes page...

Sometimes it feels like authors are psychic, right? The books they write are published in the exactly right historical moment which makes their work immediately timeless. This is certainly the case for Kerri Maher and her most recent book, All You Have to Do Is Call, which focuses on the true story of Chicago’s Jane Collective and the brave women who fought for reproductive rights. In our conversation today Kerri and I unpack the timing phenomenon, how she balances the POV and arcs of all of...

Halloween will be here before we know it, and to get into the spirit I’m excited to share this episode with Laura Sims, author of Looker and her newest book, How Can I Help You, which explores the darker side of humanity — all happening within a library which is a delight. Laura masters the art of rotating POV and dialogue in her newest work, so we dive into that and much more throughout this ep. Enjoy!  Visit this episode's show notes page here. Connect with Caroline on Instagram:...

Welcome to the newest season of The Secret Library! We have an amazing line up in store for you these next few weeks that I can’t wait for you to hear. To start us off, Steven Rowley joins us to talk about his experience writing his latest book, The Celebrants. The biggest theme we touch upon is the bittersweet feeling that aging brings to our worldview (and the books we write and read). Steven has wonderful insights on so many topics, from dialogue to writing once you’ve sold a successful...

And here we are — the final episode of season eight. I'm surprised that we're here already. We've had so many exciting conversations during the season, and here we are with my final episode, where it's just me and you talking about the gifts of writing and how they've played out. For me. I was thinking about enchantment, and wonder, and the shifts of mentality that writing has created and it was a total coincidence that Katherine Mays book came out and the opportunity to speak with her...

Continuing the conversation about wonder, we‘re dipping back into the SLP archives for a couple of favorite episodes you might have missed, or that deserve a relisten with wonder in mind. Enjoy -- At about 40, there is a new level of clarity about the urgency of being creative. I was delighted to speak with Kusi Okamura, Editor of The Wild Word magazine and the publisher of Mike Hembury's novel New Clone City, which we discussed a few episodes back. We get into detail about how Kusi created...

Continuing the conversation about wonder, we‘re dipping back into the SLP archives for a couple of favorite episodes you might have missed, or that deserve a relisten with wonder in mind. Enjoy -- I'm so grateful to welcome Greta Solomon back to the show. With her bright approach to life and incredible insight into the writing process, I always love to have writers who also teach and coach on the show.Greta and I had such an exciting conversation about taking good care of ourselves and how to...

My guest today is Tamsin Woodward who discovered the Secret Library podcast during lockdown in 2020 and has loved it ever since. Along with the podcast, Tamsin is also an alumna of Dream to Draft. This is such a fun conversation, that as is true with every episode, I am excited to share with you. We get into the wonder and joy that can come from writing fiction, but also the opportunities that we have to discover challenges and pushback against conventions in the world that we disagree with....

My guest this week is Kali Patrick, a sleep and well being coach who wrote a #1 best-selling book as an independent publisher. I’m so excited to have Kali on because we haven’t yet explored the wonder and enchantment that can come from writing non-fiction and the experiences that are available to us when we share the knowledge and expertise from being a teacher or expert in a certain field. I think that many of us need Kali’s help because I’ve noticed a strong connection between writers and...

My guest this week is Tara Calihman, a comedian, screenwriter, producer, essayist, teacher and facilitator. In our episode, we chat about how writing has impacted us and opened new opportunities and inspiration. I’m always impressed by Tara’s endless exploration of new things, especially stand-up comedy. We look at the ways that not being so attached to the form our story takes can open us up to the wonder that it could become. Additionally, Tara prefers collaborating with others, something I...

My guest this week is Lena McCullough, whose passion for writing started in early childhood, but she didn’t allow herself the time to write until recently as her children have grown older. Lena is an alumna of the first cohort of Dream to Draft and her enthusiasm and passion for writing is contagious. I knew that there would be wonder in her writing experience and writing process. If you’re finding it hard to write, to embrace your desire to tell the story, this is the episode for you. Visit...