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