Buy Me a Cup of Coffee

I only made it halfway through my Bird by Bird book club. The book sits on my desk now, taunting me. You didn’t finish, you didn’t finish, what a loser, once again, you didn’t finish. Not that, for one moment, I can imagine Anne Lamott would say that to me.

In fact, she mentions several times in the book that perfection is the oppressor. Not that only making it halfway is even remotely in the same country as perfection. Still.

And, you know what, I’m okay with not finishing. I am my own minder, and I don’t mind not finishing. Not when I’m the only one I’ll disappoint if I don’t finish. (I haven’t been getting dozens of emails from irate blog readers about the fact that I haven’t done another book club post in at least a month, so I’ll take that to mean no one else is disappointed, either.)

I’ve decided to take my own prescription. I tell writers all the time to write from their hearts. Write what they need to write, what pours forth from their being. And lately, what’s pouring forth from me is my wrestling match with writing as my job and writing as my hobby.

There was a time when I made a few bucks from selling articles, even books, but these days, I basically write for free. Granted, most of my writing has been in the service of saving dogs. And for me, that’s payment enough.

But the hard, mean green kernel of jealousy still sits in the pit of my stomach as I watch ‘successful’ writers take advantage of technology and social media and algorithms and mysterious marketing ploys that make no sense but apparently make lots of money.

I don’t want to play that game, but I also don’t want to take my ball and go home. Not yet, anyway.

So, I’m going to keep writing. And I’m not going to require people to pay to subscribe or put half of each post behind a paywall or court advertisers or pay influencers or any of the other (well-intentioned) suggestions I received on monetizing my blogs.

Instead, I’m adding the option of ‘buy me a coffee’ at the end of my posts. If you like what you read and want to support my personal free press, you can click on the link and choose to donate $5 bucks (or more!) at any time.

Meanwhile, I will blog on, for now, regardless of whether you choose to toss me a fiver on occasion. And maybe I’ll throw in another Bird by Bird book club post and see how much coffee it gets me.

Hey, thanks for reading. I know you’ve got lots of options, so thanks for sharing a few of your minutes with me.

Honored,

Cara

If you like what you read and want to support my writing, consider buying me a cup of coffee.

If you’re curious about what else I’m up to, check out my website, CaraWrites.com.

If you’d like to subscribe to my twice-monthly newsletters filled with book recommendations, more stories, one truly fabulous recipe, and positive thoughts, click here.

If you’re a dog lover, check out my other blog, Another Good Dog. And if you want to know what is really happening in the animal shelters in this country, visit, Who Will Let the Dogs Out, and subscribe to the blog I write there.

I’d love to connect with you on Facebook or Instagram, and I’m thrilled to get email from readers (and writers), you can reach me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com.

My latest novel, Blind Turn is a mother-daughter story of forgiveness in the aftermath of a fatal texting and driving accident. It won the Womens Fiction category of the American Writing Awards. Learn more about it and find out how to get your copy here.

My most recent memoir, 100 Dogs & Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey Into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues is available anywhere books are sold, but if you’d like some help finding it (or want to read some lovely reviews), click here.