success – My Life in Paragraphs

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.

My Book Club of One: Bird by Bird

I miss having a book club. Since moving to the valley, I’ve been a reading club of one.

I did try to get a book club going in the early days, but meetings were rescheduled or hijacked by too much wine and one by one everyone dropped out. It died after a very short run in which I think we might have read four books (none that I remember well except the one about Elon Musk which I had to read while holding my nose).

Stoic Philosophy and Writing

Not long ago I read The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday. The premise is based on stoic philosophy, and the author asserts that the obstacle in your way is the way.

I’ve found myself muttering this phrase while out hiking when I encounter a fallen tree on the trail or while driving when I come upon a tractor plugging up the center of the road.

Let’s Write Together

I’ve often said that as a writer, I wish I had a boss. Or maybe a coach. Someone to give me a little direction, listen to my dreams and guide me toward them, and offer accountability.

Because here’s the thing—accountability is an energy source. It can be the motivation you need to follow through on that big idea and move forward with your dreams. It’s pretty easy to let your goals languish if you’re the only person paying attention to those goals.

One of my superpowers is encouraging others. I thrive on the opportunity to teach, inspire, and help other writers. Between the pandemic and our move to a new state, I haven’t had many opportunities to work with others and I miss it.

My new program is called Write Together, and my goal is to help you move toward your goals with practical ideas and tools you can put into action, helpful (compassionate) critique, and the encouragement you need to believe in your writing and send it out into the world. I’ll offer practical, personalized advice and resources from my two decades of publishing experience in multiple formats.

So whether you’re working on a book, a blog, an essay, an article, or your own journal, I want to help. If you’re still sorting out what kind of writer you want to be when you grow up (no matter your age), you want to start a blog or a freelancing career or find a home for your essay, or you just need a fresh pair of eyes on something you’ve been working on for years, consider joining me for this inaugural Write Together session.

Write Together (beta) is a flexible 4-week coaching program that begins with an initial call to talk about what you want to accomplish over your four weeks. After that, for four (flexible) weeks, you’ll get:

Critique/feedback on 5 pages of your writing (could be pages of a work-in-progress, an essay, a synopsis, query letter, fiction, nonfiction, memoir, pretty much anything except poetry and children’s books of which I have no experience)
A 30-minute call in to talk about your week’s writing, your progress toward your goals, questions you have about any aspect of writing (craft, publishing, etc.), plus the piece of writing I critiqued, and then we assign the work you’ll do before our next call.
Access to a private Facebook group with other people also in my Write Together coaching group where you can share your questions, fears, and ideas, and encourage each other. I’ll pop in occasionally with my two cents, plus share links to resources you can use to improve your craft or discover places to submit your work.

You can choose any four weeks between 10/29 and 12/22, and they don’t have to be consecutive. If you’ve got a conflict, we can work around it. I’m all about flexibility.

Cost is just $100 for the entire program.

If you need a jump start, I’d love to be that for you. If you need help clarifying goals, finding a market for your writing, fine-tuning, or even ugly editing, I’m your girl. And if what you really need is some encouragement and inspiration, I’m all in – that’s my brand and I’m excited to apply it one-on-one.

If you have questions about any of this, please fire away in the comments. If you’re asking, so are others. You can also email me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com or message me on Facebook (@CaraSueAchterberg).

But please don’t wait. I’m only offering Write Together at this price for my beta launch. In 2024, I hope to expand on this and be able to help more people reach their writing goals.

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

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

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 occasional e-newsletter, click here.

And 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.

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

My book, 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.

Impact Hour

I listen to podcasts or audiobooks pretty much every day – while walking, doing puzzles, or driving (three activities I seem to spend a lot of time doing).

I’ve gotten addicted to a podcast called Primal Potential. I found it because I was trying to figure out how to lose the menopause/COVID/drinking-too-much-wine-weight that is not going away even though two out of those three causes have.

I’m Enough

I’m jumping off this crazy merry-go-round of publishing and promoting. Enough is never enough, but, you know, I am enough. #amwriting but #amdonepromoting

I’m losing my gumption for writing.

Or at least for publishing.

I can’t imagine myself ever not writing. The publishing part, though, it drains my soul.

As much as I want my stories to land on the hearts that need them, I am tired of how ‘less than’ publishing makes me feel.

It’s an incredibly competitive industry and one that is skewed towards the people who

So You Think YOU’RE Special?

[This week’s blog post, take two.]

My original post I spent the past forty minutes writing laid out all the ways the publishing world is lined up against me.

But then I simply got tired of my own drivel.

Enough whining, I told myself.

I knew the odds were steeply against me before I signed Blind Turn with an independent press.

Can You Handle the S#*t Sandwich?

And I’m off!

Where to, you ask?

Why, success and fame, of course.

(success and fame are relative terms.)

#Truth: The Publishing World is Rigged

Let’s be honest—the publishing world is rigged.

After twenty years wrestling with words, agents, editors, publishers, and social media, I’m not saying this in a bitter way. Just as a matter of fact.

SHOW YOUR WORK A Week Later

Okay, okay, so I kind of fell off the SHOW YOUR WORK daily bandwagon, but I have great excuses.

Excuse #1: I was getting tired of me, me, me.

When you have a new book coming out, you have to promote yourself. I always struggle with this, and that probably Continue reading “SHOW YOUR WORK A Week Later”