Hi Reader,

Hey, thank you so much to those who showed up for yesterday’s conversation. I left the session energized but by the thoughtfulness and honesty you brought into the room. You didn’t show up casually. You showed up engaged, curious, and already doing real work.

Whether you attended live or you're catching the replay, I want you to know this is a long email!

Please skim, pause where something resonates, and come back if you want. I wrote it this way on purpose.

But first, here are the links:

• ​View the slides​
• ​View the replay​
• ​Learn more and enroll in the program​

First, the thing I want to say plainly

One theme came up again and again in the session and in emails to me after the session yesterday — sometimes directly and sometimes underneath the questions:

Writing the manuscript, marketing, publishing, and promotion are not separate stages. They’re deeply connected.

When we tell ourselves, “I’ll deal with publishing later,” what usually happens isn’t clarity later — it’s exhaustion. I’ve watched this for years. People finish a draft, feel depleted, and then make rushed decisions. They hire the wrong help. They overspend on services they don’t need. Or they hand their book over to people who don’t actually have their best interests in mind.

Without real industry context, it’s very easy to fall for glossy promises, waste money, or get pulled into publishing scams.

This is why I teach publishing as something you understand while you’re writing — not after. It’s how you stay in control. It’s how you protect your work. And it’s how the whole process starts to feel better instead of heavier.

Something else I want to name (gently)

Most writers don’t delay because they’re lazy or unserious. They delay because publishing feels exposing.

Waiting feels safer than getting it wrong.

I see this all the time — especially with thoughtful, capable writers. You care about doing it well. You don’t want to embarrass yourself. You don’t want to make mistakes you can’t undo. So you wait. You research. You circle.

That’s human.

This is where I see my role — and our role as a group.

What this program actually is (and why it’s structured the way it is)

I think of this program as a first layer of professional support.

It’s the place where mistakes get caught early. Where decisions get slowed down just enough to be smart. Where your manuscript becomes solid and saleable instead of fragile or rushed — and where you don’t have to figure everything out alone.

The structure matters. I’ve organized the curriculum carefully so you always know where you are and what matters now. The discussion time is generous on purpose — because your real questions deserve real answers, not canned advice. And the community isn’t an add-on. It’s part of how people succeed here.

We learn faster, and with more confidence, when we’re not isolated.

Who we’re actually preparing you to show up for

As you shape your manuscript, we’re also thinking together about how you present yourself professionally — not in a performative way, but in a grounded, credible one.

Over time, your book may touch:

• Readers and early supporters
• Other authors and collaborators
• Editors and agents
• Influencers, reviewers, and journalists
• Event organizers, conference programmers, and retreat hosts
• Small presses and hybrid publishers
• Traditional publishing houses
• Audiobook producers
• Film and documentary creators

You don’t need all of this at once. You don’t need to pursue all of it. But you do deserve to understand the ecosystem you’re stepping into — so you’re not blindsided, upsold, or talked into paths that don’t serve your goals.

That understanding is protective. It’s empowering. And it builds confidence quietly, over time.

A quick word about cost — and why this is priced the way it is

I want to be transparent about cost.

The $597 cost of the program is intentionally affordable. At my private consulting rate, the time I put into this program alone would be well over $2,000 — and that’s before you factor in the time to create the course, time spent in the online community, and the year-long updates and access to materials.

More importantly, this program delivers far more than I could ever cover in just a few hours of one-on-one consulting. It gives you context, patterns, decision frameworks, and industry literacy — the kind that saves you months (or years) of dead ends, second-guessing, and expensive mistakes.

I’ve watched writers spend far more than this hiring the wrong people, following the wrong advice, or paying for services they didn’t actually need — often because they didn’t yet understand how the publishing ecosystem works.

This program exists to prevent that.

The outcomes I actually see when people work this way

When publishing is integrated into the writing process, something shifts.

Ideas come faster. Decisions feel clearer. People stop apologizing for their work. Confidence replaces that low-level dread. Instead of finishing a book and bracing yourself for a second exhausting climb, you build momentum and certainty as you go.

You can feel it:

• You see your manuscript taking shape instead of sitting in fragments
• You hear yourself talk about your book without hedging or shrinking
• You feel the weight of a coherent draft — solid, not tentative
• You close tabs, folders, and half-started documents because the path is clear

There’s pride in that. Relief. A sense of “I’m actually doing this.” Not someday — now.

Publishing stops feeling like a looming threat and starts feeling like part of the creative work itself.

If you’re on the fence

If you’re hesitating, that doesn’t mean you’re not ready. It usually means you care.

If you’re serious about finishing your book and giving it a real future with readers, I’d love to support you through this next stage. We do this together.

Warmly,
Carla

P.S. You can directly enroll here. If you have questions — about the program, your project, or publishing in general — just hit reply. I’m always happy to talk it through.