Chloe Caldwell Does It Her Way

The inspiring story of how she became an author of four

Hello Bleeders!

I’m coming in hot with bonus content these first few weeks, so I’m back already with another episode. This is number three — fun fact: my favorite number — and I highly recommend checking out the first two eps with Samantha Allen and Halley Sutton if you haven’t already.

My guest for episode three is one of my writing mentors Chloe Caldwell on her writing career thus far.

Chloe Caldwell has forged her own unique path in the literary scene, and it’s one that I really admire. In this episode, she gives us the play-by-play of her “writing trajectory from a degenerate high schooler to publishing four books sans agent sans college” (her words). We cover cold queries, how to break up with an agent, small presses, trusting your vision, and more.

Here's a preview about how she connected with Cheryl Strayed:

“So I wrote this crazy Where I Write [for The Rumpus], and it kind of like — for 2012 Twitter — blew up, which is like, nothing, probably ten people, but it felt like it blew up because everyone was leaving comments and Cheryl, under the pseudonym of Dear Sugar, started posting it and tweeting about it. And I didn't know who Dear Sugar was because no one did… She wasn't out yet.”

Where I write:

I'm asking each guest to give us a peek behind the scenes. This is Chloe’s sweet spot, and omg I’m fully in love with those red leaves and quaint lamp.

Episode links:

🏃‍♀️ Follow Chloe Caldwell on Instagram @chloeeeecaldwell.

🛒 Order Chloe’s FOUR books: Legs Get Led Astray, Women, I’ll Tell You in Person, and The Red Zone.

💻 Check out Chloe’s website for more on all her work.

📝 Sign up for Write or Die Tribe’s One Month Mentorship With Chloe Caldwell: Edits, Advice, + Encouragement to kick your writing game into high gear this July.

🎧 And, of course, pop in those earbuds and listen to Chloe Caldwell Does It Her Way: How She Became an Author of Four on your favorite podcast platform.

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Online reading about writing:

• Love the transparency and hustle contained in this tweet by Jennifer Moffatt -

  Jennifer 💕☕️ @JMoffattWrites

  I queried Oct-Feb until I signed with an agent. I got 68 rejections before my offer of rep & only 2 requests. And that seemed reasonable to me? Yeah it was HARD, but I was planning for 100 rejections before I thought abt shelving. I feel like the mindset has shifted since then?🧵

• Gina Denny’s thread about the plight of older white guys is *chef’s kiss* -

  Gina Denny @ginad129

  James Patterson says "you don't see many 52-year-old white males" getting writing contracts these days. This was said in a USA Today interview. USA Today publishes a bestseller list with 150 entries. The day he was quoted, the following white men are on the bestseller list:

  The stats don’t lie. This edition is tweet-heavy, but as Margaret Owen points out, it’s hard to resist dunking on Jame Patterson.

Popped on Instagram to kill a few minutes yesterday and wound up completely gutted thanks to Stephanie Danler posting this Richie Hofmann poem:

smdanler

A post shared by Stephanie Danler (@smdanler)

Now I have to buy A Hundred Lovers: Poems. It’s like I was sadistically rewarded for my procrastination. That’ll teach me.

Until next time, HAPPY BLEEDING!

So… ROLL CALL! 🗣️

Who’s a voice in the literary scene you’d love to hear on the pod?

Let’s connect on social media! I’m at @courtneykocak on Twitter and Instagram. For more, check out my website courtneykocak.com.