Bound & Determined

When it comes to publishing, I like to explain the process as a little bit of science and a little bit of magic. We can do ALL THE THINGS, and follow all the "rules", and still have to hand that work over to someone to assess, to review, and to judge. The work is the science, but it's the relationships that are the magic. I'm a big believer in alignment. When I work with my clients, I tell them that their book proposal is the biggest piece of self-advocacy they have, which will allow them to find the right-aligned partner in an agent and a publisher. And one of the ways I help people find that alignment is by introducing them to the best people in the biz! This week on Bound + Determined, I'm sitting down with literary agent and author, Lucinda Halpern. In this episode, we go behind the scenes to discuss what she loves about the job, her unique views on authorship, and how to land the agent of your dreams.

This week on Bound + Determined, we're chatting pelvic floor health with Dr. Sara Reardon, aka The Vagina Whisperer! This episode is full of laughs AND love–because when it comes to peeing when you sneeze, or understanding what's happening to your body at every age and stage–both are needed! For over 18 years, Dr. Sara Reardon has been caring for people's pelvic floors as a board-certified pelvic floor physical therapist. She is the Founder of The V-Hive, an online pelvic floor workout platform for pregnancy, postpartum, menopause, painful sex, and pelvic floor strengthening. As The Vagina Whisperer on Instagram and TikTok, she has hundreds of thousands of followers who depend on her for all the facts and fun about our changing bodies. FLOORED: A Woman's Guide to Pelvic Floor Health at Every Age and Stage, available for order and releasing June 10! For far too long, the American health care system has normalized pelvic problems, leaving women feeling hopeless, ashamed and suffering in silence. Sara helps women prevent and overcome common pelvic floor issues so they can trust and enjoy their bodies again. Floored is a rallying cry for women's health and the authoritative guide for the pelvic floor, a critical group of muscles involved in day-to-day functions from peeing and pooping and sex and childbirth to menstruation and menopause. I hope you'll listen in to hear valuable information and hear about Sara's twisty-turny book process!

You know that feeling when you meet a new friend and it's an instant love match? Friendship love at first sight? That's how I felt when I met Stacy Ennis. A few years ag0, we met at Farnoosh Torabi's book launch for A Healthy State of Panic. She's a book coach living abroad with her family, and…well, you know the work I do. Don't miss this episode of Bound & Determined–there's so much shared wisdom, and a lot of comfort around the sticky parts of being a writer. Stacy is a best-selling author, coach, and speaker on a mission to help leaders clarify their ideas and harness their unique story to make an impact. Along with being the founder of Nonfiction Book School, an accelerated author program, her background includes ghostwriting for a Nobel Prize winner in medicine and leading as executive editor of Sam's Club's Healthy Living Made Simple, a publication that reached around 11 million readers. Her best-selling book, co-written with Ron Price, is Growing Influence: A Story of How to Lead with Character, Expertise, and Impact. She's also the host of Beyond Better, a podcast that explores how to create a business and life you love. Enjoy!

This week on Bound and Determined, I'm sharing how my own book deal came to be, the process of getting it to the right idea that lit me up, and all that I'm learning about myself along the way. This is the first installment and there will be more as I move deeper into the process! Join me for the ride! And as I say in the close of the episode—it's all for you. This book is a love letter to your creative soul and an action plan for bringing it to life. Whether it's a book, podcast, new business, program offering, stage talk, etc… you will find home in these pages. I can't wait to continue to share the process with you as the teacher becomes the student! Oh! And P.S. I have not had a new podcast review in OVER A YEAR! What?! So many of you tell me how much you love the pod and all that you're learning and appreciate. If you haven't rated and left a review yet, I'd be so appreciative!

This week on Bound + Determined, Sam Vander Wielen joins me and we dig into what business owners may be missing, what's working right now, and how to really build a business that sustains you through life's hardest moments. While writing her book and continuing to run her business, Sam tragically lost both of her parents back to back. In fact, she was offered her book deal the day her Mom passed. We talk about running a business through grief, and how she managed to reach this finish line of Pub Day. Oh, and did I mention she also recovered from a brain tumor in the early days of her business? She knows a thing or two about the rollercoaster of life. I'm grateful to call her a friend and am so happy she's someone I have on speed dial for all my business brainstorms. I hope you'll give this episode a listen!

Life is made up of billions of tiny decisions. The poor decisions can lead to a lifetime of laughter. Maybe it's the bad perm you got as a teenager, or the tattoo of a dolphin eating a cheeseburger. Maybe it was the horrible guy you dated in college, or the spontaneous weekend trip that ended in disaster. I, myself, am not a super spontaneous person. I sit somewhere in the middle "meh" of it all. I've never boarded a plane the same day (or even the same week) to take advantage of a trip deal. I've never signed up for a class on a whim. I never even ditched school. I research restaurant menus in advance because I like to know what I'm getting before I'm there. I study the weather in an hour-by-hour breakdown each morning before leaving the house. I could never live a nomadic life–I even cross-reference review sites before booking a hotel. I think the best way to describe me is measured. But even if you are measured like me–that doesn't mean you've honed the skillset of making strategic decisions. Most of us don't think through big or small decisions with any particular level of strategy, which is why my guest on this week's episode of Bound + Determined is going to shed light on why we SHOULD be making decisions in a more thoughtful way. Abby Davisson is the Founder and CEO of the Money and Love Institute and an expert on holistic decision-making. As a former Fortune 200 executive and after two decades of making change from within organizations, she launched her own business, focused on helping leaders make smart choices for lasting success in work and life. Abby's professional experience includes strategy-focused roles in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, including nearly a decade at Gap Inc., where she served as president of the Gap Foundation and co-founded the company's employee resource group for working parents. She's also the Co-Author of MONEY, AND LOVE: AN INTELLIGENT ROADMAP FOR LIFE'S BIGGEST DECISIONS, a guide for navigating life's most consequential and daunting decisions using research-based insights road-tested in a popular Stanford University course. Abby has immersed herself in endless research that shows us how the decisions we make around love (and otherwise!) have financial consequences. Tune in to learn her framework that can be used for better decisions in love and life!

This week on the Bound + Determined pod, I'm sitting down with Suzanne to discuss her book The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One Through the End of Life, which includes incredible education around having a good death physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and even financially. You'll also hear about one of my favorite topics to learn from Suzanne–how to keep death green. If this topic makes you uneasy, I promise Suzanne is the best person to learn from–she's an angel. Plus, as always, you'll learn insider info on the book-writing process.

In this week's episode of Bound + Determined, I'm chatting with Courtney about what felt different about creating her third book, how the idea of Gentle came to her (you may relate!), and how chronic illness impacted her career and writing. We talk about going from book proposal to manuscript and what she hopes first-time authors understand. If you're feeling the pull the simplify your life and be more gentle with yourself–this episode is for you!

In this episode of Bound and Determined, I'm diving deeper into a conversation that really resonated with last week's newsletter—how I'm balancing social media alongside other platform channels amidst ongoing shifts in the digital landscape. Many of you shared that you're feeling reenergized, validated, and clearer on your next steps, so let's explore these pivots together. I'll walk through my platform strategy for 2025 and why these shifts align with where agents and publishers are focusing their efforts.

This week, we have our first new Bound + Determined episode of 2025, and it's not to be missed! I sat down with literary agent Cherise Fisher to unpack this incredible and sometimes maddening process of bringing a book to the world.