Cara Stevens on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We recently had the chance to connect with Cara Stevens and have shared our conversation below.

Cara, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What do you think others are secretly struggling with—but never say?
I think we’re all quietly struggling with having too many open tabs in our minds—and too many versions of ourselves running at once. In the creative and freelance world, we call it opportunity. In reality, it’s fragmentation.
We live in a time where stability is elusive, so we try to make up for it by splitting ourselves into smaller and smaller parts. We take on multiple jobs, side projects, and creative “quests,” hoping one of them will become the thing that sticks. I’ve done it all—volunteering as a mentor, launching a book, running a podcast, pitching articles, keeping up with social media, hosting a blog, juggling freelance editing and book coaching, following up with contacts to remind them I’m available for work. We clone ourselves across every possible lane because we don’t know which one will lead to something lasting.
But there’s a cost. It’s like running seven hard drives at once—each one spinning, generating heat, draining power. We think we’re expanding, but we’re actually diffusing. We can’t be everywhere and still be whole.
For the past year, I’ve also been actively searching for full-time work, mostly for the stability and benefits that are so rare in creative life. I faced so many closed doors that I started to wonder what I’d even do if one opened. Then last week, one finally did.
I was offered a full-time job as an assistant preschool teacher—a “floater,” or as they call it, a Rainbow. I’ll be working at a preschool that relocated from the Palisades to Santa Monica after the wildfires in January. The first time I walked in, I felt it immediately: the love, the heart, the hope, the promise of a place devoted to building resilient and kind humans. It was full of warmth and purpose and emotional intelligence.
When I accepted the offer, it felt like a weight lifted off my chest. For the first time in years, I could breathe freely. I hadn’t realized how long I’d been hustling on adrenaline—splitting my attention across so many roles that I’d become like a parallel processor, constantly running at full capacity but never at full focus.
Now, as I prepare to start this new chapter, I’m letting go of what hasn’t been working—of what doesn’t serve me. The irony is, my creative career has never been stronger. I’m already writing the second book in a six-book middle grade series that’s been picked up by Simon & Schuster. I’m putting the finishing touches on my asynchronous course for Writers.com on writing picture books. I have five book coaching clients and a handful of editing projects. And somehow, I also have time again—for yoga, for walks on the beach, for the kind of quiet that refuels me.
If there’s one message I’d share with anyone reading this who feels overwhelmed—who feels like they’re trying to run every race at once—it’s this: step back. Look at the parts of your life that are draining your battery instead of charging it. Notice where you’ve divided yourself into too many pieces. Not everything needs to be held at once. Sometimes the most creative thing you can do is choose the one place that allows you to be whole again.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a writer, editor, and book coach, and I’ve spent my career helping people shape ideas into stories that matter. I’ve written two guidebooks for aspiring authors—Picture Perfect, which walks new picture book writers through what editors really look for, and Write, Teach, Spark, a step-by-step guide for professionals who want to turn their experience into a meaningful nonfiction book.

Alongside my coaching work, I write middle grade fiction—most recently a six-book series for Simon & Schuster about K-pop demon hunters. It’s part of a long line of projects I’ve written for publishers who tap into pop culture to get kids excited about reading. My work has always been about that intersection of creativity and connection—helping readers and writers find stories that spark something lasting.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
Disconnection happens when we stop listening. When we start performing instead of showing up.

Whether it’s in work, friendship, or creativity, we lose each other when we forget to see the human being on the other side. I see it with writers all the time, when they start chasing trends or trying to sound like someone else, they lose their voice. The same thing happens in relationships.

What restores those bonds is presence. Curiosity. A willingness to meet someone where they are without needing to fix or impress them. The moments that have meant the most to me, whether I’m coaching an author through a stuck point or sitting on the floor of a preschool classroom just being present for a child who needs support, are the ones where there’s no agenda, just connection.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
For years, I was terrified of flying. It started toward the end of college—I’d have panic attacks just thinking about getting on a plane. I avoided planning trips, and when I did travel, I spent the whole time worrying about the flight home. It kept me from going to friends’ weddings, from seeing the world. I’d drive or take trains for work trips just to avoid getting on a plane.
After my grandfather passed away, he left all of us grandchildren a few thousand dollars. I used that money to buy a computer and plan a cruise with my cousin—something that felt bold for someone who could barely get through a flight. That’s when I found a program called SOAR—Seminar on Aeroanxiety Relief, created by a pilot who specialized in helping fearful fliers. The course came on cassette tapes, and I listened to every lesson, did all the homework, and finally met the pilot on a plane parked at JFK. He gave me just enough tools to get through my first flight with a manageable level of fear.
That trip changed my life. I met the man who would become my husband—but he lived 3,100 miles away. If I wanted a relationship with him, I had to get on a plane. Over the next two years of long-distance dating, I kept flying back and forth, until eventually the fear lost its hold. I realized being afraid was keeping me from living the life I wanted, and that realization gave me the push I needed.
It’s been decades now. I still get a little anticipatory anxiety before a flight, but once I’m in the air, I’m fine—and sometimes I even forget that I ever used to be afraid. Then I’ll look out the window mid-flight and think, Look at you. You did it.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
Absolutely yes. What you see publicly is the same person behind the scenes—curious, encouraging, and still figuring things out in real time. I don’t put on a persona; I just try to show up as myself, whether I’m writing, coaching, or talking to readers.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
This question makes me think about a song that was one of my favorites all through growing up — James, by Billy Joel. One of the lines goes “Do what’s good for you / or you’re not good for anybody.” It was my senior quote in high school and it’s been my life motto. I’ve always resisted confirming to the norm. I’d rather fit out than fit in. I’m like “The Missing Piece” in that way. I feel like if I ever start fitting in, it will mean I’m not being true to myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.carajstevens.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carajstevens
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carastevens
• Other: https://www.writeteachspark.com

Image Credits
Megan Durazzo (Palos Verdes Library District); Alexa Stevens