Q&A with Taylor Jenkins Reid, Part Two
From the author of MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE—named a People Magazine pick and a “Best Book of the Summer” by Glamour and USA TODAY—comes a breathtaking new love story about a woman unexpectedly forced to choose between the husband she has long thought dead and the fiancé who has finally brought her back to life—ONE TRUE LOVES by our own Taylor Jenkins Reid.
ONE TRUE LOVES also follows FOREVER, INTERRUPTED which was included by Kirkus Reviews in “11 Debuts We Love” and was recently optioned for film with Dakota Johnson attached to star and the bestselling AFTER I DO which was named by Kirkus a ‘must read’ All Taylor’s novels have been published by Simon & Schuster/Atria/Washington Square Press. Additionally, Taylor co-wrote the Hulu series Resident Advisors that was produced by Elizabeth Banks, and her essays have appeared in Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post, and xoJane among others.
Welcome back, Taylor! We’re thrilled to talk to you again as another TJR novel launches! J
Who do you write for? Do you have someone in mind that you intend to satisfy when you are writing?
My gut is to say that I don’t write for anyone in particular. I write with the end goal of satisfying the characters more than anything. For me, when I think too much about the intended audience, I can lose sight of the truth a bit.
What worked for you in your early days to expand your audience?
This is a question I think every author is asking, even ones that seem as if they have found an audience. I try to say yes to every opportunity to get my work in front of new readers and I have put together an incredible team of people whose jobs are to think outside the box. Print media coverage is still a very exciting get for a book, but word of mouth and blog reviews is what makes the world go ‘round.
What advice would you like to give to aspiring writers?
I have something to say! Anytime I have lost my way creatively, it’s because I didn’t have anything to say – or maybe I should say it was because I hadn’t yet found what I wanted to say.
What characteristics do you need to know about your protagonist before you feel her story is ready to be written?
What do they want? That’s the question at the heart of any character really. What do they desperately want? Do they get what they want? Did they really want it after all? These questions lead you to ask where the character is ultimately going and you start to form a story.
Writers are told that their main characters need to be flawed and that most commercial readers appreciate them also being somewhat likeable. On the surface, this is at odds and makes some writers nervous: ‘My protagonist is selfish. I’m afraid the readers won’t want to keep reading through to her evolving into a better person.” What thoughts do you have on this? What protagonist flaws have you had success with?
You know, I wish I could say that I’m that organized about the people I create. Ultimately, it’s about telling the truth for me more than it is about flaws or likeability. I ask myself what sort of person is most apt for the situation I want to write about and then I start to build someone who feels real, someone who feels like they could be you or me. In order to feel real, I think characters have to be flawed and they have to think of themselves as likeable – because who doesn’t know they aren’t perfect but hope that people love them anyway?
I strive for putting a person on the page who feels like they could be one of us out in the world – and from there, I ended up with some sort of balance between flaws and likeability. So my advice for anyone building a character is to ask yourself what traits this person must absolutely have and then what other traits can you add to balance the person out?
We know from your last interview with us that your first drafts usually take you only six weeks. (Wow.) Your books are about 85,000 words. That is a lot of writing in a very short period of time. What is your writing schedule during that first draft? How many drafts do you usually do before you feel it is ready to submit to your agent?
First drafts are when I wake up every morning dreading my office. But I make sure that no matter what else happens that day, I hit my word count. The word count varies depending on the book and how much time I’ve allotted. From there, all subsequent drafts are on a per word basis, too. I will edit X amount of words in a day. By about the fourth draft or fifth draft, I can show it to my editor.
Do you use or recommend beta readers/critique groups?
I have one person that reads all of my work before I send it to anyone else, and that is my husband. He’s a writer and he knows me best, so he often knows when I’ve succeeded or failed at what I’m trying to say. I hope for every writer’s sake they have someone in their lives whose opinion they trust almost as much as their own. And I highly recommend using that person consistently.
But I’m not sure that sending you work out to more than a few people does anything other than muddies the waters. You know your work the best and sometimes convincing yourself you need input from others is a way of stalling.
ONE TRUE LOVES is your fourth published novel. What have been the most impactful lessons since your first published title on your storytelling and writing?
I think the thing that I always try to keep in mind, and it becomes more and more true, is that I’ve got to do me. There are so many book trends to follow and so many different ways of telling a story. It’s easy to look at how someone else does it and say, “Why didn’t I do it like that?” But I find that that is the type of question that leads to nowhere good. What makes a writer stand out is the sort of stuff you do when you don’t even realize you’re doing it. Other writers are better at other things than you. That’s always going to be true. And the times in my life when I spend my effort looking at what someone else has, or what someone else excels at, instead of focusing on my own work – those are my weakest moments. I just have to keep writing Taylor Jenkins Reid books. That’s my job.
You have a film in the works based on your work (“Forever Interrupted: A Novel” out of Gidden Media and Good Universe and starring Dakota Johnson”). What’s that been like?
It’s a passive sort of awesome. I’m not involved in the development of that project but, because I am friendly with the producers, I get fun updates and they include me in things from time to time. I’m excited to say that the writer of the movie, Tricia McAlpin, is incredibly talented and just a super likeable person. And the script is exciting and exceptional.
What does the immediate and near future hold for you? What would you like to do next?
Well, the immediate future holds a baby. I’m due to give birth soon! And so I’ve scheduled in, “Utter Chaos,” and, “Life-Changing Attitude Shifts,” for the end of the summer and most of the fall. But don’t worry! I’ve got more books coming up the pipeline. As I said, I’m always gonna do me.
Thank you, Taylor, so much dropping in. You are a beloved member of the WWWB family! We will continue to support and root for you forever more. We are so happy for you for all of your success. Undoubtedly, there is much more to come, and no one deserves it more. J
For more Taylor Jenkins Reid, enjoy our other fabulous interview with her. But not before checking out these fabulous blurbs!
Praise for ONE TRUE LOVES –
“Taylor Jenkins Reid is seriously a genius when it comes to stories about life and love, and this book promises to be another awesome addition to her collection.” (Redbook)
“…Taylor Jenkins Reid is the reigning queen of summer reads.” (SheKnows)
“Reid does such a good job of leading us through Emma’s emotional journey – I was as ambivalent as she was for a while, and then really invested in the ending. There’s some pretty deep truths in this, too.” (BookRiot)
Order-links for ONE TRUE LOVES –
Amazon Barnes & Noble Books-a-Million
IndieBound Apple Blio Google Kobo
Other ways to bond with Taylor –
Interviewed by –
MM Finck
MM Finck is a writer, essayist, and book reviewer. She is a regular contributor to WWWB as well as responsible for our Interviews and Agents’ Corner segments. Her women’s fiction is represented by Katie Shea Boutillier of the Donald Maass Literary Agency. She is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association and the 2016 contest chair for WFWA’s Rising Star writing contest for unpublished authors. Her work has appeared in national and regional publications.
When she isn’t editing her novel-in-progress, #LOVEIN140, she can be found cheering herself hoarse over a soccer match (USWNT! – Three-time world champions!!!), belting out Broadway tunes (badly and with the wrong words), learning to play piano (truly pitifully), and trying to squeeze more than twenty-four hours out of every day. She is active on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Litsy (@MMF). http://www.mmfinck.com
Category: Interviews
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