Abbi Waxman: Writing Not Any Easier
Abbi Waxman, author of The Garden of Small Beginnings and The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, shares what inspired her most recent novel, I Was Told It Would Get Easier, how her promotion plans changed with the pandemic, and more.
Abbi Waxman, the USA Today bestselling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, Other People’s Houses, and The Garden of Small Beginnings, is a chocolate-loving, dog-loving woman who lives in Los Angeles and lies down as much as possible. She worked in advertising for many years, which is how she learned to write fiction. She has three daughters, three dogs, three cats, and one very patient husband.
You can find out more at abbiwaxman.com.
In this post, Waxman shares what inspired I Was Told It Would Get Easier, how her promotion plans changed with the pandemic, her best piece of advice for authors, and more.
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Name: Abbi Waxman
Literary agent: Alexandra Machinist at ICM
Book title: I Was Told It Would Get Easier
Publisher: Berkley
Release date: June 16, 2020
Genre: Fiction
Previous titles: The Garden of Small Beginnings; Other People's Houses; The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
Elevator pitch for the book: Mother and teenage daughter take a college tour and rediscover themselves and each other on the way.
What prompted you to write this book?
I'd already spent the advance, and it seemed churlish not to deliver the book. Also, I was experiencing the joys of having three teenage daughters, and wanted to get it off my chest.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication?
It took around a year, and the idea stayed pretty consistent. There was the usual panicking and despair that I'd never finish it, but we got there in the end.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
Well, the pandemic happened just as we were gearing up for the launch of the book, so we had to cancel all the in-person events and go online for a lot of it. My editor and the rest of the team at Berkley made it all easy though, because they're awesome.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
No surprises, just the usual ups and downs. It's not easy, writing a book, and I was hoping it would get easier the more I did, but that has not been the case.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope they will be reminded of how much love exists in families, and how being a parent (and a child) changes so much over time. And I hope it makes them laugh.
If you could share one piece of advice with other authors, what would it be?
Wear layers and stretch frequently, it's a highly sedentary job, and it's easy to get cold when you're in the groove.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
