Chloe Seager: Everyone Has a Hot Take on Open Relationships
In this interview, author Chloe Seager discusses the personal experience that helped inspire her new novel, Open Minded.
Chloe Seager is a literary agent at Madeleine Milburn and a published author. Her debut YA Editing Emma and the sequel Friendship Fails of Emma Nash published with HQ in 2017 and 2018, and she has written several books for Scholastic. Open Minded is her adult debut, which she started writing after noticing a lack of fiction that represented hers and her friends' modern dating experiences. She currently lives in London with her boyfriend, cat and fish. Follow her on X (Twitter) and Instagram.
In this interview, Chloe discusses the personal experience that helped inspire her new novel, Open Minded, her hope for readers, and more.
Name: Chloe Seager
Literary agent: Silé Edwards
Book title: Open Minded
Publisher: William Morrow
Release date: November 12, 2024
Genre/category: Women’s fiction
Elevator pitch: When Holly’s long-term boyfriend doesn’t propose as she suspects but asks her to open their relationship, and Fliss’s partner in an open relationship unexpectedly asks her to close it, the two women agree to help each other navigate non-monogamy and monogamy.
What prompted you to write this book?
I’ve always been a big romcom/women’s fiction fan. During a period of being in an open relationship—and not only me, but some of my friends, too—I noticed there wasn’t much written that reflected my dating experiences that was positive or fun, so I decided to write it myself.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
About three years. I had the idea in summer 2021 and began drafting in earnest toward the end of that year. By May 2022 we had secured deals in the U.K. and the U.S., and then … 2024 is publication year! I’m fairly quick at writing first drafts, but the editing and publishing process takes a lot longer.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
I think for this particular book, it was discovering that everyone has a hot take on open relationships. Whether they’re horrified, or they think it’s a nice idea in theory but not for them, or they’d be keen but their partner isn’t, or they think non-monogamy is brilliant, or they have a friend who tried it and it dissolved into chaos, everyone has a strong opinion. (And I really enjoyed hearing all of them!)
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
Writing dual POV was much harder than I thought it was going to be. I knew I had to have two main characters for this story, because I wanted to present two very different views and feelings on open relationships. But it was easier said than done!
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope people might read it and think about what works for them and what they really want. Maybe that is monogamy, or marriage, kids, the traditional routes, but I think a lot of people haven’t properly considered trying anything aside from the norm, (even if just for a time), because we’re handed a template of how our lives should look.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Just prioritize getting it on the page and finishing it! You can edit it and make yourself sound vaguely coherent later.
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.
