Bestselling novelist (and Oprah's book club OG) Jacquelyn Mitchard on taking things one step at a time
"If I can't get the first sentence the way I want it, I don't go on to the next sentence, and the one after that and the one after that."
This week I am thrilled to be talking with Jacquelyn Mitchard, the New York Times bestselling author of 23 novels for adults and teenagers. Her first novel, The Deep End of the Ocean was the inaugural selection of the Oprah Winfrey book club and has sold more than three million copies in 34 languages. Yet, as she shares in this episode, when Oprah called and left a message on her voice mail (it was the 90s), Jacquelyn deleted it. Because, who could believe? She deleted the second voice mail, too. Thankfully, she called back after Oprah’s third message. It’s an incredible story that starts in tragedy—and one she tells in today’s episode.
She also shares how she starts writing each book with the first sentence, and doesn’t move on until she’s gotten that just right. And then she continues the same way, working one sentence at a time until it’s the end.
Our conversation got me thinking about the power of being clear on why you’re writing, and who you’re writing for. And I loved hearing about Jacquelyn’s famous author friends and how they support each other—and also “jealous” each other (a word she uses as a verb). And also, writing while raising children (nine of them, in Jacquelyn’s case!).
Listen to Jacquelyn’s episodes:
Jacquelyn Mitchard, practical matters: On deleting Oprah Winfrey's VMs + writing a book, one sentence at a time
Jacquelyn Mitchard, inner stuff: Cultivating the relationship between author and reader when "every sentence is a struggle"
Jacquelyn Mitchard, what's next: Owning your jealousy of other writers + gobs of amazing book recommendations
Things we covered:
How Jacquelyn made the transition from reporter to novelist–hint, it involves tragedy
How she ignored the first three voicemails Oprah left on her machine because she thought it must be a friend pranking her
How hard it is to write…and how she would never do it for free
How Jacquelyn’s dreams help her write books (even though she doesn’t sleep much)
How she writes a book–she starts with the first sentence and writes through the end
The difference between copying and stealing
The reader Jacquelyn imagines when she’s writing her books
"Even after you've written this many books, none of it comes easily. I always believe I'll never come up with another idea."
How some of her books have ‘missed the mark’ (although she won’t say which ones)
Living on the Cape, yet hating the beach
Her incredible circle of writer friends and how they support each other
How social media is like a hamster
The John Prine lyric that sums up her views on aging
The writers that make Jacquelyn jealous (a word that she uses as a verb, as in, “I’m jealousing her.”)
Her love for British crime shows
The BBC podcast she’s addicted to
The meal “that’s probably 2,000 calories per bite” that she’d ask for if someone said they’d make her anything she wants.
Specific things we discussed:
The Women by Kristin Hannah
Station Eleven by Hilary St. John Mandel
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
The BBC podcast Uncanny
Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur
Tall Poppy Writers by Ann Garvin
“I believe there is a relationship, not just between the stories and the reader, between the author and the reader. The work doesn't just speak for itself, and it never did.People were as fascinated by John Dos Passos’s military adventures, and Ernest Hemingway's many marriages, and Scott Fitzgerald's struggles with his wife's mental health and his own alcoholism, as they were by the things that they wrote.”
Connect with Jacquelyn:
Sign up for her email newsletter, The Gasp Link
Follow her on Substack, where she publishes “Everything, Edited”
Visit her website
Follow her on Instagram
Listen to past episodes:
Sonya Huber, practical matters: Secrets to having a healthy relationship with writing
Sonya Hubyer, inner stuff: How your personal writing can deepen your relationships + how not to hate writing
Sonya Huber, what’s next: Goat writing retreats + looking to nuns for inspiration + coffee smoothies
Joanne McNeil, practical matters: On finding your ambition and building your own opportunities + a Trader Joe’s shopping list for fueling your writing
Joanne McNeil, inner stuff: Owning your outsider status + “doing what I can do with with the tools that I have”
Joanne McNeil, What’s coming up: “I just want to make writing part of my life throughout my life”
Hayley Krischer, practical matters: The power of just keeping going + how to capture those great ideas that come when you’re not at your desk
Hayley Krischer, inner stuff: True confessions about how “horrible” writing can feel + why–and how–she wrote her next novel in longhand
Hayley Krischer, what’s next: What she’s recently learned about understanding her character’s psyches + the incredible allure of hot tubs