Zibby Owens hardly needs an introduction. What writer among us hasn’t dreamed on being on her award-winning podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books? The podcast was a passion project that grew to be Zibby Media which includes the publishing house Zibby Books, a book club, retreats, classes, and events; and she is the proud owner of Zibby’s Bookshop, an independent bookstore in Santa Monica. Zibby is, naturally, the founder and CEO of all this wonderfulness. And since I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her a few times now, I can attest that she is—for all this remarkable success—such a sweet and down-to-earth person. She is one of us!!
And.
Wait for it…
Her own very first novel is coming out on March 1!!!
Her previous books include Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature, children’s book Princess Charming, and two anthologies that she edited. Most of all, she is the mother of four fabulous kids ages 9 to 16 — and wife to Kyle. Follow her on Instagram and here on Substack where she tells it like it is.
VITAL STATS:
Your age when your first novel published, and the title of that novel: 47. Blank.
Your age now: 47.
How many novels have you published to date: Just this one!
What’s your next novel and its pub date if you have it: Blank, coming out March 1st!
INTERVIEW:
1. How many novels did you complete before the one that became your first published novel?
Two that went out on submission and were rejected but many, many more drafts and versions and attempts!
2. What kinds of jobs did you have to support yourself while you wrote? Are you still doing one of them?
I’m doing a million jobs. I host a daily podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books which is quite profitable, I run a publishing house which… isn’t, and I own an indie bookstore. I also freelance regularly and have since I was 14 years old. Along the way, I’ve also worked in marketing, started up companies, and more.
3. What was the writing routine in which you wrote the novel that became your first published? How long did it take to write that book?
I had to completely isolate myself in a quiet space with a huge block of time. ALL of those elements are hard to come by. To start it, a friend who owned a hotel let me use a room before check-in time to kick things off. I wrote in big chunks of time and actually wrote that final 20,000 words in a weekend. (The weekend before the deadline!)
4. What was your darkest moment before selling your first novel?
I’ve had many moments sobbing on the bathroom floor and feeling like as much as I wanted to get a novel into the world, it looked like it just wasn’t going to happen for me. Once after the final rejection for Forty Love, I had to stop crying and then hop on Zoom to interview a novelist. I was happy for her, but couldn’t help thinking: why couldn’t I do this, too!? My protagonist in Blank, Pippa Jones, had a particularly dark moment when she realizes the country’s biggest novelist was coming out with a book with the exact same title and plot!
5. What advice about writing helps you stick with it?
Every time I say to myself, “That’s it! Forget it! It isn’t meant to me,” I show back up at the keyboard. I love to write. I am a writer. I can’t escape it. Also, knowing how many authors have faced rejection and overcome it make me keep going.
6. What is your favorite part about the writing life?
The other wonderful readers, book people, and writers I’ve met along the way.
I couldn’t have said it better myself! Thank you so much for taking the time, Zibby!
Last interview: Steven Rowley. Next interview: Denny S. Bryce!
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Another great edition of Authors of 40. Well done Kerri! As for Zibby, hats off to you for managing all of those commitments! 👏
Thank you, Kerri!!!!