Jeneva Rose on Changes In The Publishing Industry, Time Management and Writing Advice

Dan Bova (0:00)

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Which of your books do you think you'll be the first to read out loud to chase?

Jeneva Rose (1:55)

Um, the perfect marriage. I'm just kidding.

Dan Bova (2:05)

Hey, everyone. Welcome to How Success Happens. I'm Dan Bova, writer and editor at entrepreneur.com. Today's guest is known as the Queen of Twists. So I'm both excited and terrified about what's about to happen. Jeneva Rose is the number one New York Times bestselling author of the thrillers The Perfect Marriage and The Perfect Divorce. And she's got a new book coming out September 22nd, a collection of short horror stories called Sometimes I Scare Myself.

Welcome back to the show, Jeneva.

Jeneva Rose (2:41)

Thank you for having me.

Dan Bova (2:43)

Wow. So, yeah, it's been about a year since last we talked because when we spoke, you were about to have a baby.

And as anyone who follows you on social media knows, you've got a one-year-old son rolling around with you these days.

Jeneva Rose (2:56)

I do. He's nearly walking, but he crawls very fast.

Dan Bova (3:04)

I'll tell you, as a father of two, it just gets easier. It's just every day is easier and easier and easier.

Jeneva Rose (3:11)

That's what they say. Right now, he's been a little bit of a nightmare.

Dan Bova (3:17)

Well, that's perfect for you, right? You're a horror writer. So, well, let me ask you this. Does it doesn't get any easier, by the way? I was lying to you.

Jeneva Rose (3:29)

I was a kid.

Dan Bova (3:32)

Does having a newborn make it easier or a little bit harder to sit down and crank out great novels and short stories?

Jeneva Rose (3:42)

I would say it feels like back to when I was writing while working full-time, where I was more productive because I had less time to write, and it wasn't like, oh, I've got all day to do this. So I think in that sense, my time, I realized how much more valuable it is.

Then it's like, well, I want to get this done, so then I can be with him. I think in that sense, it's made me more productive and be able to work more efficiently because I'm working towards something, not just finishing the book, but spending time with him. So in that sense, in the other sense, I do believe that mom brain is a real thing and scientifically it's true.

Writing this collection, sometimes I scare myself. I started writing this when I was like nine weeks postpartum. So that was difficult because I was like, what is the word for this? It would be a very simple word that I could not think of. All right.

Dan Bova (4:38)

Yes. I've lived through it.

I've experienced dad brain. I still have dad brain even though my sons are 22 and 20 So like I said, it just doesn't get any easier. But I'm curious about, so do you now structure your day? Do you write in the morning? Do you write at night? Do you have like, this is when I do it or you kind of find that time during the day?