Author Interview: Laura Silverman

Hi friends! Happy summer and happy Friday! It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Laura Silverman and her debut Girl Out of Water. She kindly agreed to answer some questions about writing routines, grad school (we went to New School together), book recommendations, and more. Read on for her writerly wisdom!  

How long did it take for you to write Girl Out of Water and do you have a consistent writing routine?

First idea to querying for an agent took about six months! I was able to write drafts quickly because I was in graduate school for creative writing at the time. After that, the timeline gets murky because there’s a lot of waiting in between stages.

I do have a consistent writing routine! Back then I wrote at a coffee shop across from my apartment most days and used a chart to keep track of word count. My roommate and I charted our writing together, and the accountability helped so much! At the moment, I write Monday-Friday, mostly at my local library. I’m only writing a couple hours a day right now but trying to increase it!

What has surprised you the most about the publishing process?

How incredibly lovely and interactive the readers are! I think I’d always assumed unless you were an NYT bestseller you didn’t get much feedback from readers, but I was definitely wrong. Every tweet about my book or bookstagram makes me so happy and grateful!

Do you remember the first story you ever wrote? How old were you and what was it about?

Ha! Actually, I do remember! I was little, like second grade I think? I wrote about kids playing this arcade game called Dog Catcher, where you had to save the animals before animal control got them. And then the kids got sucked into the game and had to play it in real life!

What are some of your favorite memories from getting your MFA at The New School?

 Definitely all of the great writers and people I met – like you! I’m still very close friends with quite a few people from my program. We keep each other motivated and stay in touch all the time even though we all live far away from each other now.

As a writer, what are the benefits and drawbacks of having the Internet and social media?

The Internet is almost all benefit for me. I can’t imagine researching without it. Of course I know how to use an encyclopedia, but it must take forever to look up a specific question about, I don’t know, specific plant-life and weather patterns in Nebraska versus just typing it into Google. Social media is good and bad – it’s wonderful to have an easily-accessible platform, but it can definitely be distracting! I often delete my social media apps off of my phone so I’m not as tempted to scroll on Tumblr or Instagram while I’m writing.

What are some of the best books you’ve read lately?

Two recent reads I absolutely loved are ELIZA AND HER MONSTERS and I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE. If you love anything about fandom culture, definitely read ELIZA, and if you’re searching for that perfect Rom-Com, pick up I BELIEVE!

YAY! Thank you Laura, I’m so excited to read all the books you will write in the future. Everyone else, I ***highly*** recommend you read Girl Out of Water some time this summer. It’s the perfect YA read for this season, whether your lucky enough to be at the beach or not.