How She Does It Ep 56: Writing The Novel You Want To Read: Plus-Size Heroines & Pop Culture Commentary With Best-Selling Author Jennifer Weiner
Jennifer Weiner has a slew of bestselling novels to her name, including Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, Big Summer, and Mrs. Everything. The Breakaway and most recently, The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits. Her stories are filled with complex women and vital female relationships (think sisters, best friends, mothers & daughters, etc.). And she is on a mission to give her plus-sized protagonists “main character energy,” which includes plenty of romance - and never having them undergo some kind of redemptive, weight loss makeover.
On this episode of How She Does It, Jennifer shares with Karen Finerman her path to becoming a full-time author, her relationship with money (including why she never wants to be without money in the bank and what she did with her first big advance). Plus, she explains how the unfair scrutiny of young, famous women in the 1990s and early 2000s (like Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, and Carnie Wilson) inspired The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits.
💬 In this episode, we explore:
- The influence of Toni Morrison on Jennifer’s writing
- Why Jennifer credits her career as a journalist for making her a better writer
- Where Jennifer finds inspiration for her novels
- The battles Jeninfer has fought with her publishers over her books’ cover images
- The cultural impact of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic on body positivity and acceptance
- What Jennifer tells fellow authors when their books are optioned to be made into TV shows or movies
Resources:
🔗 Visit Jennifer’s website
📸 Follow Jennifer on Instagram
📸 Follow the show on Instagram: @hsdipodcast
🎧 New episodes of How She Does It drop every Tuesday. Be sure to follow us so you never miss an episode.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices