Ep 122: From Nanny Diaries to The Best We Could Hope For, A Conversation with Nicola Kraus
What happens when your first novel becomes a global sensation, and your next one takes nearly a decade?
In this episode, bestselling author Nicola Kraus (of The Nanny Diaries fame) gets delightfully honest about what it really takes to write, edit, and publish a book in today’s ever-shifting landscape. From the high highs to the humbling in-betweens, she shares what she’s learned about trusting your process (even when it’s slooooow), navigating a traditional publishing world that’s barely recognizable, and why writing in the present tense might just save your story.
Inside the episode:
- Why her latest novel took nearly a decade to write and release
- How editing is actually where the magic happens (even if it feels like a root canal)
- The sneaky power of tense, and why it matters more than you think
- What authors really need to know about publishing today (spoiler: it’s not just “write the book”)
- The simple truth about how readers find books they love
ABOUT NICOLA KRAUS
Nicola Kraus is a #1 New York Times bestselling author with over 6 million copies of her books in print in 32 languages.
Her love of storytelling started young. In preschool she had a weird obsession with anything tragic, from Medea to Macbeth. And, yes, it was the 70s when no one asked if content was child-appropriate. Later, she discovered Tom Lehrer and came home from school to listen to his satirical albums for hours. When she started babysitting, she spent all my money on Weird Al Yankovic cassettes. And somewhere between her obsession with royalty brought low and "Like a Surgeon" you have The Nanny Diaries.
As a creative coach, she believes it's the audience's God-given right to be entertained. As a journalist, she wants to know what drives people, what excites them, and how they get through the days when it doesn't all come together. As an artist, she believes in sitting quietly for a few minutes every day to keep that channel open to the magical place where the words come from.
And chocolate. Dear God, she believes in chocolate.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE BEST WE COULD HOPE FOR
Reading Now: The Safekeep by Yael Van der Wouden
EPISODE MENTIONS
Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb documentary
Harvey Fierstein’s memoir, I Was Better Last Night
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Booksparks (book publicity)
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