We’ll Always Have Paris: In Conversation With Jennifer Coburn

We’ll Always Have Paris is a mother-daughter travel memoir that follows Jennifer Coburn’s daughter Katie and herself through Europe over the course of four summers.

We’ll Always Have Paris: The Real Deal With Jennifer Coburn

Have you written a book? What is it about?

We’ll Always Have Paris is a mother-daughter travel memoir that follows my daughter Katie and I through Europe over the course of four summers.

What gave you the courage/motivation to start?

I was sharing travel stories with my mother and she suggested I write a memoir. I decided to draft a few chapters and pitch it to an agent. He took me on and sold the book three weeks later.

Did you encounter any problems such as writer’s block? If so, how did you overcome them?

Not so much writer’s block, but I often stopped and questioned whether or not anyone would care to read bout my travels. Writing any book is a pretty audacious thing, really. And writing a memoir is even more bold because it is about your life.

Sometimes I would stop and think: Really? You think anyone cares about you’re stupid travels. You’ve got a lot of nerve asking people for their time and money to read about your life. I continue to be stunned and thrilled when I read reviews from readers who say they enjoyed the book.

How did you go about finding a publisher/getting the book self-published?

The traditional way. I found an agent who pitched to publishers and went with the one who seemed like the best match.

Did anything surprise you about the whole process?

I was surprised at how cathartic it was to write a memoir. Examining memories is better than five years of therapy.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to write a book, or starting to write one?

Set a schedule and word-count goals and meet them. Mine is every Tuesday and Thursday night, and all day Sunday — my butt is in a chair and my fingers are on the keyboard. Period. If I need to do something else during that time, I make

 

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