Bookends: A Memoir Told Through Books by Zibby Owens

ALAB 125 | Memoir

 

Writing a memoir is a challenge not only in terms of writing but in sharing stories that connect people. Today’s guest has taken on that challenge. Zibby Owens is an author, podcaster, publisher, CEO, and founder of Zibby Owens Media, a privately-held media company designed to help busy people live their best lives by connecting to books and each other. She recently authored Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature, where she shares stories from her life through her favorite books. Zibby chats with host Ella Barnard about her journey writing and publishing her memoir and how editors helped her through the many iterations of the story. Plus, she shares tips for aspiring writers who want to share their stories. Don’t miss this episode.

Listen to the podcast here

 

Bookends: A Memoir Told Through by Zibby Owens

We are here with the lovely and generous Zibby Owens. Zibby Owens is an author, podcaster, publisher, CEO, and mother of four. Zibby is the Founder of Zibby Owens Media, a privately held media company designed to help busy people live their best lives by connecting to books and each other.

The three divisions include Zibby Books, a publishing house for fiction and memoir, Zcast, a podcast network powered by Acast, including Zibby’s award-winning podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books. Also, Moms Don’t Have Time To…, a new content and community site including Zibby’s Virtual Book Club events and former Moms Don’t Have Time to Write.

She’s a regular columnist for Good Morning America and a frequent guest on morning news shows recommending books. She is an editor of two anthologies, Moms Don’t Have Time to Have Kids and Moms Don’t Have Time To: A Quarantine Anthology, a children’s book, Princess Charming, and a memoir, Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature

Zibby loves to write. She regularly pens personal essays starting with her first one in Seventeen magazine in 1992. Zibby lives in New York with her husband, Kyle Owens of Morning Moon Productions, and her four children. You can follow her on Instagram @ZibbyOwens. We’re going to find out more about her now. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, your author’s journey, and knowing that you’re here to talk about your memoir, which is yourself and your author’s journey? If you want to tell everybody a little bit about yourself, I would love to hear it.

Thank you for slogging through my bio.

I hope I have a long bio at some point where I’m like, “Look at all this stuff I’ve done.”

I have to tell you, a few years ago, I would not have had any of that to say. I stayed home with my kids for eleven years. I had been freelance writing and I had written several unpublished books, but that was it. My bio would have been much shorter. I always have stuff. I’m on the board of this and I do that. I’m always busy, but it wasn’t until I started my podcast, and as a fellow podcaster, you can relate. It’s called Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books.

Books take you out of the noise in your own brain and inserting someone else’s thoughts.

I started it on a whim at the suggestion of a girlfriend who’s an author. I had been trying to sell a book and I had no platform, as the readers may relate to. I was like, “I’ve been doing freelance articles for magazines and newspapers for 30 years.” All the agents were like, “That’s irrelevant.” I was like, “I’m starting over.” I wasn’t even on social media then.

My friend, Sarah Mlynowsky, who is a bestselling middle-grade author, suggested that I start a podcast. I started a podcast interviewing authors. At first, I wanted to read excerpts or essays that I love to save time for people like me. I have four kids of my own and very little time. Even though I love to read and would make time, it was always hard. The podcast has led to so many other things I could never have imagined. That’s why when people say they’re intimidated, I’m like, “This is all a dream for me.”

This all came so quickly, especially the last couple of years of the books coming out. It is my lifelong dream. What I wanted more than anything else my entire life was to write a book. That’s it. It’s not to be in a movie or be on the cover of a magazine. My goal was to write a book. For so long, I could not accomplish that goal, and I’m very goal-oriented. Whatever I did, I could not seem to do it or get the topic right. Now that I have and it’s coming out, the whole thing is a dream come true. It’s amazing. I work hard, but it is a dream come true.

I’m so grateful that you said that because it is a special moment. I self-published my first one. I’ll tell you. The day that I pushed the button, it was Halloween. I’d been formatting it all day. At this point, the kids were starting to come by for candy. I went and I was hyperventilating because I’m like, “It’s out there for other people to read.” I took a shot of tequila because I was like, “This is how I’m going to be okay,” and then when it wore off, I took another one. It’s so exciting, but it’s the good, scary exciting. It’s a high.

I want to talk about your memoir Bookends. One thing I noticed that made me more excited to chat with you is, interestingly, the similarities in our stories, but not at all similar. I used books to survive. That’s what I want to talk about on this show. My parents got divorced. They moved around a lot. They each moved, so I went back. I went to eight different schools. Sometimes, every new year, it was a new school. I was always the new kid.

In your story, you were socially nervous in your younger years. It was so interesting reading through your story and connecting with you on your story, even though our paths are not the same. Can you talk a little bit about how those books at that part helped and how books at that point or later have influenced your life and maybe saved it in some ways?

You’re referring to the part of the book where I talk about my parents. I was fourteen years old and my parents got divorced. I had a tough time with that, as many kids do. I didn’t want my dad to go anywhere. I was super duper close to him and didn’t want him to move out. I didn’t always have the most adaptive coping skills in my toolbox at the time. Although I did cope by writing a lot, which is something that I’ve always done and continue to do to navigate my own feelings. I also read and have done and still do.

ALAB 125 | Memoir
Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature

 

A lot of the book was devoted to books I read at different times. We were talking about being nervous about the book coming out. When I find myself getting nervous at this big moment in my life that I’ve been working towards forever, I’m like, “If I sit down and read for 30 minutes, it is a complete emotional reset for me.” Books have always done that. They’re taking me out of the noise in my own brain and inserting someone else’s thoughts. It’s the coolest thing when you think about it.

Books have always been what I’ve turned to. I love to read. I love fiction, memoir, and overcoming things. When I was younger, I read a lot of these sprawling family sagas because those were coming out. My mother had all those on her shelves and I would take them from her shelves. I would read all my books and read all her books. They helped me. 

I remember reading Judith Krantz and all of those dense books. I don’t know if I would read it now. Maybe I would. It was amazing. I loved books that took me through generations that had family trees in the beginning. I was into that at the time and also coming-of-age stories. I loved everything from the classics, like The Catcher in the Rye. I loved anything that detailed what it was like growing up and what path I could model. I don’t have older siblings and I didn’t use to open up too much to my parents about my interior life, so I had to look elsewhere.

You call memoir Bookends. From reading it, it’s like the books that mark the ends of the parts of your lives, which is such a lovely way. At the back of your memoir, you have all the books that were significant you mentioned in the memoir. I’m like, “This is such a lovely way of honoring an end for me and transforming my story away from whatever the pain was.” I’m like, “I’m going to transform it. I will acknowledge the pain of whatever happened but also give it a new lens to look at it through.” That’s what I would say. I saw a little bit of that, but how was it for you?

Which part?

I don’t know, whatever you want to talk about. I’m curious. What does it mean? What did it do for you to structure your story and then assign the books to it? What was that process and how was that?

It was fun. For some books, I remembered right away what I was reading, and for some, I had to go back. I was scanning the bestseller list. I walked all over my house. I walked over to my mom’s house. I tried to find every single book. Unfortunately, I’ve given a lot of way over the years. I’ve moved so many times and gotten divorced. There’ve been boxes of books that I wish I still had.

At any moment, you can change the way you’re living in ways big and small. Even if you don’t, it’s going to change anyway. The world is going to throw things at you. That should be what you expect every day.

Looking at the books on my shelf triggered a lot. I also sometimes had to Google what people were reading this year and that year and when this book came out, and then I would be like, “That’s what I was reading then.” That’s how memory works for me at this age with most things. Some, I had to go back and research what I was reading and then plug it in. In some versions, I had a lot more information about different books or how I related. It was a choice I made not to do that.

I’ve been reading some of my reviews. Some people wish I had more about each book, but I didn’t want it too detailed about each book. I could write a whole other book about books I’ve loved and what they’re about. I could write that easily, but I was trying not to distract too much from the narrative. I mentioned a lot, how it helped, when it helped, and where I was in that time and place. It was nice. I also wanted to almost thank different authors.

When I was flying down to Duke in one of the most horrific moments of my life, when I was visiting my husband’s mom, who had COVID and then subsequently passed away, I was on this plane by myself because he was already down there. I remember grabbing this book, Widowish, on my way out because I had it coming up on the podcast. I got so sucked into that book and her story that I almost felt like our journeys were connected somehow.

I had to know her. We’ve become friends and have a lot in common, but with that book, she got me through that flight. It wasn’t a phone call I made. It wasn’t a letter I wrote. It was Melissa Gould who got me through that flight, even though that wasn’t her intention. I want to give her credit. It’s like the way that she did for that flight, so many other people have gotten me through other things. I’m grateful.

You have had a lot of painful moments in your life. You don’t know me very well, but I’ve also had a lot of painful moments in my life. They’re different kinds of painful moments, but still similar painful moments. Some of them were from the last couple of years.

I’m sorry.

It’s okay because this is what we’re talking about. I’m okay. This is a show where I will cry and it’s no big deal for me. Part of why I like talking to authors and people who love authors is because most of my audience is women writers. All I want to do is be like, “Please tell whatever story you have. You have no idea the impact it will have. You have no clue whose life you can save for some of us with your story.” That’s why I appreciate it when I’m reading through your story.

 

ALAB 125 | Memoir
Memoir: Choosing to write a memoir is as if someone made me a great meal and I asked for the recipe and tried to do it. Sometimes, you want to recreate something that has been pleasurable for you.

 

I want to acknowledge also that I’m glad that I liked it. Bookends is your story, not the story of the books. I like almost like the fun of like, “This is what she was reading at the time. This is what she chooses to mention.” It’s fun to leave that a little bit loose and let us, as people who might also be curious about those books, get our own experiences with them. I appreciate that. Thank you.

There are so many books I also loved and didn’t include. I couldn’t include everything. I feel bad for the authors I didn’t include, but this is my best approximation.

I would like to talk about or ask you about what do you think is the magic of writing? You said you always wanted to write a book. What is the magic of that for you? What does it mean for you?

I have asked myself that question many times. I’m like, “Why is this so important to me? It’s almost like when you go around the classroom and everybody gets their turn. I wanted my turn to raise my hand and add my story to the dialogue that I had been having with all these other authors for my whole life. I wanted to be like, “Here’s what happened to me.”

Although I’ve also written novels and liked doing them, I did it in part one to let people know a little bit of the backstory. I wanted to entertain people the way I’ve been entertained. I wanted to do that. It’s as if someone made me a great meal and I asked for the recipe and tried to do it. Sometimes, you want to recreate something that has been pleasurable for you. Part of it was that, and then as somebody who has always written, I wanted it to be out there.

I also think there’s something about the permanence of a book and not an email. As you can surmise from reading the book, I am very aware, as many of us are, especially after the last couple of years of pandemic living that life is short and we are not here forever. I learned that at age 25, in a very abrupt way, when my best friend died on 9/11 and it has informed the way I live.

Leaving behind a book or some legacy makes me feel like maybe it won’t all have been for nothing and there will be a piece of me left behind. Maybe nobody will be reading it and maybe there’ll be one copy shoved away somewhere, but there will be that little speck of me on the planet, and that makes me feel good too.

It is not too late ever. It might not be the perfect time for you. It might not be your season, but that’s not saying your season isn’t coming next.

For me, the magic of being an author, in general, is you have your story that you live for memoirs, but that you get to put into words so that it continues to live. Books are co-creative because you get to write them, but when I read them, it doesn’t come alive. It does still, but there’s another level of coming alive as I read it.

I teared up. I was crying in parts of your book because it’s so relatable. For example, your best friend, Stacey. I was like, “Oh my heavens.” I remember where I was. We all do. I want to tell you that you already have a spot. You’ve already made your permanent spot here in my brain. That’s what I’m trying to get to a long way around. I remember the first time that I went skinny dipping. It wasn’t easy. Do you want to share a little bit of that story so that everybody knows what I’m talking about?

Sure. My best friend, Stacey, was much more comfortable with herself, confident, and happy with her body in a way that I have never been and never will be. She was so full of life and energy. She was always smiling and is like, “Let’s do this, girl. Let’s do that.” The story was during a weekend and I had Stacey and our two friends, Abby and Rebecca, out for the weekend on Long Island at a house in the Hamptons. We had been dancing in the kitchen and had the best time. Stacey was like, “Let’s go skinny dipping.” I was like, “No.” This was probably during college when this happened, or maybe right after college. I can’t remember.

The girls were like, “Let’s do it.” They all went running out and I was like, “I’ll get the nicely folded towels,” and helped them. It was pitch black outside. It was late at night. They finally convinced me to come in. They were all in the deep end and I was like, “Fine. Don’t look.” I got in the shallow end and I swam all the way there. The four of us were out there together. Everyone was hooting and hollering and were like, “Zibby did it.” We were treading water under the stars outside. I was like, “This is such an example of something Stacey gets me to do that I would never do on my own with other people. She was that kind of person.”

When you say like, “Why did you want this book out so much?” I have been writing and rewriting this experience in my life so many times since it happened because I couldn’t believe that it could happen like that. I lived with her for five years and then suddenly, she disappeared from the planet immediately with no trace. It was hard for me to wrap my head around that.

Getting to share her story is such a privilege and introducing her to people who didn’t know her. Her mom is so excited. She’s coming to my launch events and she’s cheering that Stacey and her sister are out there. I feel like it’s honoring her, too, and other friends I’ve loved. That story is something I’ve been trying to get out.

For everybody that’s reading, Stacey passed away on 9/11. She was working in the World Trade Center. I don’t think we clearly mentioned it, but you can read it in the story. It’s very moving. I’m sure you have a bazillion stories, but that’s a beautiful story that pictures who she is for you and the people in her life, which is beautiful. Your story has this theme of girlfriends in it. It has the power of girlfriends and generosity of girlfriends that I don’t see very often in a natural how-it-looks-in-life way, which I appreciate. Earlier, you mentioned your best friend, Sarah, who’s a middle fiction author. Is she the same Sarah?

 

ALAB 125 | Memoir
Memoir: Leaving behind a book or some legacy makes it feel like maybe it won’t all have been for nothing and there will be a piece of me left behind.

 

Yeah.

She’s the Sarah who has been your best friend your whole life.

Those are two different Sarahs. I hope that wasn’t confusing. I met Sarah Mlynowsky through my kids’ school.

Even so, the power of women’s friendships doesn’t get honored enough. It’s not like you do it specifically. It’s just part of the experience. Thank you. When I asked you what it is that had you written your story now and not some other time, you said you’ve been writing it for a long time. What changed?

I did write it after business school, so I wrote it in 2003 or 2004. I wrote it as a memoir and a novel. My story was not even close to over, nor is it now, but in that chapter of my life, I didn’t have enough distance from it then, honestly. I went back to writing after I got divorced. I suddenly had a lot more time. I have four kids. I’m sorry I keep saying that.

It’s a big presence.

I suddenly had days away from them. Now, I don’t have them. I’m very relaxed and I can focus at work, but most days when I do have them, it’s a lot. Before the divorce, I felt like I could never catch my breath ever. When I finally had time every other weekend, I turned back to writing and reading. I wrote a book, 40 Love, about falling in love again at 40, but it was too personal. I have to also go with my comfort level of what I put out there, but it was fun to write. I felt like I was getting close to being able to put the story out.

Write as much as you can of your story. Write a scene in a day. How long can that take? Try it. Ttrick yourself into getting started and don’t edit yourself before you’ve gotten enough out.

As my podcast grew more popular and my platform grew, I was seeing more opportunities. I was like, “Maybe I can do it now. Maybe this is a big enough platform. Let me try it now.” I tried different proposals. I didn’t want to write the whole book again because I’ve written it several times in different ways. I wanted an editor to work with me on it. I could do it in a lot of ways. I can write easily and quickly.

I can do a lot of different things, but I wanted the help of somebody who would help me usher it into the world and I could be like, “Here’s what I’m thinking. Have you tried this?” I wanted to be in dialogue with the person who was publishing my book, and you don’t always find that. That is not a hallmark of the publishing world necessarily.

I found an amazing editor who bought the book. Her name’s Carmen Johnson. I adore her. She was exactly the editor I needed. She bought the book and I was like, “Let’s do it,” and I did it. It didn’t take that long. I thought of it all in the scenes I wanted to tell and then I edited it. I edited it even more, then cut out about 30,000 words, and here it is.

I talked to a lot of fiction authors, but this memoir is something different. All of us have some pains in our past. Lots of people envision writing by themselves. They’re like, “I’m going to sit down by myself with my pain and try and write my story,” which is challenging. How does it make a difference to have the right person? What is it like having an editor to help frame and make some structure?

It helps a lot. It wasn’t the first time I had tried to work with an editor. Back in 2004, someone had recommended an editor to me. I wish I even knew who she was. I wonder if she’ll come out of the woodwork and message me, but I did work with an editor. It was fiction at the time when she was editing it. She was just someone that someone recommended, so who knows?

I then worked with a book coach who someone else recommended. There were a lot of useful things, but one thing that she said is, “Write the inside flap of the book that you’re writing as an exercise.” In one of the books I was starting to write, I was like, “I wouldn’t even want to read that book.” I switched gears.

When I had it as a novel, it was like, “Privileged Upper East Sider.” I would have been like, “Ugh.” When it’s about me, I could tell the whole story that it wasn’t always like this. I’m privileged because two generations in my family are people that have been entrepreneurial. They worked so hard and continue to work so hard. I’m working so hard and hoping to contribute. All is to say, that was helpful.

 

ALAB 125 | Memoir
Memoir: Something that you have inside is super valuable to other people. It’s worth it to get it out there.

 

She also urged me to go into some areas of my life, which I wasn’t comfortable talking about at the time. I waited to see if I could tell the story the way I wanted to tell it, and I could. I like accountability. I like deadlines. If I don’t have them, I put them on myself in my own calendar. I really respond well to, “You need to do this by this date. Go ahead.” I can do that very easily after bazillion years of academic training at this point during school. It was great. I worked well with Carmen. I got lucky with her and it was great.

It’s a very good book. When you’re doing it with Carmen, are you writing down parts? If you’re willing, what does it look like a little bit? If you’re not, that’s okay.

In the beginning, we did a lot of developmental stuff. We were like, “What do we think about this?” She was like, “Do you have a scene that might show this emotion?” I’m like, “Yeah. It’s this scene. Let me write this scene. I’ll try it.” She’d also be like, “Could you go into this part a little more?” It was suggestions about what I could increase and what I could decrease. It’s almost like someone asking you to turn the volume up and down. She’s not writing it or structuring it but is like, “I need more of this. I need less of this.”

I can see it in my mind because our lives are our memories. Putting them into a structure where people can read, get what you want them to get, and entertain and have them enjoy it is a big thing. That’s a project, so thank you. If there was a message from your book or from your life story that you could share with people that you’re like, “This is what I want people to get from this,” or, multiples if that’s pertinent, what is it?

I want people to get that at any moment, you can change the way you’re living in ways big and small. Even if you don’t, it’s going to change anyway. The world is going to throw things at you. That should be what you expect every day. You should get up, being like, “What’s the world going to throw at me? How am I going to deal with it?” or, “Am I doing what I want to be doing in the world knowing that my time might be up?” It’s a little bit of a dark mentality, but I mean it in an inspirational way.

I start each day like it could be my last day. Who knows? Am I doing what I want? I keep being like, “I hope I don’t die before my pub date. I want to get to my pub date.” That would be so unfair if I was like, “Now, I’m in this many days away from pub date. I have to get to this day.” There are so many times in the book where I thought my life was going one way and it went another, whether it was writing a whole book and thinking it was going to get published when I was 27 and then it not getting published in my life in a different way.

I ended up ghostwriting a book, which I never knew I wanted to do. I did end up getting divorced and that was not the plan. I had friends who I thought would be around forever but disappeared. I had loved ones disappear. I’m not special. We all have this happen to us all the time, but we only get to do this once. I’m hoping people who have experienced loss know this.

Find out if your writing needs work before you try to sell it. Either take a class and have people workshop it. Show it to a few people you trust. Don’t be afraid. Everybody needs to work more on their drafts.

I’m trying to also get through to people who haven’t to be like, “This is what I know. I want you to know it too.” Even for people who feel stuck or feel like they missed their opportunity to contribute professionally or personally, it is not too late. It might not be the perfect time for you. It might not be your season, but that’s not saying your season isn’t coming next.

I want to give people that encouragement, hope, and inspiration that something that they have inside is super valuable to other people. It’s worth it to get it out there. It might not happen at first, but if you feel this compulsion, which I feel, to get the story out that’s been dogging me for twenty-plus years, you got to listen to that and try it. It doesn’t have to be about writing, either. It could be something you’ve wanted to do. I hope that a couple of people feel inspired to go do something or go, write something, go try something, or go hug someone because of this book.

If that doesn’t make people want to go get the memoir, I don’t know what will. That’s an especially important message for a woman my age. We’re in the range of each other. In the indie space, there’s a new genre that has come up in the last few years. It’s called paranormal women’s fiction. It is a women’s fiction. It’s like urban fantasy, but all the main characters are 40-year-old-plus women going out on their own adventures.

There’s a huge audience of women who, by the time they get to 40, are like, “We finally learned that we have a little bit more say in our lives than we ever thought we did.” We’re like, “I’m pretty freaking awesome. I have things that I know. I’ve lived through some stuff, so I know I’m strong enough to live through stuff. What do I want to do now?” Having that message of, “Try it,” is powerful. Maybe it won’t work, but what are you going to lose? That’s a powerful message.

I’m glad because your story is not some famous person’s story. It’s a normal woman’s story. I’ll tell you some feedback. My grandparents on my mom’s side were wealthy. They’re not as wealthy as your family, but wealthy. I feel comfy in wealthy places, but at my dad’s side, they’re Idaho farmers. I feel comfy in the range. Also, I lived in New York for a couple of years. It’s not in Queens or the Upper, but my mom had married a guy, my stepdad, who is a real realtor. He had bought a place in the ‘80s on the Upper East Side and my aunt lives on the Upper West Side.

I’m familiar with what you’re talking about, even though I’m not a New Yorker. Here is some feedback as a lovely person and somebody who has also lived in New York, who knows New Yorkers, and how insulated it can be. Your background doesn’t mean that much to all of us not in New York in terms of your wealth. It’s you as a person that I connected with. You did that well in your story. You as a person is meaningful to me. That is what makes people listen and people read the book.

I can see you’re a little anxious about it. Your story is beautiful and it has nothing to do with that. You are a beautiful, hardworking woman who is doing things for authors, creative people, creative women, and people who need to tell their stories. I want to honor you for that, for sharing your story and doing that vulnerability. That is a beautiful model and example for other women who want to do that at whatever age they’re at. Thank you.

 

ALAB 125 | Memoir
Memoir: Great writing is important, and so is a great story.

 

Thank you for saying that. That means a lot.

Most authors have a memoir they want to write. Whether they love fiction or not, there’s still a memoir in their head that they are ready to write. What advice would you give those people who want to write whatever they want to write, but they have a story they want to tell? What’s your best advice for those people?

I’m responding to this with my publishing hat on because I’ve been getting a bunch of memoirs. Not all of them are right for publication necessarily. The question is, do you want to write the memoir or do you want to sell the memoir you’re writing? For people who want to write a memoir, for me, it helped to think in terms of scenes. What scenes do I want to tell and why? Why am I so compelled to tell these scenes?

What does it mean that I want to talk about almost killing myself trying to get to a parent-teacher conference? What was it like when this person died? How can I connect the scenes that I want to tell and why? What is my main message? Start doing it. Give yourself a deadline. Spend three months and see how much you can get done. What else are you going to do for the next three months aside from living?

Write as much as you can of your story. Write a scene in a day. How long can that take? Try it. My advice is to trick yourself into getting started and don’t edit yourself before you’ve gotten enough out. In big, bold letters at the top of my Microsoft Word document, I put, “No one will ever read this,” even though it wasn’t true. I was like, “I’m not going to let anyone see this draft. I have to do this for me.” It did turn into a book.

You tricked your brain. I love tricking my brain. It’s one of my key things. I’m like, “I’m going to get this done, so I’m going to trick myself.” What would you say, a sentence or two, about people who do want to sell their memoir?

I would say that you should get some external feedback about whether or not you’re a good writer. I know that sounds harsh, but I believe that. Find out if your writing needs work before you try to sell it. , Either take a class and have people workshop it. Show it to a few people you trust. Don’t be afraid. Everybody needs to work more on their drafts.

This is what happens. Try to figure out if the way that you write is moving other people, if there’s something good about it, if you need to take maybe a few more classes, or if you need to work on this part. Take your writing temperature if you will because you don’t need to necessarily sell it to a commercial publisher.

Great writing is important, and so is a great story. You don’t have to be hanging onto the edge of a cliff. You don’t have to eat your way out of the desert. It doesn’t have to be so extreme. It can be the most intimate moments I find very powerful and relatable. To sell a memoir, it would be great not to have a proposal. It would be great to write it out and be willing to change it. Write it out, edit it again, and put your best foot forward if you’re trying to sell it.

That advice works beautifully together. Do the first one first. Write it for you, get everything out, and then work on it. Thank you so much. Is there anything that you’d like to say?

I have a new content site launching called MomsDontHaveTimeTo.net. I will have personal essays, articles, book reviews, clothing suggestions, and all sorts of fun stuff. There will be essays by authors and not authors. If people are interested in writing for that, we are actively soliciting article ideas and stuff. You can email Jordan@ZibbyOwens.com and Emily@ZibbyOwens.com. They are in charge of all of that. Also, please read it.

I have a new show coming out. I have a whole podcast network called Zcast, but the newest one is going to be called Moms Don’t Have Time to Move and Shake. I have about 30 women who are going to be community cohosts together. It’s neat. They all have interesting, wonderful stories. We’re going to do that. That’ll be fun. Keep tuning in to Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books if you are doing that. Buy Bookends. I have my own publishing company. It’s starting in January of 2023. Be on the lookout for Zibby Books.

It is amazing. I am inspired. I appreciate you taking the time to come down with us. Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you. 

Thank you, everybody, for reading. Hugs and happy authoring.

 

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About Zibby Owens

Zibby Owens is an author, podcaster, publisher, CEO, and mother of four.

Zibby is the founder of Zibby Owens Media, a privately-held media company designed to help busy people live their best lives by connecting to books and each other. The three divisions include Zibby Books, a publishing house for fiction and memoir, Zcast, a podcast network powered by Acast including Zibby’s award-winning podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books, and Moms Don’t Have Time To, a new content and community site including Zibby’s Virtual Book Club, events, and the former Moms Don’t Have Time to Write.

She is a regular columnist for Good Morning America and a frequent guest on morning news shows recommending books.

Editor of two anthologies (Moms Don’t Have Time to Have Kids and Moms Don’t Have Time To: A Quarantine Anthology), a children’s book Princess Charming, and now a memoir Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature, Zibby loves to write. She regularly pens personal essays, starting with her first one in Seventeen magazine in 1992.

Zibby lives in New York with her husband, Kyle Owens of Morning Moon Productions, and her four children. Follow her on Instagram @zibbyowens.

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