Sophie Brickman: On Going From Nonfiction to Fiction

Sophie Brickman is a writer, reporter, and editor who has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Elle, Saveur, The Guardian, San Francisco Chronicle, and other outlets. Her work has also appeared in the Best Food Writing and the Best American Science Writing anthologies. Her first book, Baby, Unplugged, about the intersection of technology and parenting, received a starred Publishers Weekly review and landed her a spot on Good Morning America. Plays Well with Others is her first novel. She lives in New York City with her husband and three children. Follow her on X (Twitter) and Instagram.

Sophie Brickman

In this interview, Sophie discusses how she thought she wasn’t “allowed” to write fiction before tackling her new novel, Plays Well With Others, her advice for other writers, and more!

Name: Sophie Brickman
Literary agent: Amelia Atlas and Kari Stuart, CAA
Book title: Plays Well With Others
Publisher: William Morrow
Release date: August 6, 2024
Genre/category: Fiction, humor, epistolary, satire
Previous titles: Baby, Unplugged
Elevator pitch: Plays Well With Others is a satire about a mother who loses her mind applying her child to kindergarten in New York City, but is really an exploration about what it means to be a mother, and all the joy and insanity that comes along with the parenthood journey.

Bookshop | Amazon
[WD uses affiliate links.]

What prompted you to write this book?

I have three young children, and found that for about the first year of each of their lives, I felt a little unmoored and at sea—the sleep deprivation and hormones certainly contributed to that, but so too did my uncertainty about what role I was now supposed to have, and this sinking feeling that everyone else knew what to do and I didn’t, that something supposedly innate had short circuited in me. I wanted to find a way to explore that feeling in a humorous way.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

I am a nonfiction writer by training—I was a journalist for years—so I never thought I was “allowed” to write a novel. I started it as a fun side project and, perhaps because I thought no one would ever read it, it came so easily that I had a draft within a few months. I was very lucky that my agents were able to sell it shortly afterwards. So, from “let’s give this a whirl” and me staring at a blinking cursor to pub date, the whole process took just under two years, which is actually quite fast in the book world.

The original idea was to explore the education system in New York City from a serious angle. I spent a few weeks slamming my head against a wall until I realized that I could do humor much more successfully. Then everything fell into place.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

I’m not sure if every author is allowed insight into the cover selection process, but I am so lucky to have found a truly collaborative editor and publisher, so I saw a bunch of cover tries and was able to give my feedback. It seems obvious, but in non-metaphoric terms, you can absolutely judge a book by its cover. It was interesting to see how subtle tweaks could change the messaging wildly.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

I worked for years as a journalist, and everyone is always afraid you’re secretly writing down little tidbits and then going to turn that into a story. With this topic, when I told people what I was exploring, they’d grab me by the arm and say, “Just wait until you hear about this crazy thing that happened at drop-off this morning.” People were way more willing to spill the beans about all sorts of things because I was writing a work of fiction.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

I hope they laugh and find comfort knowing that so many other people are going through what they’re going through—be that second-guessing themselves, or tamping down anxiety, or waking up in the middle of the night certain a baby is crying through the monitor and then realizing no, that’s just their own crazy brain, whirring away (just me?).

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Even if you think you’re a [insert genre here] writer, if you have an itch to explore something else, scratch it! It scared the wits out of me the morning I decided, You know what, I want the nemesis to have X profession instead of Y, and then poof, I just gave her a different career. You can’t do that in journalism, and while it gave me pause, it was kind of thrilling to lean into something new. 

With a growing catalog of instructional writing videos available instantly, we have writing instruction on everything from improving your craft to getting published and finding an audience. New videos are added every month!