I was torn between the Emerson's master's program and The New School's creative writing for children's literature. Talk to me about the vision of what you thought might happen, even when you were at Emerson in the masters program, and then what is happening?Īctually, I would say that I never envisioned this for myself. I give you Maurene Goo on what it means to make it big as an author. Maurene gives us her honest take on criticism and why she doesn't read reviews, and also the writing advice that she thinks people should really stop giving. Maurene's fourth and most recent book is Somewhere Only We Know, which the New York Times described as a delightful romp, and which also won a Cosmopolitan Best Book of 2019. It seems silly, but that's precisely what she did, and does. She never thought in a million years it would turn into anything, or that you could write books for a living. She kept writing this book she had started. Maurene graduated from Emerson in 2007 with a master's in writing and publishing, but it's what she did while she was at Emerson that was most surprising.

By our own account she's extremely practical, and so she's as surprised as anyone that she's making a living as a YA novelist. What's really interesting is when you end up doing a thing you didn't really plan to do, because you swore it wouldn't be practical, or loving work that you'd never thought was a fit or even remotely possible.

Both parts of you are not easy to deal with, because neither one is totally right or totally wrong. Then there's this other part of you that doesn't give a crap about all that, and wants to do what it wants, but feels good. There's part of your brain that tells you to be smart, practical, and responsible. I'm your host and Emerson alumni, Terri Trespicio, and we've got 30 minutes, so let's get started. As far as we're concerned, if you're making something, you've made it big time. Making a living, making a difference, and sometimes making it up as they go along. You're about to meet an Emersonian who's making it. Welcome to 'Making It Big in 30 Minutes,' a podcast for, by, and about the Emerson community. What does it mean to make it big? Having money, fame, worldwide acclaim, climbing the corporate ladder, or crushing it in your business? One thing's for sure, there isn't just one way to do it.

Since you asked maurene goo