“I essentially rearranged my life”:
Emily J. Smith on her career as a writer and novelist
October 28, 2025
Marian Kopf, “Kompozycje” (1949)
You can listen to the introduction to this interview on Substack, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
Editor’s note
With her debut novel, Emily has accomplished the rare feat of writing a book that is timely, incisive, and deeply affecting — all while being the kind of impossible-to-put-down read that audiences dream of finding.
The book, along with its author’s Substack, draws on Emily’s years of experience as a woman working in tech to offer cultural commentary that is both intellectually rigorous and emotionally honest. In one exchange, for example, we see one character confronting another, saying, “You’d think a woman that smart would know better.” The book’s main character, Edie, responds without hesitating: “Not at all,” she says. “Smart women look for challenges.”
She’s one of the few writers whose latest work I never miss. I’m thrilled we were able to connect over this interview.
Jana M. Perkins
Founder, Women of Letters
Emily J. Smith is a writer based in Brooklyn. Her debut novel, NOTHING SERIOUS, is out now from William Morrow / HarperCollins. She has a BS in computer engineering from Cornell, an MBA from UC Berkeley. Her writing has appeared in The Rumpus, Catapult, Curbed, Slate, Hobart, The Washington Post, Vice, and elsewhere. She publishes regularly on Substack and runs the workshop From Corporate to Creative Writer.
How did your childhood shape your ideas about what work looked like and what was possible for you?
Emily J. Smith: This is such a great question. The way our childhood shapes what we view as possible really can’t be overstated.
My family had very little money when I was growing up and as a result, I never considered pursuing the arts. From an early age, what I wanted to be when I grew up was rich. I was lucky that my parents instilled an appreciation for academics, so I was encouraged to take school seriously, and fed the classic line that I could do anything if I put my mind to it.
I studied computer engineering in college and got an extremely practical job after graduation because I had to pay back my loans and I wanted to build a financial safety net for my parents and my sister. But once I had some semblance of financial stability, I became wildly uninterested in the pursuit of more money.
In my thirties, I finally started to ask myself what I actually wanted to do, money aside, and the answer was writing. That’s when I finally started taking writing classes, reading obsessively, and working on a novel. I was a late bloomer in that way.
Fast-forward to today. How did the path to what you’re doing now unfold?
EJS: It’s been about ten years since I took my first writing class and allowed myself to pursue writing seriously. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I essentially rearranged my life around writing.
I had always conflated my identity with my career—working in tech and nonprofits—but when I began writing I started to view my job as simply that, a job, and poured my energy into writing. Through classes and workshops, I made writer-friends, which shifted my social circle. Forming close relationships with other writers allowed me to keep going, to not feel completely insane taking my writing seriously despite frequent rejections and the daily struggle to coherently form thoughts. Exchanging work with these friends, having someone to send a draft to, to toss around an idea with, was life-changing.
With writing, the best thing you can do is to keep going and I can’t emphasize enough how much my writing friends have helped me stay on this path.
Did you have any mentors along the way?
EJS: I did! I’m a huge fan of mentors and cultivating that kind of relationship.
It wasn’t a formal mentor relationship, but the writer Chloe Caldwell was my first ever writing teacher and she became a very close friend. I’ve taken many classes with her and working together and watching her journey up close really helped me believe that I could keep going.
Tell us about some of the projects, ideas, or questions you’re currently working on.
EJS: I’m currently working on my second novel. The book explores the power of codependency, both to soothe and destroy.
It explores relationships in general, what makes them worth it, the ways they can give and detract, and the challenge of pushing against the pull of the nuclear family that is still so present in our culture. It also examines questions around privilege and art, who can afford to be an artist in our current society, and what does “an artist” even mean.
What do you wish you’d started doing sooner?
EJS: Part of me wishes I’d opened my eyes up to writing earlier, but in a lot of ways I’m grateful that I had a different experience than most writers I know.
Financially, I can fall back on my engineering and business background to make a living. And most of what propels me to write stems from all the ways I contorted myself when I was younger, before I started paying attention to what I actually wanted and enjoyed. Part of me does wish I documented more of that time, or at least paid attention in the way I’ve learned to do now, as a writer.
What book have you most often gifted to others?
EJS: Books can be so personal, what we’re drawn to, what moves us. I think the book I’ve most often gifted is a journal. Creative writing transformed my life and how I view myself and the world, and I think there is so much to be gained from that kind of reflection no matter who you are.
When you think of women who have inspired or influenced you, who comes to mind?
EJS: There are so many! I love women who take a microscope to their world with hilarity and insight and depth, women forging life on their own terms.
Some that come to mind currently: Jacqueline Novak, Sheila Heti, Issa Rae, Sally Rooney, Miranda July, Michaela Cole, Chris Krauss.
Outside of your work, what’s something you feel you’ve thought about more deeply than most other people?
EJS: The question of whether or not to have children. I have thought about this question almost every day for the past seven years.
I do not have children, and I don’t think I will because to do so in my particular financial situation would be to give up the parts of my life I like best—my writing and my freedom. But there is still a loss there and I question it regularly, especially against the backdrop of a culture that very much encourages motherhood despite giving mothers very little tangible, structural support.
What’s a commonly shared piece of advice that you disagree with, and why?
EJS: A lot of people say you should write every day, but I think depending on your relationship to discipline that can sometimes backfire.
I used to be very driven by rituals and routine, but I got to the point where my routines grew into unhealthy addictions. Now, I’m hesitant to force myself to do anything every single day that I don’t actually have to do, especially if, like writing, it’s meant to be for my own pleasure. Discipline is hugely necessary in the writing process, and there are definitely periods—if I’m deep in a novel, for example—when I write every day. But I also have stretches where I don’t.
The worst thing is getting into a cycle of self-hatred because you set unreasonable goals for yourself. Sometimes it’s just as important to feel inspired and motivated as it is to physically sit down and write. If you find yourself staring at a blank page, go for a walk, read a book, listen to a podcast, talk to a friend. All of these activities inspire thinking, which eventually inspires writing.
Tell us about a time when you had to take a big risk in order to move forward. What did that experience teach you about how to navigate difficult circumstances?
EJS: Leaving my job multiple times to take long chunks of time off and focus on writing my novel was a big risk. It was a privilege of course, too.
I’d saved enough money that I could do that for a few months at a time. But the first time I did it, I had never not worked in my adult life. It felt like I might be throwing my entire career away, something I’d worked very, very hard to establish. But it did not get thrown away. It was reshaped, but in a way that turned out to be positive albeit different, because it aligned more with what I wanted—time to write.
Where do you feel the most scarcity in your life? Where do you feel the most abundance?
EJS: I’ll always feel scarcity with money as a result of my upbringing. I wish I could be one of those people who doesn’t worry about money but I’m wired to always be afraid of not having enough.
I feel abundance with my friendships. Friendship has always been a priority for me. I make a concerted effort to stay in close touch with the people I love.
What keeps you going?
EJS: My sister. She’s truly a lifeline for me.
Where can our readers find you?
EJS: You can find me on Instagram at @emjsmith. I also publish the newsletter Unresolving on Substack. You can find more on my website, including information about my class, From Corporate to Creative Writer, and my debut novel, NOTHING SERIOUS.