Meet the co-author who helped write the entirety of “Hey Ladies!” on gmail
Happy Friday, Deezers! Today’s interview is with Caroline Moss, one of the authors of Hey Ladies!, that email-chains-as-a-book we highlighted earlier following the lives of eight millennial lady friends as they all prepare for one girl’s wedding.
Much has been made already of how “Hey Ladies!” captures that particular roil of dread/passive aggression/emoji-laden drama that friend group emails entail, but we asked Caroline a a few questions about the writing process, what it was like to expand the concept from humor columns, and more. Enjoy!
(PS, if extremely on-point spoofing of wedding culture and millennial email-speak is your thing, get the book from Amazon here. It’s a v. quick and funny read!)
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The interviewee: Caroline Moss (Follow her at @socarolinesays)
The gig: Co-author of “Hey Ladies!”
What was the writing process like for creating this book (with your co-author, Michelle Markowitz)? We read in Bustle that you and Michelle would take turns “embodying” each of the 8 characters.
We wrote the entire book on gmail. When we started the series, it was literally like, us emailing each other back and forth and we'd be gchatting each other being like, "okay I'm going to respond as Nicole" or "I feel like Jen should send an email now." When we started writing the book, we tried doing it in a google doc and we absolutely got stage fright. We couldn't get anything good out. We had to honor the gmail. Once we did that it was like, the easiest, most fun project ever.
The NYT characterizes this book as a "200-plus-page infographic", as opposed to a graphic novel or even an illustrated novel. What vision did you guys have in mind to bring the book alive visually?
We actually did not have a vision in the beginning so we credit our amazing editor, Samantha Weiner at Abrams. We had come in with a half-baked idea about a guide to being a maid of honor in the voice of a HEY LADY!, and she was the one who thought that emails and graphics would work well. And we're thankful we had the good sense to trust her because she's an effing genius.
“Hey Ladies” started as a humor column for the (now-defunct) The Toast. What was the journey like of turning it into a full book?
It was so exciting! When we were writing the series, we had a really easy time writing characters no one would ever want to be friends with. It was fun and funny and kind of horrifying and perfect for a 5-7 minute quick read for blog readers.
But to write a book is so different -- you CANNOT have 8 unlikeable characters. No one would read that book. So it was cool to get to make everyone more 3D, and to show off the girls' human sides. It was a good challenge for us as creators too.
Which character do you identify with most?? (we like to think we’re a Gracie, alas, we are extremely Ali)
I like to say I'm a Morgan/Katie rising! My worst hey lady qualities: definitely hate to be involved in Big Events but then get offended when I am not involved in Big Events, even when my friends are not involving me because they KNOW I hate it, so this is very much like Morgan. And like Katie, I went through a long phase in my early and mid-20s where I definitely put bros before hoes. I sent some good half-assed apology emails just like she does, too.
Two characters in the book, Caitlin and Nicole, are aggressively branding themselves as influencers/entrepreneurs in all these various ways, and Katie, the journalist, tries to "monetize" her personal life by writing about it.
What was the inspiration behind their backstories, and how seriously do you think people starting out in media should take the idea of ~being a brand~ unto themselves?
This is a tricky one! Branding yourself in media is so different than like, a Bachelorette contestant or Real Housewife selling you flat tummy tea (or is it??) and that's where a lot of Caitlin comes from.
Nicole is more like, one of those ads in the subway that makes you hate capitalism because it's trying to convince you that capitalism is amazing. You know the ones, it's like the picture of a woman and the caption is like "haven't slept in 6 weeks because I am a HUSTLER, bitch!"
If you're starting out in media and building a brand, I think the one rule Nicole doesn't follow but Caitlin does (painfully) is remembering that it's a slow burn and people don't trust something that just appears overnight and wants you to buy in 100%.
And finally, what are you currently working on (besides that great Meghan Markle spinoff for The Rumpus!), and where can we see more of your writing in the future?
I am currently working on two brand new projects and some amazing new tweets to add to my extensive collection, which you can read over at @socarolinesays!
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That’s all for this week! Enjoy that weekend, Deezers.
Like Deez Links? Forward this to someone you should write a book with over email!!