How Michelle Yang’s Journey as a Fat Asian Woman with Bipolar Defied All Odds to Find True Love in Phoenix Girl
LL: Let’s chat about your path to publication. When did you start writing this book?
MY: I quit my corporate job at the end of December 2018 and immediately began working on the book in early January 2019.
LL: How many drafts did you go through?
MY: Oof. I want to say maybe a dozen? There were 8 drafts that I worked on my own. I referenced books like Seven Drafts by Allison K Williams, and Before and After the Book Deal by Courney Maum. My mentor, Grace Talusan, also helped guide me when I attended the Community of Writers memoir workshop. I also took “Finding a Narrative Arc Out of a Messy Life” course from Lily Dancyger. Each time was essentially a rewrite.
