On the Business of Being a Writer with National Book Award Winner Jason Mott
"I know most folks think that after winning the National Book Award, your next book has to be even bigger. But I don’t have that belief... I just want to tell stories."
Welcome to our series, On Something with Somebody! Today, we’re sharing an interview with bestselling author and National Book Award-winner Jason Mott. If you like these interviews and want to tag along with this newsletter for more, you can sign up below.
Many of us dream about making a living as a writer, even though the odds are really, truly, horrifyingly stacked against us. Still, some manage it—and Jason Mott is one of those rare writers who has. Is there a secret to his success?
For this interview, I talked with Jason Mott—who, among many other accolades, is a National Book Award Winner as well as an overall just wonderful human being—about the business of being a writer. We talked about his journey, both the successes and the challenges; the daily (or near daily) practices he commits to; the importance of mentors and community; and the inspiration for writing book after book after book. We even dove into our shared interest in Formula One—high-speed motor car racing, for those who don't know—to explore what it means for a writer to be more than just a writer, too.
For my idealistic, ambitious, aspiring, hopeful, dedicated, realistic, multi-faceted writers: this one's for you.
“You can’t be in it for fame or success or any of that. There’s simply too much rejection in this business. You have to love writing. You have to be obsessed with it. You have to do it simply because it’s who you are.”
Justine Payton: You're a National Book Award-winning author from your most recent title, Hell Of A Book, but you wrote a number of novels before this one, too. In a general sense, what has that journey as a writer looked like for you?
Jason Mott: The short answer is that it’s been a winding road with lots of ups and downs. Writing is a strange art, and publishing is a strange industry. Navigating the two has been a learning experience. But overall, it’s been a great ride. I got really fortunate with the success of my first novel, The Returned, and with my fourth novel, Hell of a Book. And I got to see slightly less success with my third novel. But that’s the nature of both the art and the business. Thankfully, good friends and mentors have made the journey pretty wonderful.
JP: I imagine a lot of aspiring writers think that if only they can just publish a book that then gets adapted to film in some way, they will be set. Your first novel, The Returned, was one of those books adapted into a TV series. What was that experience like? Did it change anything about the way you write, or how you view your writing?
JM: My experience with adaptation was really smooth, thankfully. The production company was terrific, and the showrunner was a great guy who wound up becoming a friend.
I didn’t have any involvement in the TV series, and I think that contributed to the positive experience. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about how Hollywood works, and I’m not sure it’s a place most writers really want to be. And what I mean by that is I feel most writers like to have control over their art. They're the only "cook" in the kitchen. Yes, there are agents and editors who come in at various stages and offer valuable feedback that does, often, change the end result. But even having that added feedback still usually leads to something at the end which very much resembles what the author set out to write.
Hollywood, conversely, can take a writer's work and turn it into something they never saw it becoming—for good, sometimes, but often for ill. There are simply many, many more cooks in the kitchen in Hollywood. And that's not saying there's anything wrong with that, it's just saying that most writers aren't prepared for that and, usually, don't enjoy the process very much.
JP: What are some things about the business of being a writer that you wish you would have known sooner? What has surprised you, or upset you, about the industry?
JM: I wish I’d known just how much work—and by how many people—really goes into the production and, hopefully, success of a book. I think the image is that there’s just the writer and, maybe, the editor who make a book. But that’s not true. There’s a whole team of people, from publicists to cover designers to interior designers and more. It takes a village to raise a book, to twist the old expression.
I guess I was surprised by how much people in the publishing industry really do care about books and want to introduce them to readers. Yes, there’s a corporate component at the higher levels that can’t be ignored, but overall, the people who are in publishing just love books and readers in a way that most people don’t understand.
JP: I'd love to know a bit about the inspiration behind Hell of a Book, and how writing it shaped you as a person. Did you feel that it was your best work yet when you finished it? Does its success create any sense of pressure or expectation when it comes to your future books?
JM: Hell of a Book came about largely due to the Freddie Gray murder in Baltimore and a lifetime of being Black in America. I wanted to write about all these thoughts and feelings I’d had my whole life. And, after years of not doing that, I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try.
For the record, I did not feel it was my best work. I thought it was a mess that nobody would like or understand. I was terrified when I showed it to my agent and even more terrified when my agent sent it to editors. Thankfully, people connected with it.
Actually, I think the success of Hell of a Book takes away from the feeling of pressure. I know most folks think that after winning the National Book Award, your next book has to be even bigger. But I don’t have that belief. The National Book Award wasn’t something I ever thought I would achieve. I just wanted to tell a story. So that’s still the approach I take to all my writing: I just want to tell stories. For me, “success” means putting “The End” on that last page.
“This lifestyle is challenging. And it’s really easy to quit. That support of community is what keeps you coming back to the page when writing gets difficult.”
JP: One of the things I hear writers debate is how one should structure their writing practice—writing every day, writing only when the inspiration hits, writing with a glass of wine, a candle lit, etc. What is your writing practice like? How has it changed over the years, if at all?
JM: I write about five days a week. I’m a believer in consistent writing. But I also want to say that it’s extremely subjective. Each writer needs to find what works for them. That takes time and constant fine-tuning. The only thing that’s changed for me is that I’ve throttled back a little on how much I let writing consume my life. When I was younger, I didn’t allow much else in my life other than writing. I was a workaholic, and I don’t say that with any positive connotations. Now, I make time for friends, family, and loved ones. Yes, I still write five days a week, but I’ve learned when to step away.
JP: We know that writing is a solitary activity, but my experience has often been that writing thrives in community—when I am discussing writing, receiving feedback on my work, engaging in conversation about ideas. What role have other writers or mentors played in your life? What is the value of community in relation to our creative writing?
JM: Mentors have made me who I am today. I’ve had poetry mentors, fiction mentors, and simply “writing life” mentors. They’ve all been invaluable. Having friends, mentors, teammates, and even rivals is really important to a healthy writing life.
This lifestyle is challenging. And it’s really easy to quit. That support of community is what keeps you coming back to the page when writing gets difficult. And make no mistake about it: writing is always difficult.
JP: I know we both share a love for Formula One (let's go, Lando!), and that you have interests that go well beyond just writing and reading. What is the importance, or value, of identifying as more than just a writer? How do you balance those different interests and identities?
JM: Yes! Formula One and auto racing have been my most passionate hobbies for decades. I’m also an avid video gamer, cinephile, and (sometimes) jiu-jitsu practitioner.
Personally, I love getting away from writing. For me, writing is the thing that I can almost never stop thinking about. Nearly every second of every day is spent thinking about writing in some way. So I like hobbies and friends who aren’t connected with writing because it lets me turn off that part of my brain for a little while and view the world through a different set of lenses. I almost never talk about writing, books, or publishing with most of my closest friends. And I love them for that.
JP: "Writers are readers." We hear this all the time, and it's fairly uncontroversial to assert that the best writers are often those who read, perhaps even those who read widely. How has reading shaped your writing? What are some books you would recommend everyone read?
JM: Yeah, this is definitely one of the foundational truths of writing. Writers need to read. I was a voracious reader when I was younger, and it helped my writing in countless ways. Writers need to be big readers because writers need to be aware of all the different ways that stories can be told, scenes can be created, characters can be developed, etc. And you can’t know about all of that if you don’t read.
My recommendations for readers have always been Lord of the Flies, Grendel, and October Light. And that still stands. I’d also add to that list The Color Purple, Johnny Got His Gun, and Watchmen.
JP: You and I have talked a bit about your forthcoming novel, People Like Us, and how it began as one thing but then became something else. Can you share a bit about that process? How important is it to be flexible with our ideas? How much are we in control of a story, versus the story being in control of us?
JM: Sure. For me, my early-stage writing process is very much akin to free writing. I simply start my fingers typing, and I don’t put any expectations on what comes out. I try to make room for whatever voices or ideas my brain is pondering. All of my books have begun this way, so People Like Us was no different. It started as one thing, and then became a semi-memoir story. Each time I finish a project, I try to reflect on what I learned during the writing of it, and I’m still chewing on People Like Us and all that it taught me.
JP: You've made a life and a living out of the business of being a writer. You’re one of the rare few, it seems. What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
JM: This is going to sound contradictory, but don’t get into writing with the hopes of making money. You have to write because you love writing. Period. The odds of making money as a writer are astronomically slim. It’s hard to even express how rare it is. So if that’s why you’re doing it, you’ll get frustrated very quickly, quit, and walk away feeling like you wasted time. You can’t be in it for fame or success or any of that. There’s simply too much rejection in this business. You have to love writing. You have to be obsessed with it. You have to do it simply because it’s who you are.
Jason Mott is a bestselling author, National Book Award Winner, Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction Winner, Pushcart Prize nominee, NAACP Image Award nominee, and Carnegie Medal for Excellence Longlist nominee. Most recently, he was selected as a 2024 National Endowment of the Arts Creative Writing Fellow. He has a BFA in Fiction and an MFA in Poetry, both from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His forthcoming novel is People Like Us (August 5, 2025).
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Great interview. Thanks for this.