New York Times bestselling author and educator, Helen Schulman, spoke to me about her winding path to bestseller, why a writing career is 90% sweat and rejection, and how the #MeToo movement inspired her latest novel, LUCKY DOGS. Helen Schulman is the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels, including Come with Me and This Beautiful Life, and she is currently the Fiction Chair of the Creative Writing Program at The New School. Her latest, Lucky Dogs, is described as a novel that “... lays bare what happens to women—no matter how fortunate they may appear to be on the surface—whose lives have been warped by brutality and misogyny.” Best-selling author Jennifer Egan called the book, "Part thriller, part Hollywood satire [and] a brash, sometimes heartbreaking saga in which trauma and self-preservation converge across decades and continents. This is Helen Schulman's best novel yet." Helen Schulman’s fiction, non-fiction, and reviews have appeared in such places as Vanity Fair, Time, Vogue, GQ, The New York Times Book Review, and The Paris Review. She also serves as Executive Director for WriteOn NYC, a fellowship program that provides free creative writing instruction to underserved New York City school children. [Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm] [If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen] In this file, Helen Schulman and I discussed:  Why her latest book isn’t funny  Her intensive research process Why she wrote her latest from bed Her passion for helping underprivileged kids discover a love of writing How to tell if a writer is going to “make it” And a lot more! Show Notes: Helen Schulman | The New School Lucky Dogs: A Novel By Helen Schulman (Amazon)  Helen Schulman Amazon Author Page WriteOn NYC – Connecting passionate writers to New York City students Aspen Words Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices