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Host (Totally Booked)
welcome to Totally Booked.
Zibby Owens
I'm Zibby Owens.
Host (Totally Booked)
I've interviewed more than 2,000 authors on this show and learned endless amounts about storytelling, reinvention and life itself. Because when you talk about books, you're really talking about life.
Zibby Owens
So get ready to hear from today's best authors, the best selling and the not yet discovered. Come find your next great read and the story behind it.
Host (Totally Booked)
Enjoy. Jenny Jackson is the author of the Shampoo Effect, a novel. Jenny is the New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple street, which she came on this podcast to discuss. A graduate of Williams College and the Columbia Publishing course, Jenny is Vice President and Editorial Director of fiction at Alfred A. Knopf. Raised in Ipswich, Massachusetts, she lives in Brooklyn Heights with her family. I was so excited to talk to her about her latest book. Welcome, Jenny. Thanks so much for coming back on Totally Booked to talk about the shampoo effect. Congratulations.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
I'm so happy to be here with you.
Grow Therapy Advertiser
Yeah.
Host (Totally Booked)
Thank you. Yay. Oh, my gosh. Okay. Tell listeners about this fabulous book. All the twists and turns. No, I'm kidding. But tell everybody what it's about.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
So it's the story of a young woman. She's a writer. She grew up in New York. Her mom is a very famous thriller writer. And her mom sort of finagled her a job in New York publishing. So she is a Nepo baby. And she realizes she needs to spread her wings, go off on her own. So she wins a fellowship to study to work in Massachusetts and write her great American novel. And it comes with this cottage on a beach. But when she gets there, instead of getting to work, she meets a guy and she falls in love. And soon she's spending all of her time with him and his wild friends until she learns that one of his friends is pregnant and the baby is his. So it becomes a story about parenthood, about love, about what millennial marriage really means, and about whether or not you can love someone who is having a baby with someone else.
Host (Totally Booked)
The age old question.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
The age old question.
Host (Totally Booked)
I mean, what is millennial marriage? I mean, what do people think? I've heard that it's like, on the out, like, nobody wants to get married anymore. Is that it? Yeah.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
I mean, one of the things that I think is so funny is, like, there have been all these articles. I think New York magazine's the cut publishes an article about once a week about polyamory, about, you know, open marriages. Honestly, I don't have a ton of friends in open marriages, but I do have a lot of friends who think their marriage is different than their parents marriage. You know, I have friends who are full 50, 50. The husband does half the housework or he thinks he does, or I have several friends who didn't meet the right guy and said, I'm just going to do it on my own and had kids on their own. I have plenty of gay friends who have children. I have lots of friends who are divorced. I have, you know, so we all do think we're doing marriage in our own way. But at the end of the day, there is sort of the understanding that it's a lot easier when you have someone to raise kids with. But it doesn't come without its pains.
Host (Totally Booked)
Yes, well, you show us that in many ways throughout the book and in the section of that new motherhood, which is always so easy and relaxing.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
I've heard the birth scene can be sort of triggering for people also when they read it. The birth scene is a bit realistic.
Host (Totally Booked)
You know, I had a C section, so I was a casual observer to the whole scene. So, you know, there you go. I had many C sections anyway. Too much information. Okay, so first of all, the relationship of the side character of the agent might be one of my favorites. I feel like he is the unsung hero of this thing who is like the duplicitous, sort of out for himself guy. I just think he is just a refreshing. Like a refreshing character.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
I love Akkad. He is the ro. He is the cat. He is the sort of bad guy that are. That our narrator fell for, who may or may not be that bad because at least he says what he wants is. Yeah, in a weird way, he is the only person who's really honest that he wants to make money, he wants success. He's going to. He's going to do what it takes to get it and. But he's not actually all that unkind about it. At the end of the day, I'm not giving anything away, but like, he says what he means.
Host (Totally Booked)
Yeah, that's always nice.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
As an editor, I think it's really generous that I wrote such a nice part for an agent. I mean, come on.
Host (Totally Booked)
Yes, the community will thank you for that. Oh, my gosh. But the main female characters really inhabit the heart of it. And actually I guess the male lead as well. But I feel like the relationships between all of these women and their conversations and different paths and competition and actually I guess really four, right? There's Caroline and there's this trio, Fran and Augusta and Bailey. And so we get to watch as they all have their own dramas and then they all come together to. As part of a shared drama as well. And then Caroline is the ultimate outsider, Right. Who comes into this community and is like, oh my gosh, you know, do I. You know, they're so. It's such a closed thing that they. Your casual, you know, quips are
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
cut
Host (Totally Booked)
right to the heart. Talk about this sort of like in group out. Group dynamic.
SoFi Personal Loan Advertiser (Alternate)
Yeah.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
So these three women, Bailey, Fran and Augusta, they have all grown up together. And I mean, I definitely thought a lot about especially my best friend from high school. But the way when you're young, you're just constantly sleeping over each Other's houses. You've seen like your best friend's dad in his like, pajamas. Mamas, you've like, you know, use the shampoo at their house. You have like woken up there in the night. You've like cuddled with your, their dog. Like, there's like an intense kind of relationship that you have when you're, when you're childhood best friends with somebody. That relationship follows you throughout your life if you're lucky enough to still be friends with those people. You do have these funny little bumps where you've made different decisions with your lives. You have married different kinds of people, you've pursued your professions more or less aggressively, you're raising your kids differently. And in a weird way, those different decisions can almost feel like tiny betrayals between friends of your youth. You know, like, well, you did it that way, but I did it this way. Why are we doing it different ways? And in order to like maintain friendships with people you've known for a long time, you just have to sweep some stuff under the rug. You have to let some things go. You can't kind of like say it every time you have a problem with somebody. So these are three friends who have been close knit for so long and who frankly have brushed some stuff under the rug. Some pretty big stuff under the rug. When this newcomer, Caroline, the New Yorker, breaks into this group, she's the disrupting factor. And so it sort of forces these old friends who are so tight to, but who also have some baggage to kind of air their dirty laundry in a way that's very painful for everybody.
Host (Totally Booked)
So interesting. What is a group you have felt like a Caroline in, if at all.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
You know, I think that because I married a native New Yorker, I have often felt like the Caroline, you know, because my husband has all of his best friends from like childhood, from high school, they're all here. And so I'm frequently the, the one kind of observing and eavesdropping and, you know, like the outsider. I also have to admit, two books in a row, I really do have an affinity for the outsider. I think that when a new person enters a social group, being able to see through their eyes lets you learn more as a reader about these characters than they would ever be able to tell you about themselves. And I think Massachusetts, you know, I grew up in a town exactly like the one where this book is based. And small town Massachusetts can be very insular. It can be very insidery, you know, like, I mean, if you grew up there, then you belong. If you didn't you didn't. And we had this funny thing where I. My parents moved to my hometown, Ipswich, Massachusetts when I was six months old. But my parents were Southerners, so, like, we were never actually townies. We were never really so deep in the fabric there. My mom has been part of the garden club for 45 years now. She's still kind of a new one there, you know, and that really is kind of. There is like an insider ness in these small New England communities. I mean, there's this great quote. It's from. It's from Gloucester. I saw it in this documentary about Gloucester where it said, around here, the. The family trees are so tight. It's more like a wreath. And you run the very real risk of marrying your cousin. It's just like such a tight community.
SoFi Personal Loan Advertiser
Love that.
Host (Totally Booked)
A family tree being a wreath, that's a good one. Love that. Okay. As an editor and an author, I'm sure you must have some self censoring when you're writing, or maybe you don't let me phrase that differently. Do you have self censoring as like an expert editor when you're writing yourself?
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
I mean, I think that I have had the wonderful chance to observe, like, a lot of writing up close. And I've seen a lot of ways where a plot can go awry, where things can fall. Fall apart. And I think that I've learned really well from my writers how to construct a novel. I think that when I'm writing, I have to make an active decision to not overthink it too much because it's so easy to like, kill every idea that you have if you think, oh, that's too, you know, that's been done here, that's been done there, or that didn't work when so and so did it. So I think there's two things happening where I think, like, big picture wise. I'm taking a lot of instruction from all the books that I've read and edited. But on like a micro level, when I'm in the flow, I'm trying really hard not to slow myself down. One of Pamela Dorman's amazing writers, Rosie Walsh, talked about how sometimes she will turn the font white when she's writing, and she will write in white so that she can't censor herself. I am such a bad typist that that would, like, never work for me. I would turn it back to black and be like, oh, my God, that's gobbledygook. But I take this spiritual guidance from that, which is like, let it rip. And Then come back later.
Host (Totally Booked)
I love that. Well, I feel like all your characters are really wrestling with responsibility, Right. They are at a phase in their lives where they have to stop being kids and somehow become adults. And some of the responsibility lies in still tending for their family of origin, like Fran and all the financial issues and Augusta and her kids and Bailey and her new baby and waiting. And then Caroline in her first big job, sort of away from her mom. And so I feel like trying to wrestle with that and knowing that you have to bear that for the rest of your life is something that is hard to square with the, you know, more carefree elements of young adulthood, so to speak. Yeah. What do you think about that?
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
I mean, I think it's kind of like hilarious for me to feel like in some ways I've written a coming of age novel about 30 year olds, you know, like, okay, they're parents. Like, come on. But I really do believe that the biggest coming of age you have, the biggest sort of growth experience you have, is becoming a parent. You know, I mean, you go to college and you grow up, you get your first apartment and you grow up, you get your first job and you grow up. But honestly, you're still only looking out for you when you have children. You have to radically change every single day. You have to radically change every priority. You have to just make these huge adjustments to who you are. And when you're doing that alongside these people who you have these old patterns with, you know, your friends who you always stay up until 2 in the morning with, your friends who you play beer pong with, your friends who you, you know, lie in the sand all afternoon, gossip with. It's like all of a sudden having to make that shift is a huge adjustment. And, you know, the responsibility piece of it is really interesting because I think each of these characters thinks they know who they're responsible for, but they are forgetting someone else. So, like, Caroline learns that she has to be responsible for more than just herself and her career. I would say Fran has to learn that she can't just look out for everybody else. She needs to look out for herself also. So they all, I think they all are fac. These kind of mismatches in terms of where they feel their responsibilities should lie and where they're maybe not tending to the responsibilities they need to.
Host (Totally Booked)
So when you talk about the construction of the novel, is that something that you think through ahead of time, like the mismatch? Or did it just. Does it just happen?
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with no fees or minimums on checking accounts, it's no wonder the Capital One bank guy is so passionate about banking with Capital One. If he were here, he wouldn't just tell you about no fees or minimums. He'd also talk about how most Capital One cafes are open seven days a week to assist with your banking needs. Yep, even on weekends it's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capital1.com Bank Capital One NA Member FDIC
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Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
So I usually know. I usually know the big problem. I know, like, the climax. I know where I'm heading to. A lot of times I have a couple really, like, big bump drama scenes that I know that I'm building to, but I don't really know exactly how I'm gonna get there. And so for the first third of the book, I'm kind of just flying, like, let's see, let's see. And then halfway through, I start to try and figure out where I'm gonna get to those goal posts for. And it's funny because there'll be scenes that I'm really looking forward to writing. I'm like, there's a basketball scene. Not gonna say more than that. But I was like, I can't wait to get to the basketball scene. And so some of what keeps me going is being like, I have to set it up so I can get there, you know? So it's actually. It's very motivating to know some of the end pieces, but then I don't. I never know exactly how the chips are going to fall once I get there.
Host (Totally Booked)
So when did you have the idea for this book, and what was it about the book that you were like, this definitely has to be my next book?
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
I remember after, it was like, we had had our first media cocktail party for Pineapple Street. So it was before Pineapple street came out. I went to dinner with my editor, Pamela Dorman, and I told her, basically the outline of the book. So I knew. I didn't know exactly who the characters were, but I knew that I wanted to write about an accidental pregnancy inspired by Tom Brady and Bridget Moynihan's accidental pregnancy, a literary trope as we're all familiar with. And then the thing I really was fascinated with was I grew up in the same hometown where John Updike wrote his books. When he wrote the book couples in 1968, it was a huge scandal. It blew the town apart. I wanted to write about a writer in a small town. That New York Times piece, that viral piece by Robert Kolker called the Bad Art Friend had made a huge splash. Everyone in publishing was talking about it. You know, what. What are you allowed to write? What are you not allowed to write? What's fair game? What's not fair game? That story, Cat Person, had been published in the New Yorker, had made a huge splash, and then had kind of a fallout of its own. So those were the ideas that I knew I wanted to explore. And I. And the characters. Some of the characters were just, like, there when I started. Bailey was there when I started. Van was there when I started. Some of the other characters sort of formed as I was, like, dreaming about the ideas.
Host (Totally Booked)
So cool. Actually, my husband just asked me if I knew that about Cat Person, if I knew. That's so funny. Like, literally right before this. Yeah, funny. I don't know. The universe is bizarre.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
It's a great story. It's an amazing story.
Host (Totally Booked)
Okay, so when you take apart the book, and by the way, and I know I emailed you this because the ending was so perfect. It was just, I think, the best last scene of a book. It was just so full circle and so satisfying and clever. I just loved it. I felt like, as I told you, it was like a bravo moment. I was like, that was perfect. It was just so perfect.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
But anyway, I knew I wanted to get there.
Host (Totally Booked)
Yeah, that was really great. What do you think makes a great book? When you're reading a book, what do you think it is, and can you even articulate it? Or is it just something you know when you see it?
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
I mean, I think there's two different things. I think a lot about this question because of my job as a book editor. And I think that there are sort of two different things that I'm looking for. One of them is I'm looking for something that I haven't ever read before. And I feel like that was true with Yesteryear. That was true with Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. That was True with Station 11. These are books where, you know, I would sit in. In our sales meeting, and they'd be like, what are the comparative titles? And I'd be like, there's nothing. No, no, no. Nobody's written this. There's nothing. You know, with yesteryear, we could, like, never even come to a real comp title because it hasn't been done. So I think something that video and the video, you know, video game novels for Gabrielle Zevin. Again, we were like, is it Andy Weir? Nope, it's not Andy Weir. Is it Cavalier and Clay, but instead of comics, it's video. Okay, maybe. Anyway, that to me is like the sign of a great thing is when it's so different, it's really hard to even express it. And then the other thing I'm looking for is a lot simpler. And that is something that I know within the first 30 pages of reading a book when I am with a voice that is unput downable. And I think, oh, I just want to hang out with you. And that can be anything from someone who is just really funny and entertained. I don't publish Kathryn Newman and Sandwich, but that's one of those books where literally, like, what? Page two. You're like, I'm gonna hang out with this woman. Like, whatever, you know? Or I don't publish Ann Patchett. But when I read Tom Lake, I was like, tell me what happened with the movie star. You know, so one of those voices that just reels you in and, like, you couldn't pay me to put the book down. That's really. That's really what I'm looking for.
Host (Totally Booked)
Yeah, it would be nice to have that every time.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
I know, right? Our jobs would be so much easier.
Host (Totally Booked)
Yeah, that would be great.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
Except then we'd publish everything, Zavi. So it would be a lot harder.
Host (Totally Booked)
But that's true. We just read. We were just reading a book, and it had a lot of promise, but then we all had to whisper, like, but I feel like maybe the main character's a little bit annoying, you know?
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
Oh, that's a tough one. Unless they're, like, so purposefully annoying that you. On purpose anyway, which is always a trick, you know, the whole likable narrator thing. That's true. You're still pretty hung up on it.
Host (Totally Booked)
That is true. Interesting. Do you already have your next book lined up? What is your next book?
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
Oh, this time, I think I'm gonna. I think I'm gonna wait a little while to start it. I know. Big picture. I have the big ideas. But I realized that last time, you know, people say, like, oh, you should be deep into your next book before you start touring for your new book. It'll help keep you sane. But from my point of view, there's really no way for me to be, like, traveling and doing events and then also having really productive time writing while also, like, doing my day job and parenting. So I'm just gonna. I'm just gonna be a little easier on myself this time around, and I think I'm gonna wait until, like, the fall to get going on it.
Host (Totally Booked)
I think that's totally reasonable.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
You don't have to. We don't have to grind all the time.
Host (Totally Booked)
No, you can take a step back in the summer. Also, I bet if you tell yourself you're, like, not gonna do it, you're gonna, like, try to cheat on yourself a little bit. Do you know what I mean? But if you're like, I have to is my projection. But if you're like, I have to do it this summer, then you'll, like, put it off.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
Yeah. Well, you hear about those writers who are, like, trying so hard to do one thing, and then for a breather, they take a little break and write something different and figure out, oh, shoot, that's actually my book, you know.
Host (Totally Booked)
Totally.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
Yeah. You have to follow your fun as a writer.
Host (Totally Booked)
Did you partner with a shampoo brand?
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
No, I did not. I'm waiting for someone to send me some free shampoo, but it hasn't happened yet.
Host (Totally Booked)
Okay, let me see if I can help. I'll get on that jetty. Oh, my gosh. Amazing. So if you had to just say, like, one or two takeaways from the book that you're like, I want people to remember this long after they say goodbye to my characters. Like, what are those things?
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
Yeah, I mean, I think that one of my favorite things to explore in writing are. I like to explore fundamentally good people who misunderstand each other and misunderstand themselves, but are actually trying really hard to get it right. At the end of the day, I think that that actually is most people. I'm one of those, like, sunshiny Pollyannas who really does. I do believe that people are good and people are trying to do right, but, you know, we often get it wrong by mistake and we can apologize and move on. And that's kind of the spirit that I would like for people to take from this book. I also think that I had the really happy, happy event of. I sent the early pages to my best friend. She lives in California now, but she and I grew up together. She read them, and we have been just, like, giggling ever since about things that this book made us remember, about times we, like, snuck out, about times, you know, we went to a party and ended up on a houseboat. Like, it's so much fun to be able to reminisce. And so if this book made somebody, you know, feel more connected to one of their friends from growing up, that would be awesome.
Host (Totally Booked)
Amazing. Well, it was so enjoyable and thought provoking and immersive and, of course, has, like, your great voice and wit behind all of it and that sense of humor that is, like, dry and observational and just, like, spot on.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
So thank you, Zippy.
Host (Totally Booked)
Well done.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
I really appreciate it.
Host (Totally Booked)
Thank you. All right.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
Thanks Jenny. Take care.
Host (Totally Booked)
Bye Bye. Thank you for listening to Totally Booked
Zibby Owens
with Zibby formerly Moms don't have Time to Read Books. If you loved the show, tell a friend, leave a review, follow me on Instagram, ibbyoans and Spread the word.
Host (Totally Booked)
Thanks so much.
Zibby Owens
Oh, and buy the books.
Capital One Bank Announcer
With no fees or minimums on checking accounts it's no wonder the Capital One bank guy is so passionate about banking with Capital One. If he were here, he wouldn't just tell you about no fees or minimums. He'd also talk about how most Capital One cafes are open seven days a week to assist with your banking needs. Yep, even on weekends it's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. What's in your wallet? Terms apply see capitalone.com bank capital1na member FDIC
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Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
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Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
He doesn't have a great poker face, does he? I would like to play cards with Bruno Fernandes.
Max Rushton (Guardian Football Weekly)
You can listen to the Guardian Football Weekly wherever you get your podcast. Hopefully see you soon.
Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
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SoFi Personal Loan Advertiser (Alternate)
Acast.com.
Episode Date: June 30, 2026
Host: Zibby Owens
Guest: Jenny Jackson (Author and Editor)
Topic: Jenny Jackson discusses her newest novel, The Shampoo Effect, delving into themes of millennial marriage, friendship, parenthood, and the messy, interconnected realities of adult life.
In this engaging episode, Zibby Owens invites back Jenny Jackson, acclaimed author and editorial director at Knopf, to discuss her latest novel, The Shampoo Effect. Jackson opens up about the inspirations behind the book, the dynamic relationships among its characters, generational shifts in marriage and parenthood, and her dual perspective as both editor and novelist. The conversation is full of wit, candid insights, and memorable commentary on modern life and writing.
[03:12] Jenny Jackson introduces The Shampoo Effect:
Quote:
"It becomes a story about parenthood, about love, about what millennial marriage really means, and about whether or not you can love someone who is having a baby with someone else."
— Jenny Jackson [03:47]
[04:11] Discussion on what defines millennial marriage:
Quote:
"We all do think we're doing marriage in our own way... But at the end of the day, there is sort of the understanding that it's a lot easier when you have someone to raise kids with. But it doesn't come without its pains."
— Jenny Jackson [04:48]
[06:43] Focus on group dynamics:
Quote:
"There's like an intense kind of relationship that you have when you're, when you're childhood best friends with somebody... Those different decisions can almost feel like tiny betrayals between friends of your youth."
— Jenny Jackson [08:17]
Memorable Moment:
"My parents moved to my hometown, Ipswich, Massachusetts when I was six months old. But my parents were Southerners, so, like, we were never actually townies. My mom has been part of the garden club for 45 years now. She's still kind of a new one there."
— Jenny Jackson [10:21]
[11:28] On balancing her editor’s instincts with the creative flow:
Quote:
"On a micro level, when I'm in the flow, I'm trying really hard not to slow myself down... let it rip. And then come back later."
— Jenny Jackson [12:29]
[13:31] Characters as late bloomers:
Quote:
"I really do believe that the biggest coming of age you have, the biggest sort of growth experience you have, is becoming a parent... You have to radically change every single day."
— Jenny Jackson [13:41]
[18:29 – 19:31] Jackson’s approach:
[19:31] Inspiration behind The Shampoo Effect:
Quote:
"The thing I was really fascinated with was I grew up in the same hometown where John Updike wrote his books... I wanted to write about a writer in a small town."
— Jenny Jackson [20:13]
[21:47] Editorial wisdom:
Quote:
"That's really what I'm looking for. One of those voices that just reels you in and, like, you couldn't pay me to put the book down."
— Jenny Jackson [23:31]
[24:25] On future projects:
[26:03] What Jackson wants readers to remember:
Quote:
"I like to explore fundamentally good people who misunderstand each other and misunderstand themselves, but are actually trying really hard to get it right... We often get it wrong by mistake and we can apologize and move on. And that's kind of the spirit that I would like for people to take from this book."
— Jenny Jackson [26:03]
This episode offers a sharp, open-hearted look into the making of The Shampoo Effect and the nuanced truths behind contemporary relationships and creative work. Jenny Jackson’s reflections—colored with humor, insight, and optimism—make for both an articulate defense of "messy" adulthood and a thoughtful primer on what makes fiction memorable.