Better Than Chick Lit
Robyn Schneider takes on the publishing world
“Being a writer is a lot like being a physician—you’re obsessive,” Barnard student and published author Robyn Schneider says as she methodically rips off another piece of her cheeseburger.
Fellow writers and pre-med students probably know what Robyn means. What they may not know, though, is that she isn’t just another stressed-out undergraduate venting about her course load—Robyn’s first novel, Better Than Yesterday, was released Jan. 9 and she has two more books coming out this June and early next year.
“I started writing Better Than Yesterday as a senior in high school,” Robyn says over lunch at Strokos.
Strangely enough, it isn’t easy to get Robyn to start talking about her books. She seems extremely nervous about appearing full of herself. “I just don’t bring it up anymore,” she says. “I avoid the subject by a) talking about my boyfriend, b) asking people questions about themselves, or c) talking about wanting to become a physician.”
Wait a minute—Robyn Schneider, the college student who is going to have three published books under her belt within the next year, wants to be a doctor?
“It’s funny because when I was younger, my mom wanted me to become a dermatologist, but I was like, ‘No, I’m going to be J.K. Rowling,’” she says. “But my books just entertain, they don’t help anybody, and I always wanted to help people.”
Although she appears to be reluctant to get into more detail about how she landed her contract, she writes on her Web site, robynschneider.com, “When I was 18, I submitted a query letter to a bunch of literary agents via e-mail and then I sent a bunch of requested manuscripts out to agents. One of them offered representation.”
Robyn describes Better Than Yesterday as “Ferris Bueller and Catcher in the Rye meet Dead Poets Society.” The novel tells the story of Skyler and Charley, two “obsessive AP scholars competing for valedictorian” who suddenly find their world turned upside down when their friend Blake runs away from their prestigious boarding school.
J.D. Salinger’s iconic novel was an especially strong influence for Robyn—as she says, “I always thought that Catcher in the Rye had the wrong narrator. It should have been Holden’s roommate, after Holden runs away.”
Her second book, The Social Climber’s Guide to High School, is also intended for a young group of readers, although this one is nonfiction. It’s a “hip handbook for aspiring high school A-listers,” she describes, reciting as if she’s memorized the blurb for the back cover.
Third in her line of novels is The Ivy Legacy, which is aimed at a slightly older readership. It’s the first book Robyn has written that takes place in a college setting. The novel is “slightly hysterical,” she says. “Then again, I don’t have the edits back yet, so it could be slightly crap.”
Robyn waves off those who judge her book by its cover.
“Better Than Yesterday is always mistaken for chick lit because there’s some pink on the cover. But I know plenty of boys who’ve read it and enjoyed it—and none of the reviews call it chick lit.”
With editing, promotion for Better Than Yesterday, and her sudden shift to a pre-med curriculum, it’s not surprising that Robyn has taken the year off from Barnard. “Last year, I interned, hosted a reading series, edited my books, took classes at Barnard, did some freelance book editing, and commuted from my apartment—it was exhausting,” she says.
She still lives near campus, though—after lunch, Robyn and I walk to her apartment, where she lends me a copy of Better than Yesterday. Her place is surprisingly spacious, considering she lives there alone—as she unlocks the door, Robyn asks me to forgive the mess, explaining how she hadn’t cleaned up from the party she threw the night before. Although there’s some evidence of a celebration—empty wine bottles litter the table—the sheer number of books her living room contains is more of a surprise. Young adult novels fill the majority of Robyn’s bookshelves, although she also has a few classics and fantasies here and there.
Having some more free time certainly seems to have given Robyn a chance to catch up on her reading. She’s also done a lot of traveling lately. “I went to England and France for a little bit, I went on a road trip, I just got back from Boston,” she says.
Since she isn’t taking classes, she also “started watching TV again” this year. If she had her way, though, Robyn wouldn’t just be passively staring at television shows—she’d be helping to make them.
“After Amy Sherman-Palladino left Gilmore Girls, I wanted to apply to be a writer and take her place,” Robyn says. “But the spots were already filled.”
Closet Alexis Bledel fans, take note. “If I had been hired, Lane would not be pregnant with twins right now, and Rory definitely would not have bangs.”