Ana Huang spent years living a double life: international relations scholar, Georgetown grad, geopolitical consultant by day, and secret romance novelist by night. She quietly uploaded chapters to Wattpad under a pen name no one in her life knew, and kept writing even as she built a conventional career that would make her immigrant parents proud. On this episode of She Pivots, Ana shares how COVID cracked her life open, how she taught herself TikTok before BookTok was even a thing, and how she built a community of millions one chapter at a time, all while still clocking in at her day job. She talks about the moment she finally told her family the truth, why she said no to major publishers when Twisted Love blew up, and what it means to bet on yourself. Her Twisted series has now sold over 25 million copies, been translated into 34 languages, and is headed to Netflix—and her new book, King of Gluttony, is out now.

You can keep up with Ana Huang on her website anahuang.com, as well as on Instagram and TikTok @authoranahuang. 

Episode Chapters:

00:00.200 - Welcome to She Pivots

00:28.879 - Double Life to Literary Sensation

01:58.640 - Ana's Childhood and Cultural Identity

05:55.360 - Early Career and Secret Writing

12:14.520 - Rediscovering Writing During the Pandemic

13:38.026 - The Romance Genre and TikTok Success

24:24.009 - Self-Publishing and Traditional Offers

27:22.480 - Navigating Fame and Fan Expectations

31:16.600 - King of Gluttony and Future Plans

33:03.160 - From Low Point to Launch

34:51.199 - What Does Success Look Like Now?

36:32.692 - Do You Think You'll Pivot Again?

37:24.449 - Reflections on Ana's Writing Evolution

38:11.520 - Podcast Credits

Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a pivot story, leave us a rating (it really helps!), and share this episode with a woman in your life who you think needs a little inspiration.

She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success.

Join our Substack community! Subscribe here for exclusive content and to connect with other pivoters: shepivots.substack.com

Learn more about the inspiring women in our pivoter community by following us on instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast, and check out our website shepivotspod.com for resources and updates. 

She Pivots is proud to be an iHeart podcast.