Behind The Book With Marissa Meyer 

Two years ago, I did a Q&A with New York Times Bestselling Author, Marissa Meyer & I’m delighted to once again be doing a Behind The Book Q&A with Marissa discussing her very first nonfiction book The Happy Writer! 

Q: I’m so excited that you’re back Marissa! In the introduction you wrote that in 2020 when the dreaded covid virus wreaked havoc in the world, you began The Happy Writer Podcast. Was it also around that time that you began writing The Happy Writer Podcast as a book? 

A: Thank you for having me again! 

I’d been working on the book for about a year before Covid hit and nearly had a full (though very rough) manuscript. But when the world shut down, I decided to switch gears and start the podcast instead, as an immediate way to try to bring some more joy into very upsetting times and help promote authors who were having book releases at that time, as it was such a difficult year to be launching a book. I focused on the podcast and my fiction works for a few years and didn’t look at the manuscript for The Happy Writer again until 2023. By that time, I’d learned so much from speaking with authors on the podcast and developing my own thoughts about bringing joy into my day-to-day process, that I ended up doing an almost complete rewrite of the manuscript, and I think it was made much better having taken the time away from it.

Q: I learned some new lessons as well as remembering old ones about writing in your book. I liked how you tackled perfectionism, because I have written stories down and then I think that something doesn’t sound right or makes sense so I would go back and edit as I wrote trying to perfect it. What are the most important lessons from the book you would want aspiring authors to focus on as they write?

A: This is a tough question, as I hope it’s the sort of book writers will come back again and again and learn or focus on new things as their career, life, and writing goals change.

For me, personally, one of the hardest lessons to learn has been knowing when to say no, so I can then say yes to the things that are important to me. I am a yes person. I would like to please! So, for many years, I would say yes to every request, no matter how much time or energy it took, and then I would wonder why I was so stressed and always felt like I was juggling 8 million things. Because I was! These days I put every request through an honest gut-check, and ask myself things like: Is this something I want to do, or do I just feel like I should do it? What will the time and energy cost be? If I say no, what will I spend that time and energy on instead (drafting, revising, researching… playing games with my kids?). This really helps me to stay focused on my priorities and say no to the rest with minimal guilt. 

Q: I know several writers teach Masterclasses on writing. Would you ever teach a Masterclass on writing and use both The Happy Writer book and podcast as teaching guides for your students? 

A: What an interesting idea! I haven’t the faintest idea how one signs up to do a Masterclass, or if it is the sort of thing, one must get invited to do. Though I have done one-day workshops at various writing conferences and online seminars, I’ve not yet considered doing a longer-form class. It is worth thinking about though and could be a lot of fun. So, I guess my answer is… maybe someday. 😊

Q: Would you please provide a link to The Happy Writer Podcast? The readers of the blog and I would love to listen to it! 

A: Gladly! All episodes can be listened to at http://www.marissameyer.com/podcast or via your favorite podcast provider. (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.) 

Thank you so much, and I hope you’ll enjoy listening! 

Bianca: Not a question but, Congratulations on The Happy Writer book and podcast and your upcoming book The House Saphir coming out this fall! I look forward to reading that one! 

Marissa: Thank you!! <3