The Memoir Land Author Questionnaire #17: Glynnis MacNicol
"Writing is how I process the world. When it works there is a sense of being at one with myself."
Since 2010, in various publications, I’ve interviewed authors—mostly memoirists—about aspects of writing and publishing. Initially I did this for my own edification, as someone who was struggling to find the courage and support to write and publish my memoir. I’m still curious about other authors’ experiences, and I know many of you are, too. So, inspired by the popularity of The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire, I’ve launched The Memoir Land Author Questionnaire.
Here’s the seventeenth installment, featuring midlife memoirist Glynnis MacNicol. -Sari Botton
is the author of the I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself, and No One Tells You This. She created and hosted the podcast Wilder. She’s written for The New York Times, The Guardian, The Cut, New York Daily News, Town & Country, The Daily Beast, GEN, and ELLE, among others. She lives in New York City.
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How old are you, and for how long have you been writing?
49. Writing professionally since 2006
What’s the title of your latest book, and when was it published?
I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself: One Woman’s Pursuit of Pleasure in Paris, published June 11, 2024.
What number book is this for you?
It’s my second memoir. My third book I’ve solo-authored. I co-edited an essay collection. And have contributed to several other collections.
How do you categorize your book—as a memoir, memoir-in-essays, essay collection, creative nonfiction, graphic memoir, autofiction—and why?
It’s a memoir. It recounts five weeks in Paris in 2021. I do tend to write self-contained chapters, though, and sometimes that results in people referring to this, and my previous memoir, as an essay collection. Or readers will sometimes say they think it should have been an essay collection, which I always find amusing. As much as I love a good essay collection, and the idea of doing one appeals to me, I’m constantly told by agents and editors that they don’t sell. And that if you want to sell a book you should always pitch your book as a memoir instead. But this is most definitely a memoir.
What is the “elevator pitch” for your book? (Up to one paragraph.)
I’m notoriously bad at being succinct. (A friend who was an early reader of this book noted it’s clear one of the pleasures I take is in “thinking”.)
When asked, I tell people it’s about five weeks I spent in Paris after more than a year of lockdown alone in New York. I landed in Paris and basically took off my clothes and ate all the cheese and had all the sex. But that it’s also about community, and aging, all the different ways women find pleasure in their lives.
Or I just say it’s about sex and cheese and Paris.
When asked, I tell people the book is about five weeks I spent in Paris after more than a year of lockdown alone in New York. I landed in Paris and basically took off my clothes and ate all the cheese and had all the sex. But that it’s also about community, and aging, all the different ways women find pleasure in their lives.
What’s the back story of this book including your origin story as a writer? How did you become a writer, and how did this book come to be?
I talk a lot about this in the WILDER podcast I did last year, (about reckoning with the Little House books and Laura Ingalls Wilder). The Little House books had a huge impact on me. Just this idea that your life is worthy of recording. I started keeping a journal at age six. Jump ahead forty years, and this book is directly the result of my journals. I returned from Paris that summer and a few weeks later went back and read my journals from those weeks and thought there was something there worth developing. I very much tried to capture that immediacy in this book.
What were the hardest aspects of writing this book and getting it published?
This book was surprisingly easy to write. I went into it with a very clear idea of what I wanted it to be and then did it. What was hard, was convincing editors there was a story here. People like clear narrative arcs (which I actually write about in the book): an inciting incident, rising action, resolution. I was reading a lot of Deborah Levy and Rachel Cusk and was interested in observing the lived experience vs. trying to construct a three-act narrative.
How did you handle writing about real people in your life? Did you use real or changed names and identifying details? Did you run passages or the whole book by people who appear in the narrative? Did you make changes they requested?
Some of the names are changed. And some identifying details shifted. My friends who are in it have read it and any changes requested were made. That said, other than some names, I think the only changes requested were on the various housing prices/rent I mention.
The Little House books had a huge impact on me. Just this idea that your life is worthy of recording. I started keeping a journal at age six. Jump ahead forty years, and this book is directly the result of my journals. I returned from Paris that summer and a few weeks later went back and read my journals from those weeks and thought there was something there worth developing. I very much tried to capture that immediacy in this book.
Who is another writer you took inspiration from in producing this book? Was it a specific book, or their whole body of work? (Can be more than one writer or book.)
Deborah Levy’s Cost of Living had a huge impact on me. As did Annie Ernaux. I returned to Audre Lorde’s Uses of the Erotic many times. Also, I love Diana Vreeland’s D.V. It’s such a romp.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers looking to publish a book like yours, who are maybe afraid, or intimidated by the process?
My number one piece of writing advice is to write every day. The same way you’d exercise. This way when you have a bad day you know it’s just one day.
I don’t tend to mystify writing. It’s my job and how I pay my bills (ConEd is not interested in whether I feel inspired). I feel fortunate to be able to make a living at something I enjoy. But it’s also a job, and I treat it as such. The more you do it, the less intimidating it gets.
I also think you must walk the line between taking advice and believing in the story you want to tell. This book was turned down by something like 17 editors. I knew I wanted to do it, and by the 17th no thank-you I came to terms with the fact that I might be doing it for less money than I get paid to write a feature article. But I was still going to do it. Fortunately, it sold to an amazing editor. But I saved all those letters and used them as guidance when it came time to write the flap copy and position the book for launch.
What do you love about writing?
Writing is how I process the world. When it works there is a sense of being at one with myself.
What frustrates you about writing?
Money. There is very little of it, and less every day, it seems.
What about writing surprises you?
There is some part of me that continues to be stunned that I have managed to construct a life around the thing I wrote in my journal at age six was the thing I wanted to do.
Does your writing practice involve any kind of routine, or writing at specific times?
I write best in the early mornings. I turn my phone off and write on a word processor that doesn’t connect to the internet. That said, when I’m on deadline I can write at any time of day and anywhere. See above re: ConEd.
This book was surprisingly easy to write. I went into it with a very clear idea of what I wanted it to be and then did it. What was hard, was convincing editors there was a story here. People like clear narrative arcs (which I actually write about in the book): an inciting incident, rising action, resolution. I was reading a lot of Deborah Levy and Rachel Cusk and was interested in observing the lived experience vs. trying to construct a three-act narrative.
Do you engage in any other creative pursuits, professionally or for fun? Are there non-writing activities you consider to be “writing” or supportive of your process?
Do dinner parties count?
I’m a swimmer and I ride my bike or walk everywhere. All of which are isolated activities that sort of allow my brain to be quiet while my body is in motion (the opposite of writing). Maybe this is supportive of the process? I also own a lot of caftans, which supports my comfort level.
What’s next for you? Do you have another book planned, or in the works?
I have some vague ideas. I enjoy working on larger projects that let you focus. But for the time being most of my brain is consumed by this launch.
Loved this one! Just finished reading "No One Tells You This" and using it as major inspiration for my life and writing. Absolutely cannot wait for "I'm Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself." Glynnis's expansive perspective on purpose, aging, and pleasure is an absolute gift.
This book sounds amazing!