When a highly productive and talented writer says that there’s value in not doing anything, it’s time to pay attention. Olga Mecking is the creator of the blog The European Mama, translator of her father’s memoir, One Chance in a Thousand, editor of and contributor to the 2014 anthology Dutched Up!, has been published in the Guardian, BBC, The Atlantic and The New York Times, and has recently published Niksen: Embracing the Dutch Art of Doing Nothing. After her NYT article, ‘The Case for Doing Nothing’ went viral in 2019, Mecking had the opportunity to investigate the topic further and produce a complete book on the topic. 

In this podcast Olga charts her journey from writing blogs to having an article go viral and the huge book deal that came out of it. 

She talks about the importance of hard work, as well as luck, and tips of pitching articles to gain bylines. She also talks about the collaborative process of writing her bestselling book published by Mariner Books.

If you would like to know more about a particular aspect of writing or publishing, please don't hesitate to contact me on [email protected].

Thank you for letting me join you on your book writing journey.

Happy listening.