#161 From Nonfiction to Paranormal Women’s Fiction: Genre-Switching and the Freedom of Self-Publishing with Olga Mecking

Can nonfiction writers reinvent themselves as novelists? NIksen author Olga Mecking proves it’s possible—with a new series that blends Dutch folklore, female power, and the freedom of self-publishing.

Estelle Erasmus is joined by Olga Mecking, a writer, journalist and occasional translator. Originally from Poland, she now lives with her German husband and three multilingual children in the Netherlands. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Guardian and the BBC, among others. The US edition of her book, NIKSEN. EMBRACING THE DUTCH ART OF DOING NOTHING was published in 2021 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. NIKSEN has also appeared in 14 languages and several countries around the world. When not writing or thinking about writing, Olga can be found reading books, drinking tea, and doing nothing.

In this episode: 

• Defining Paranormal Women’s Fiction and why midlife heroines matter. [2:20]

• World-building from reality (the Netherlands) + clear rules of magic. [5:43]

• Designing a series to avoid continuity traps (time jumps = sanity). [7:42]

• The self-pub learning curve: covers, formatting, and launch pacing. [10:10]

• A scene-by-scene method: every scene has an event → reaction → decision that drives the next scene. [16:17]

 

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zX83GnRBR-Y

 

Connect with Olga:

Substack: https://substack.com/@olgamecking?utm_source=user-menu

Instagram: https://instagram.com/olgamecking

Get More from Estelle:

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Register for a free online Editor-on-Call NYU event on October 29th: Inside Slate an Unfiltered Conversation with Senior Editor, Rebecca Onion.https://events.nyu.edu/event/368190-editor-on-call-inside-slate-an-unfiltered. 

 

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About Estelle:

Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, author of Writing That Gets Noticed (named a “Best Book for Writers” by Poets & Writers), and host of Freelance Writing Direct—2025 Podcast of the Year (Education), American Writing Awards. A Contributing Editor for Writer’s Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP: The Magazine. She’s served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines.

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• 📘 Writing That Gets Noticed – Buy the book | Audiobook

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• Read Estelle’s latest article How to Use the Internet to Become Your Own Private Investigator (Next Avenue/PBS)