Meg Cabot on How To Be Popular

Meg Cabot may be better known for her humor on paper than in person, but after just one conversation, I realized that her success is due to her spunky attitude and her own crazy life experiences. The The Princess Diaries scribe has written nearly fifty books and sold millions of copies worldwide (she’s kind of a big deal in the literary world), and yet, Meg admitted to us that she was unpopular in high school. From talking about being a feminist to getting rejected to her hilarious video reenactment of Pretty in Pink, Meg Cabot proves that authors can be funny, too. True to herself and her genre, she's all about girl power and staying young at heart – two of ELLEgirl's essential qualities.

Check out Part One of our exclusive interview with Meg Cabot after the jump, and enter here for a chance to win a copy of her latest release, How To Be Popular.

By Yuri Chong

ELLEgirl: Hey Meg! How are you?

Meg Cabot: I just got back from New York… I am basking in warm weather in Florida right now. I am so glad I am not in New York right now!! It's so cold up there!

EG: I know! New York is deceitful – it looks sunny, but it's actually freezing. So first things first: Obviously, you have such a wide range of audiences – from young teens to adults. Why did you decide to write about certain topics like teen girls and life during high school?

MC: I had a horrible time in high school, I hated it. I really hated it. It was a topic that came up again and again…and it's engrained in my mind because I had such a horrible time. Whenever there is something about teenagers or high school on TV, movies, magazines, I always have to look at it. I did not enjoy that time of my life, and it fascinates me when I hear of someone who did enjoy high school. My brother was one of the most popular kids in high school, and I was definitely not. I know that was part of why I was like “Why couldn't that be me?” and why I was so interested in that topic.

How to Be Popular was actually based on a real book. My grandma had an actual book like that—my grandma was popular. I didn't have a book like that.

EG: Do you ever feel that offended by being categorized as a "chick lit" author?

MC: People say that to me all the time! I really don't – I think it's a compliment. I write about female empowerment – the characters in my book show that. I am totally excited about girls reading my books – I think it's great. I've never understood why I'm supposed to be mad! My books are totally feminist, I guess I feel like people who ask don't understand that my books are pro-women.

EG: Do you ever think about branching out into other genres?

MC: No, I’m only interested [in writing] about women. I'm into humorous books. Some of my books have paranormal elements to them, but I still consider them romances. I don't like boring books. I don't like depressing books either. I'm already depressed! When I want to be entertained, I want to watch or write something that is going to make me not depressed. The world is such a depressing place anyways!

I had a bad family situation, and writing funny things helped take me away from that – I don't want to read books about people who are in the same situation. I want people to read something that will take them away from their bad situation. That's what I'm about.

EG: How do you find inspiration for material to write about, especially with the characters? Do they exemplify what you were like as a teen?

MC: A lot of the stuff from my books is stuff that happened to me in high school. Like in the book How to Be Popular--I can’t believe I am saying this!—I did spy on the guy next door. A lot of the events in my books are true things from my own high school experience… like judging people in certain cliques. Like Darlene [a character from How to Be Popular] – everyone thought she was a slut, but she ended up being really smart.

During high school, I kept a diary. It was really detailed. I had to actually take out pages from it because it was too embarrassing and I didn't want my husband or anyone else seeing it. My husband was actually my friend first, he was in college while I was still in high school. Years later, we met up and we ended up liking each other and getting married!

EG: Out of all your novels, which did you find the most enjoyable to write? Why?

MC: The one I am working on right now. When I am asked this question, I always say the one I am working on right now. I think it's weird when authors answer this question with a specific title… I don't like talking about this… I don't think its fair to the other books! I loved writing them all.

Check back later this week for Part Two of our exclusive Meg Cabot interview, and enter to win a copy of her latest book, How To Be Popular, here—Yuri Chong