ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: First, tell us where in the world you are quarantining right now.
LESLIE JORDAN:Im in Los Angeles, where Ive lived for decades.
Ive lived right here in the heart of Hollywood for all these years.
Leslie Jordan.Credit: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images
This isn’t your first book, but is your first book in a long time.
What can you tell us about it?
This book, were callingHow Yall Doing.Its essays.
Not in West Hollywood.
What Im hoping will happen is that Ill find that sort of theme.
I like to do things in the vein of David Sedaris.
Im not as smart as him but Im as funny.
Oh, he is funny.
And his sister, Amy, too.
That family: Southern as mine.
So this is definitely comedic essays… Im having a lot of fun and its coming really easy.
That was just a disaster.
I didnt write a word.
Im back home now and am writing.
Oh my God, I started Googling How may words are on a page.
What does your writing process look like?
It seems like you might do your best work just riffing to a front-facing camera.
It’s all fun and its something I really and truly enjoy.
I used to write in longhand, but now I write on my computer.
They dont want to read it, theyre like Ill read the book, honey.
Who do you go to for book or writing advice?
I learned a long time ago you cant get too many opinions.
I have an amazing editor at HarperCollins who I trust implicitly.
We are so on the same page.
But I do have one other friend who reads and I trust him, too.
If you hear the same note from two, three people then you have to look at it.
As an actor, Ive learned that too.
Im learning lingo, like It doesnt quite track.
Did this book deal come directly from your exploding Instagram popularity in quarantine?
Im ahead of the game in that Ive had so much success on the Internet.
I got the book deal from that.
Ive had television people say, we pay writers $250,000 a year to come up with this.
I also got a deal with this wonderful app called Quibi, to do some things for them.
In that way, its paid off handsomely.
I said, ‘No, honey, dont worry about me, Im fine.’
I thought he meant the Corona!
Im used to attention because Ive been on television, but this kind is different.
Ill walk around the neighborhood and people will yell my name.
Who would have thought Id become a social media maven at 65!
