How did Kate McKinnon open up about imposter syndrome and the influence of SNL on her writing?

Popular American actress and comedian Kate McKinnon spoke about her career in a recent interview with 92NY. On September 30, 2025, while promoting her recent novel The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science, the 41-year-old singer and artist described how her time on SNL affected her writing.

While talking to popular actor Penn Badgley, Kate McKinnon shared that her time on SNL really influenced the story of her book series:

“I knew where it was going, plot-wise. What took me 12 years, really, was learning how to write, which I did from watching people at Saturday Night Live write, and also sussing out what the scene was.”

She also talked about suffering from imposter syndrome:

“It's really hard. And I think that I venture to say that most people who are living a creative life, or putting anything out there for review, do suffer.”

More details on Kate McKinnon’s time on SNL

Still speaking to Penn Badgeley, Kate revealed that she was on a tight schedule and tried her best to deliver a story in a timely manner for SNL.

“I enjoyed having the tight turnaround because this happened to me when I was also working on Saturday Night Live. I came in with what I thought was good material that I could use, and that would sustain me for, I don't know, a season-and-a-half, and then I used it all. And then I was like, ‘Oh, my God. I have nothing.’”

Kate McKinnon added that the situation made her think a lot more:

“But then that forced me to think of things out of nowhere that ended up in the gutter and things that I labored over for years before that.”

Kate McKinnon’s Secrets of the Purple Pearl is the highly anticipated second book in The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science series. It is scheduled to be officially released in October 2025. The story follows a group of friends trying to stop an evil organization that aims to resurrect their deceased leader.

“But Millicent, Gertrude, Eugenia, and Dee-Dee are onto them, and they are determined to stop the KRA, even though they are now full pariahs in Antiquarium society. While Millicent and the gang work together to prevent the second coming of Talon Sharktüth, they discover more secrets than they bargained for - including where they came from, and who they truly are...” the plot read.

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