THE COMIC TOOLBOX:
HOW TO BE FUNNY EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT
I have a confession to make.
When I was a kid, maybe 13 or so, I wanted to have a hit.
I didn't know what I meant by that, to tell you the truth. I mean, I didn't think about writing a hit song or making a hit movie or inventing a cool fad or anything, exactly. I just thought it would be nice to have a hit some day. What can I tell you? Some kids want to be firefighters.
Well, now it's -- damn -- lots of years later, and against all foreseeable odds, I have had a hit. It happened when I wasn't even looking. It was this book I wrote, this Comic Toolbox: How to be Funny Even if You're Not.
How do I know it's a hit? I don't know -- how do you know these things? It has sold a slew of copies since it first came out -- lots more than anyone ever predicted, and more these days than it did when it was first released. So not just a hit, but a perennial hit.
I've often wondered why. The internet helps a lot. People go surf-searching for books on writing comedy (perhaps that's how you found your way here) and my name and book turn up. Then, thanks to online ordering, even if you live in Kansas or Katmandu, you can have a copy in your hot little hands in the time it takes Fedex to clear customs. O brave new world, init?
But I think the real reason for the continuing popularity of The Comic Toolbox is that it turned out (quite by accident) to be a particularly good book for new writers. Though I was writing about comedy, I was also writing about fear and ego and killing your ferocious editor -- issues of interest, and tools of use, to any new writer looking for an easy and (relatively) painless way to engage in the writing process.
And since there are always new writers, the market for the book continually refreshes itself.
I wish I could say I planned it this way, but of course I did not.
I was just putting down on paper some thoughts I had at the time, and a book came out.
And it turned out to be useful.
So now I have a hit. A modest one. The 13-year-old me would be thrilled by that.
The quite-a-lot-older-than-13-year-old me is extremely gratified by that. As a teacher of writers, it pleases me to know that I have written something of lasting value to writers.
So here we are. My modestly successful little book, and my modest, minor-league hit. Not an Oprah-sized hit, for sure. Not People Magazine big, but what the heck. It's going to be making money for someone long after I'm dead, and that's not nothing.
If it's the book you're looking for, I hope you buy it and find it useful. But even if you don't buy it, here are a couple of chapters you can have for free and maybe find useful.
If you want more free stuff on writing, check out THINGS THAT HELP WRITERS.
If you feel you can't live without The Comic Toolbox for even a single minute longer, please jump to the SEND MONEY page at this time.
Hits are cool. I hope you have one too. -jv