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Tag: Comedy Books

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“Fans, Friends and Followers” Quotes Part 2/2

This is the second part of what I found to be the most important quotes from the book Fans, Friends and Followers. (Part 1 can be found here.)

“My idea of success is the ability to make your films your way, and share them with people all over the world. That’s success.” -M dot Strange (56) 

“In neither case did we think, “A-ha, this will get people to buy our records.” It has always been our position that the reason you wind up in a rock band is you want to make stuff. You want do creative things for a living.” -Damian Kulash (62)

“Every show I do, people sign up for the mailing list. Bill Clinton considered his presidency a permanent campaign, and that’s the way you have to look at your career.” -DJ Spooky (65)

“I spend more time interacting with the audience than I spend recording and producing the show.” -Brian Ibbott (76)

“I figured that the way to do it is to give out your complete archives for free, which increases the viral nature of the site, and it turns casual fans into die-hard fans, and even evangelists for your art online. It can take years of relationship-building before someone considers themselves a fan, and is willing to plunk down money.” -Dave Kellett (83-84)

“I understand why people don’t want to put in the time it takes to develop an audience and a business, or who don’t think they can make it work. It’s definitely an investment of time – maybe close to a decade – but most careers take a decade or so of investment before something really happens. Think about a doctor. The careers worth having are worth working for over years and years.” -Dave Kellett (85)

“As an artist, you have to do it because you love it. If you’re doing it for that reason first, you’ll find you’re producing better work, which attracts an audience. They can tell when you’re enjoying it. That carriers you through what are going to be lean years.” -Dave Kellett (85)

“I do several different things. I write, I act, I do stand-up, and I make films. You can now do a hundred different things, and they all come together to form your career.” -Eugene Mirman (100) 

“The only advice I have is, you should go do things and try things, and in ten years, you’ll most likely succeed.” -Eugene Mirman (100)

“The whole thing is, you’re freelancing. If you expect that some big company will swoop in and give you a bunch of money and make you a star – that’s a flawed business model.” -Eugene Mirman (101)

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“Fans, Friends and Followers” Quotes Part 1/2

I recently reviewed Fans, Friends and Followers by Scott Kirsner. I finally got around to typing up the quotes I found interesting enough to underline in the book.

“The more opportunities you create for fans to participate in your process, the more engaged and loyal you’ll find they become.” (6)

“When someone is getting their first taste of your work, you need to give them a reason – quickly – to dive in deeper. What you’re up to needs to be crystal clear, or so mysterious and bizarre that people can’t help but have their curiosity piqued.” (11)

“I’ve found that educational stuff can attract an audience. Share your techniques, and tell people about the software you’re using.” (13)

“One piece of advice for people is about consistency. A lot of people put out one thing and it’s really popular. They’re surprised, and they don’t have anything else to do. People really want consistent content. You can’t go three or four months without something new.“ -Michael Burns (40)

“The idea that we’re going to hit some sort of steady model is false hope. You’ve just got to keep moving. We’ve had forty business models in nine years. I don’t see it slowing down at all.” -Gregg and Evan Spiridellis (46)

“The Internet is a collection of communities. You need to create a community around your film. That will not happen if you keep things to yourself. You need to open yourself up, show your face, show your production, let people get inside. People do a lot of things when they get enthusiastic about something. They help the production, give money, or run into the streets and scream about your production. You need to allow people to do that. It’s an enormous viral force.” -Timo Vuorensola (47)

“You need to offer different monetization options for different customers. Some people watch it on the Web for twenty minutes and then want to buy the DVD. Some people watch the whole film on BitTorrent, but then want to support us by buying merchandise. We want to let you give us money in any way possible.” -Timo Vuorensola (48)

“The way I meet people and get most of my jobs is offering to help people.” -Steve Garfield (49)

“I email everybody back. I respond to everything. Think about regular TV shows. In that world, you’d never expect to get any sort of response.” -Steve Garfield (50)

“The audience votes with their ‘forward’ button. If they see a video that they think has something to say, they forward it. All the money in the world and all the kings horses can’t get them to do that.” -Robert Greenwald (52)

“We want to have 5,000 people who are video distributors – who understand that they are Paramount Studios, they are CBS. If they take our video and get it to 100 people, that’s hugely important.” -Robert Greenwald (53)

“As fast as someone becomes your fan, they can become someone posting everywhere and saying you suck. But if you respond to them, they become powerful. They’re like bees, spreading your message.” -M dot Strange (55)

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Book Review: Fans, Friends and Followers

Fans, Friends and Followers by Scott Kirsner is a three part book about building and monetizing an online fan base.

fansIn the first part, Scott lays out the “new rules” of building an audience such as “Be remarkable and make remarkable stuff”, “Understand the power of the link” and “Help people learn to do what you do”. While artists new to social media may find this section insightful, this section is just a reminder of what the rest of us should already know. After reading Seth Godin and other online thought leaders for the past few years I found myself alternating between a state of “oh yeah, I forgot about that” and nodding along impatiently waiting to get to some new secret formula. 

But a secret formula to get a large following quickly isn’t the point of the book, and thankfully so. The real value of this book is in part two, where Scott interviews 30 creators from diverse fields such as singing, film production and comedy who have succeeded in building an online following (and in most cases, a monetary living) for their work. I found myself getting more ideas from creators that had nothing to do with comedy than I did from the comedians, and I feel this sort of “cross-pollination of ideas” will hold true no matter your medium. 

While the interviews were very insightful, I would have liked to read interviews from the following creators who have built a huge online following: Tucker Max, Hugh McLeod, Aaron Karo and Dane Cook. (Whether you love or hate Dane, he has always been way ahead of every other comic on technology and interacting with his fans.) 

In the third and final part, Scott provides a quick reference guide for getting started on using social media and the internet to one’s advantage. While you won’t really read this section, it will be a handy reference five months down the line when you decide you’re not going to post your new joke until you raise $50 and you want to find out which site can help you implement that technology. 

Overall, I highly recommend this book to any creator or blogger who is looking to establish or increase their online presence. Whether new to the internet or an experienced veteran, the people and ideas in this book will get you thinking about your audience from a new perspective. Be warned, there is no trick or quick way to build a following, it takes time, but Scott’s book will help you develop a more coherent strategy for the road ahead.

(Full Disclosure: As a comedy blogger, I was received a free preview copy of this book. I don’t think that influenced my opinion as it’s always easier to write a negative review than a positive review, but I thought you should know.)

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“How To Be a Working Comic” Quotes

I read How To Be A Working Comic by Dave Schwensen and did not find it that useful. Here’s the quotes I found most interesting. If you like the book, buy it here.

“Nothing is better for business than to be good. Your only business decision when starting out is to do your act as often as you can. Take as many punches as you can onstage for free. It’ll all pay off later. But for now, just get on to get on.” (4)

“The whole key to becoming a working comic: be professional and be prepared.” (62)

“Most comedians spend many years practicing and polishing their acts before they actually make a living in this business. Be prepared for disappointments, but be aware of any gradual improvements you make, too. If you can honestly say you’re getting better, then continue to work hard. If not, then don’t be afraid to reevaluate your career choice.” (112)

“You have to write ten clean, non-topical jokes a day. They have to be jokes that can last a couple of years.” -Drew Carrey (116)

“I think being famous and getting all this money frees you to be whatever you’ve been holding back, to be what you naturally are. So, if you’re naturally a jerk, you can stop being nice to people you don’t want to be nice to anymore. You can start speaking your mind like you always wished you could have. If you feel like being a total bitch, a whiner and a complainer, unappreciative of everything that God’s given you, then you can! You can start demanding stuff, like, ‘Where’s my limo?’ because you’re naturally a jerk.
If you’re naturally a nice person, it still frees your ego to do whatever it wants. Well, I’m always nice to everybody, I think. It’s more important to me to be decent to people, because I’ve got to sleep at night. I don’t want people writing articles about me saying, “That Drew was a real jerk today.” I don’t want to name any names, but I’ve heard horrible stories about people who get famous. One was on a sitcom, and all people could talk about was how awul this guy was. He was mean to everybody, nasty and demanding.” –Drew Carrey (117)

“There’s no right or wrong in comedy. I feel if you’re getting laughs, then that’s working.” –Rhonda Shear (161)

“Don’t let anyone discourage you, because everyone will try to, especially in comedy. There is more negativity there than in any other business. Just do your own thing. Get that stage time no matter how laborious, no matter how far the drive may be. It will be worth it. If you really love it, you’ll stick with it. Once the comedy bug bites, it’s hard to get away from it.” –Rhonda Shear (162)

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    “The Comedy Bible” Quotes (3/3)

    This is part 3 of 3 of quotes from The Comedy Bible by Judy Carter. Here is part 1 and part 2.

    • “I fell into the trap of equating fame with success. For so many years I felt like a failure. It didn’t matter if I got a standing ovation, had a great writing day, or even pulled in some big bucks doing comedy – I wasn’t a household name. It took me a long time to realize that success is a state of mind. My critical voice that nagged, “But you don’t have a sitcom,” quieted down as I started focusing on small triumphs – like finding a great premise, writing new material, having a great set. Today I enjoy my career. Only about 1 percent of comics are famous, yet there are a lot of us out there making a fine living from the road, corporate gigs, TV appearances, writing for other comics, speaking, and of course, writing books. Enjoy where you are – today.” (276) 
       
    • “Whether you want to write comedy or perform it, getting good is a daily challenge, and you have to work at it all the time. It’s not something you do when you feel creative. It’s something you do not matter what, even when you’re too busy, too tired, or too burnt out from your day job. You even do it when you’re recovering from plastic surgery. Why? Because that’s what it takes to get good.” (282) 
       
    • “You have to work on new material and new scripts every day.” (283) 
       
    • “Be willing to throw out material – even if it kills. If you get a chunk that kills and you do it every show, soon you will depend on that piece. You may even become frightened to perform without it. Take a courageous step and toss it out for a few months, to make room for another piece to add to your stockpile of killer material.” (283) 
       
    • “Comics with smart material but amateurish stage presence are called writers. If you want to be successful as a comic, get on stage, on any stage, as much as you can.” (284)
       
    • “No matter how talented and funny you are, if you don’t spend your waking hours asking, “How can I improve my craft?” chances are you will spend the rest of your life asking, “Would like to hear our specials today?” (288) 
       
    • “Whether you are a comedy writer or a stand-up, in order to stand out it is essential that you distinguish yourself by magnifying your brand of comedy – your identity, your image, your persona. It’s not a cerebral decision you make about yourself. It’s who you are—exaggerated times ten.” (293) 
       
    • “In order to stand out from the pack, evaluate yourself.
      1. What are your signature jokes? (Usually the jokes that get the biggest response.)
      2. What type of audience do you feel most comfortable in front of (corporate types, college students, women, gays, Italians)/
      3. What article of clothing suits you best? Rodney Dangerfield wears a rumpled coat and tie, giving him that “I don’t get no respect” look.
      4. Create an ad for your act that sums up what you do and targets your audience. What name would you give your show? Sandra Bernhard’s stand-up show was called Without You I’m Nothing. This summed up the tone of her show. Six of my students got together and came up with Six-Pack of Comedy and had a clever flyer with their pictures on a six-pack of beer. What kind of pictures would you have in the ad? Can you come up with a one-sentence phrase that sums you up?” (296) 
       
    • “Not everyone will love what you do, but you need to find the people who will.” (299) 
       
    • “You are ready when you have developed some depth and character, and you can work any crowd. You have to bomb to succeed. Some comics spend all their time honing a ten minute set that only works in New York. Then they go to Nashville, where their chunk on subways doesn’t work because Nashville doesn’t have subways. You have to know how to work all the states. The road is like college and you need it like an education.” – Rocky LaPorte (313)

    Have you read the book and think I missed something important? Do you want me to try to explain any of the quotes above in more detail? Let me know via the comments. I read all of them and respond to 99%.

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