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Mar 14, 2013

» “How a book was perceived to have done and how a book actually did can be violently at odds.”

There’s an interview with Neal Pollack over at the AV Club where he reveals the sales numbers for his books (as he summarizes, “Ten thousand copies appears to be my threshold”) and talks openly and honestly about his career, and how “celebrity” and buzz don’t automatically translate into sales or money. Everyone who aspires to a career writing books (particularly fiction) should read it.

I was trying to turn Alternadad into some massive multimedia empire. And it failed! [Laughs.] I totally fucking failed! Instead of doing what I did well, which was write, I was trying to cash in big time and become some mogul… In the end, I was kind of dizzy because I wasn’t doing what I set out to do, what I dreamed of doing, which was be a writer. Instead, I was just a salesman trying to sell some ill-conceived idea of a lifestyle.

The piece is part of the AVClub’s “Money Matters” column, where “creative people discuss what they’re not supposed to: the intersection of entertainment and commerce, as well as moments in their lives and careers when they bottomed out financially and/or professionally.”

It all reminds me of Lynda Barry’s advice: “The key to eternal happiness is low overhead and no debt.”