Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been writing freelance for over two decades, mostly on Jewish interest topics. I am the co-creator of a popular Jewish news satire website called TheKnish.com. My work has been published in The Huffington Post, The Denver Post, The Washington Times, The Jewish Press, Country Yossi Magazine, Modern Magazine, The Jewish Link of NJ, The Jewish Book Council, bangitout.com, scoogiespin.com, jewcentral.com, and israelinsider.com. My work has also been translated for Germany’s only weekly Jewish newspaper, The Judische Allgemeine. I have served as the beat reporter for JRunnersClub.org and as the surname columnist for jewishworldreview.com.
I have authored eight books, available on lulu.com and amazon.com.The Emoji Haggadah, The Festivus Haggadah, and The Coronavirus Haggadah, generated much praise and media attention, and were covered in The Jewish Week, The Jewish Link of NJ, Jewish Vues, Vos Iz Neias, Jewish Book Council, NorthJersey.com, The Forward, Jewish Journal, J-Wire, Vox, The Jewish Press, The Jewish Fund, The Judische Allgemeine, various blogs, eater.com, and The New York Times.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Donald J. Trump Will You Please Go Now!
Once upon a time, when George W. Bush was president, I read an article that said that, at any given time, fully 30% of the populace believes their president deserves to be impeached. The first thing that came to mind was “Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!” At the time, I hadn’t yet written my first book, but was tinkering with dozens of ideas. I actually put a text together, using pictures of Dubya acting goofy and all, and consulted with the lawyers in the law firm I was then working for. I was told I couldn’t publish it. I had no rights to the pictures, and I wouldn’t be able to do it. Into the dustbin that went, but out of that idea my first book was indeed about George W. Bush (http://tinyurl.com/BushIIBookI).
Several years later, I was tinkering with further ideas, Barack H. Obama was president, and I was working at a university. I mocked up “Barack H. Obama Will You Please Go Now!” and consulted with some professors about the legality of it. Ixnay, but I had published four books and was getting to know the industry a lot better. This idea was going to see the light of day at some point. However, I did publish a Seussian essay concerning Obama (https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/06/mean-regs-and-scam/).
“Donald J. Trump Will You Please Go Now!” was obviously the next idea. I had published eight books, and now I was working for a publishing firm, so I had a lot of experts with whom I could consult, including lawyers, permissions specialists, artists, editors, and so forth.
I had several problems, however:
The cost of hiring artists was more than I could afford. I do not have $y 15/s × 3.6 km/h1 m/s = 72 km/h/50 per picture at hand.
The cost of securing rights to photographs was even more exorbitant: anywhere from $x 30/1.6 s = 12.5 m/s = 45 km/h/36 per picture. I don’t have that kind of bread.
I couldn’t publish the book until a very specific moment, because, if you know the original punchline of the Seuss book, I could only release it once Trump conceded.
If Trump never actually conceded, I’d completely miss the boat.
Here’s how I worked around the issues:
I didn’t hire an artist, I used pictures I found on the interwebs and ran them through a photo-to-cartoon filter to make it all artsy-fartsy.
Because I can’t afford to pay the photo agencies, I am absolutely forbidden from monetizing the book in any way, including printing them and selling them at exact cost, or even taking a loss! It must be absolutely free.
I obviously couldn’t wait until January 20th. Once both CNN *and* FOX (and Alec Baldwin) called it for Biden, that was the signal for launch. The punchline works.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t write notes as I go along with any idea that’s stuck in my head. Instead, I put words on paper only when I have so many thoughts around an idea, that I simply can’t remember them all. Then I have trouble remembering everything, which is stupid of me, but hey, that’s the way I work.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King, Mary Roach, Malcolm Gladwell, Dan Ariely, Deen Koontz, Michael Lewis, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Laurence Gonzales, Victor Hugo, Jane Austen, Mitchell Zuckoff, A.J. Jacobs
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Yosl Rakover Talks to God, Don Quixote
What are you working on now?
My grandfather’s WW2 memoirs. He was conscripted into 4 different armies, and that’s just the beginning of his story.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
lulu.com, amazon.com, creativeindie.com
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write your head off, read your head off. There is no guarantee of success, but you won’t know until you try. Knock on every door.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Listen to what everyone has to say, then decide on your own.
What are you reading now?
Moby Dick, The Uninhabitable Earth, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Full Dark No Star
What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to publish enough books so that a stack of them reaches my own height. I’m now just above my ankle, approaching the calf.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Paradise Lost, The Stand, The Odyssey, Infinite Jest
Author Websites and Profiles
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