Personable and specific advice offering real help for writers struggling to find a practical path forward.
A self-help guide for aspiring writers navigating the reality of maintaining a full-time job.
Drawing from his own career as a software developer filled with “kick-me-when-I’m-down kind of day[s]”, the author here shows how creative ambitions can coexist with corporate realities. Each chapter follows a standard format, complete with summaries and takeaways, with DeVito frequently punctuating his points with humor (“Office Space, anyone?” he ruefully asks, wishing day jobs could be avoided altogether). The author focuses on pragmatism, reminding readers that the day job, which provides structure and money, is both the greatest obstacle to and a necessity for continuing their creative work. His thorough accounting of everything a writer working another gig needs to thrive ranges from micro-goals, such as writing for five minutes a day (“you will end up writing for more than five minutes,” he promises), to big-picture planning, to keeping the worlds of work and writing separate. DeVito aims to inspire readers by delving into his own story and those of numerous other writers who have defied the odds to get their work published, highlighting what is possible (“If you want it bad enough and for the right reasons, you cannot fail”). Though much of the advice here is standard fare for books on writing (including chapters encouraging writers to be patient and set goals), DeVito’s voice is that of a trusted confidant, offering not just one solution but many. The book truly shines in its specificity, especially in chapters about keeping writing separate from work obligations, navigating company policies, and hiring help (such as editors or ghostwriters). The author even addresses best practices for using AI. Budding writers will find the frank discussions of costs and resources very helpful if they feel lost, and the author’s bright optimism will leave them ready to tackle the true demands of balancing creative endeavors with a career.
Personable and specific advice offering real help for writers struggling to find a practical path forward.Pub Date: July 23, 2025
ISBN: 9798985445169
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
A football star’s bracing account of his battle for racial equality—and how powerful forces arrayed against him.
A principled athlete strives for social justice.
Kaepernick forthrightly details the activism that earned him global renown but cost him his NFL career. In 2016, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback “was filled with disgust” after police shootings of fellow Black men in several American cities. Before a preseason game, he made a spontaneous decision: “It hit me in that moment that I should find a seat” during the national anthem. He did the same at two more games before reporters noticed. Kaepernick will forever be associated with “taking a knee” during the anthem, but he credits Eric Reid—a teammate who agreed with Kaepernick’s message—for suggesting that they kneel together during subsequent anthems. The protest changed everything for Kaepernick. President Trump vilified him. Kaepernick and his wife received death threats. And though he’d taken the 49ers to a Super Bowl, no teams would sign him. He will likely make news for his take on Jay-Z, whose lucrative partnership with the NFL was criticized as an attempt to launder the league’s reputation. Visiting Africa, where Kaepernick learns about “African leaders who willingly sold their own people to the enslavers,” he “couldn’t help but to think about Jay-Z and the NFL.” In opening chapters, Kaepernick recalls suffering traumatic racial abuse as a child. Being in “white spaces”—he was adopted by white parents—placed him “under a microscope every minute of every day.” He isn’t always nuanced, depicting some people he disagrees with as cartoonishly clueless. But his writing about how college and pro teams “lied” to him about injuries underlines his “feeling of being a disposable commodity.” A decade has passed since Kaepernick played in the NFL, but he stays fit in case “a team needing a QB” calls.
A football star’s bracing account of his battle for racial equality—and how powerful forces arrayed against him.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
ISBN: 9781538777879
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Legacy Lit/Hachette
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
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