Mark Manson started as a humble online blogger. Now he sells millions of books every year, collaborates with Hollywood celebrities, and for a while, I swear The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck was literally on the front table of every airport bookstore in America. Here are 17 things he taught me about professional writing: 1. Say the things you always wished somebody would say, but nobody has. 2. Writer's block is driven by fear, and that fear comes from focusing on the expectations and judgments of others instead of what you're actually working on. 3. Get to the point faster by asking yourself: Is this first paragraph even necessary? How about the second? And the third? 4. Idea, headline, content-in that order. Mark starts by coming up with a strong idea, then he finds the title for it, and only later does he write the actual piece. He says: “The funny thing is that RUclipsrs do the same thing today. They start with the title and thumbnail, then they go write the video.” 5. Don't write for your stuffy English professor sitting in his stuffy, fluorescent-lit office. Write for your friend sitting in front of you in a warm, cozy restaurant. The way you chit-chat is the way you should write. 6. This goes against basically every piece of productivity advice, but Mark likes to start the day with mindless and uninteresting tasks and work his way up to important and high-leverage stuff. 7. Pros start writing before they're inspired. Amateurs wait until after they're inspired to start writing. Or, in Mark's words: "Starting creates the mood, not the other way around." 8. Fun is the secret of consistency. Enjoying the writing process is the easiest way to clock your 10,000 hours, and when it comes to writing, that means being authentic on the page: “Writing is not fun if I don't sound like myself.” 9. Aim for surprise: “The best books give you useful ideas, but they also give you ideas that you've never even considered before. They present old ideas in a way that you've never considered before. They flip things around.” 10. The work isn't in the 1st draft. It's in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th drafts: “The real writing is revision. Revision is what separates the pros from the amateurs." 11. Starting a new writing project comes with an energy rush, but the dip inevitably comes. That's normal. Commit to completion and get good at pushing through the lull. 12. The better the idea, the easier it is to write. So if you have writer's block, maybe you just have a bad idea. 13. The reader doesn't care how hard you worked on a sentence. They just want it to be good. If a passage demands too many rewrites, maybe you should just delete it because unlike the NBA slam dunk contest, there are no points for difficulty. 14. Tune into your Curiosity Antennae. Mark says: “I get bored quickly and I get excited about new things easily. And so I think that just naturally pushes me towards the edge of that adoption curve.” Who's dictating your interests? You or the culture? 15. Don't obsess over building an audience until you've discovered who you are, how you like to write, what you have to offer, and what you enjoy making. 16. Where did the iconic splat on the cover of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck come from? Not from a designer, not from the book’s publisher, but from Mark tinkering with the cover himself on Photoshop. His publisher had put an asterisk on it and called it a day. They had 20 other book covers to worry about. But Mark cared enough to make something else and it became his signature style. 17. What should you write about? Look for the intersection of a Venn diagram with three different circles: what the audience wants to hear, what you're excited to write about, and what's good for your brand.
I have written several books & one thing that i learned about myself is that, if i start & just let it be.... the best ideas just comes to me in my dream or while i am doing something totally unrelated. This was a really good interview.
I love the concept that it's okay to do something just for yourself, like the music or video game example Mark told here 15:05 Glad to hear that professionals do this too, because it's so consuming to create only content (any kind) just for the audience.
I am listening to Mark Manson talk with David Perell. Two of the writers whose work I've been following for a couple of years now. And it's mind blowing to me. Here's what I learned: 1. The thing that feels like play is that thing that you should be doing full time. 2. The best books gives you ideas that you've known but give it a different light. It challenges you to change the way you think. 3. Put a bunch of content out there (100 blog posts, 100 videos, 100 copies). Then receive feedback from those. Then optimize which one you should lean into.
mark manson is one of my heroes. i read the hard copy of his book and he literally changed my life. how someone can change the course of their life immensely for spare change still baffles me. the thing i aslolove about mark is his outlook. whenever i read mark's work i'm like who is this really really really smart guy. but when i see him in person online, he looks so ordinary. like i thought he was going to be wearing a suit like jordan peterson. i'm sorry but mark looks like poor dude who you wouldn't be surprised if he told you he never went to school. he looks to ordinary but whats in his head is so immense, his outlook is decietful. mark is funny, relatable, thinks about the big picture and easy to understand. i think the combination of these things is what makes him unique. he has this nonchalantness to serious issues and still deals with the issues. its like the kid who doesnt study for school, sleeps all night close to exams but still manages to wow the examiner.
Thank you! Great content, great writing. The Subtle Art was my second Audible title of 633 I have today. I did not finish the first one, so I guess it counts as the first one! 😄
I think you meant to say “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” J F Keneddy. Here he is encouraging self responsibility.
Mark Manson started as a humble online blogger.
Now he sells millions of books every year, collaborates with Hollywood celebrities, and for a while, I swear The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck was literally on the front table of every airport bookstore in America.
Here are 17 things he taught me about professional writing:
1. Say the things you always wished somebody would say, but nobody has.
2. Writer's block is driven by fear, and that fear comes from focusing on the expectations and judgments of others instead of what you're actually working on.
3. Get to the point faster by asking yourself: Is this first paragraph even necessary? How about the second? And the third?
4. Idea, headline, content-in that order. Mark starts by coming up with a strong idea, then he finds the title for it, and only later does he write the actual piece. He says: “The funny thing is that RUclipsrs do the same thing today. They start with the title and thumbnail, then they go write the video.”
5. Don't write for your stuffy English professor sitting in his stuffy, fluorescent-lit office. Write for your friend sitting in front of you in a warm, cozy restaurant. The way you chit-chat is the way you should write.
6. This goes against basically every piece of productivity advice, but Mark likes to start the day with mindless and uninteresting tasks and work his way up to important and high-leverage stuff.
7. Pros start writing before they're inspired. Amateurs wait until after they're inspired to start writing. Or, in Mark's words: "Starting creates the mood, not the other way around."
8. Fun is the secret of consistency. Enjoying the writing process is the easiest way to clock your 10,000 hours, and when it comes to writing, that means being authentic on the page: “Writing is not fun if I don't sound like myself.”
9. Aim for surprise: “The best books give you useful ideas, but they also give you ideas that you've never even considered before. They present old ideas in a way that you've never considered before. They flip things around.”
10. The work isn't in the 1st draft. It's in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th drafts: “The real writing is revision. Revision is what separates the pros from the amateurs."
11. Starting a new writing project comes with an energy rush, but the dip inevitably comes. That's normal. Commit to completion and get good at pushing through the lull.
12. The better the idea, the easier it is to write. So if you have writer's block, maybe you just have a bad idea.
13. The reader doesn't care how hard you worked on a sentence. They just want it to be good. If a passage demands too many rewrites, maybe you should just delete it because unlike the NBA slam dunk contest, there are no points for difficulty.
14. Tune into your Curiosity Antennae. Mark says: “I get bored quickly and I get excited about new things easily. And so I think that just naturally pushes me towards the edge of that adoption curve.” Who's dictating your interests? You or the culture?
15. Don't obsess over building an audience until you've discovered who you are, how you like to write, what you have to offer, and what you enjoy making.
16. Where did the iconic splat on the cover of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck come from? Not from a designer, not from the book’s publisher, but from Mark tinkering with the cover himself on Photoshop. His publisher had put an asterisk on it and called it a day. They had 20 other book covers to worry about. But Mark cared enough to make something else and it became his signature style.
17. What should you write about? Look for the intersection of a Venn diagram with three different circles: what the audience wants to hear, what you're excited to write about, and what's good for your brand.
The subtle art of interviewing Mark Manson.
Please keep doing this podcast. Incredibly inspiring.
The lighthearted path of a serious grind to get where you want as a writer…
I have written several books & one thing that i learned about myself is that, if i start & just let it be.... the best ideas just comes to me in my dream or while i am doing something totally unrelated.
This was a really good interview.
I love the concept that it's okay to do something just for yourself, like the music or video game example Mark told here 15:05
Glad to hear that professionals do this too, because it's so consuming to create only content (any kind) just for the audience.
David, it’s really cool how you make them give you specific examples or actionable tips. I really like that about your interviews.
Great job interviewing, David
I am listening to Mark Manson talk with David Perell. Two of the writers whose work I've been following for a couple of years now. And it's mind blowing to me.
Here's what I learned:
1. The thing that feels like play is that thing that you should be doing full time.
2. The best books gives you ideas that you've known but give it a different light. It challenges you to change the way you think.
3. Put a bunch of content out there (100 blog posts, 100 videos, 100 copies). Then receive feedback from those. Then optimize which one you should lean into.
Incredibly inspiring podcast... wow....
mark manson is one of my heroes. i read the hard copy of his book and he literally changed my life. how someone can change the course of their life immensely for spare change still baffles me. the thing i aslolove about mark is his outlook. whenever i read mark's work i'm like who is this really really really smart guy. but when i see him in person online, he looks so ordinary. like i thought he was going to be wearing a suit like jordan peterson. i'm sorry but mark looks like poor dude who you wouldn't be surprised if he told you he never went to school. he looks to ordinary but whats in his head is so immense, his outlook is decietful. mark is funny, relatable, thinks about the big picture and easy to understand. i think the combination of these things is what makes him unique. he has this nonchalantness to serious issues and still deals with the issues. its like the kid who doesnt study for school, sleeps all night close to exams but still manages to wow the examiner.
this is a subtle art
One of the most original nonfiction writers of this generation.
Thank you! Great content, great writing. The Subtle Art was my second Audible title of 633 I have today. I did not finish the first one, so I guess it counts as the first one! 😄
I think you meant to say “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” J F Keneddy. Here he is encouraging self responsibility.
Loved it
I can't find the essay titled: That's interesting. Please provide more details?
Here yo go
proseminarcrossnationalstudies.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/thatsinteresting_1971.pdf
Exactly what I came looking for too!
thank you@@DavidPerellChannel
@@DavidPerellChannel Thank Youuu ✨
David, you remind me of the Hot Ones guy.
✍️✍️✍️
What's with that 'stache?