March 23rd, 2009

I had the pleasure of participating in a signing this past weekend with three lovely authors – one of whom was a New York Times Best Seller. Brenda Novak was smart and engaging and I enjoyed hearing how her work made it through a slush-pile of submission that flood a publisher’s office everyday. She read the first few pages of her book to the group and it was easy to see why she is a success. I like to see a talented person get ahead in this world. I don’t care much for those who get to the front of the line based solely on hype. A lot of so called celebrities got what they are based on hype. Dennis Rodman for example. He is the Sistine Ceiling of hype. I’ve been watching Celebrity Apprentice and it makes me sad. I don’t think he’d be the star he is today if it weren’t for hype. He was a solid basketball player, but come on, being the leading rebounder in the league is like playing first chair tuba at the Des Moines Pops. Clint Black?now he’s talented and deserves to be a star. One of the best written songs of all time is Killin Time. He owes his fame to talent not hype. He doesn’t have to dye his hair to resemble the muted rainbow of bad meat – he’s just talented. Like Brenda Novak is talented. All that being said hype is here to stay because we live in an increasingly narcissistic universe that everyone believes they’re the center of. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’m prone to think that myself from time to time.