How I Wrote ‘Why Not?’

My book “Why Not? Lessons on Comedy, Courage, and Chutzpah” had been out a few weeks when my friends, Eric and Beth Shapiro called, “Do you know your book is number one on Amazon?”  

I said, “Hold on.” 

Clicking quicker than a 12-year-old on Ritalin, click, click, there it was, a Kindle Best Seller, number one in Jewish Lives, and number three in Comedian Biographies.  

Click, click to our family chat, I zapped a screenshot from Amazon with the words “Best Seller.” Then I sat and waited for those tiny dots that fly around when people are texting back. After an agonizing two minutes of no texts back, I assumed they didn’t love me. You’ll all agree that’s normal thinking on my part. 

Then there they were, the spinning dots followed by the word: “Amazing.” 

Then from my wife, “So proud of our Mark.” 

Then, “Not fair Trevor Noah’s beating you.” 

And my favorite, “Do you think you’ll make a million dollars?” That son, who will go unnamed, is the one most eager to read my will.

While enjoying the great feeling of this success, I found myself in disbelief. How did it happen that my book became a best seller? How did it happen that I managed to write a book at all and one with my bar mitzvah photo on the cover? 

While enjoying the great feeling of this success, I found myself in disbelief. How did it happen that my book became a best seller? How did it happen that I managed to write a book at all and one with my bar mitzvah photo on the cover? 

When my agent Murray sent the book out to publishing houses, he received back plenty of emails that included things like, “We’re looking for gay, trans, black, and LGBTQ writers.” Nobody wrote back, “If you have a white, Jewish 70-year-old male who believes in God, loves America, and is happily married with kids, that’s our man.” I have never been and never will fit any other demographic. 

I’ll tell you what I believe happened. My goal was not to write a best seller or even to get a publisher (though I was lucky enough to find one eventually). Rather, my goal was to write stories for my family and friends and leave behind a record that I’d been here. I didn’t even set out to write about my Jewish life. It just happened. First David Suissa asked me to write an article. Then he kept asking for more. So a few hours a day, I put one finger in front of the other and, boom, I had a book. 

It happened because I tried my best to write honestly and not to think too much about money or prestige. It wasn’t a conditional thing. There was no this or that that had to happen. There was no “I must be successful.” I simply followed a path that felt as though it was being laid out in front of me. 

I also realized that I probably wouldn’t succeed if I did things on my own. So, I asked for help. First, from the source of all help. I would sit down at the computer and ask God to help me write my stories. I would say, “God, just for today, please give me the right words. God, please make it so you’re proud of me.” Then the ideas flowed into my head while sitting at my escritoire. And like a good secretary, I sat, with my legs crossed, and took dictation.  

Spelling and editing are not God’s thing. He’s an ideas man. But because I asked for help, he sent lots of people my way. Friends and family and a great editor all helped by believing in me. People believing in me helped me take this across the finish line. So many stepped up at just the right time with the right words of encouragement. Honest encouragement can and will make your work better, and help you keep going when you want to quit. 

So, when I ask myself how my book happened, I see it clearly now. I set out to write honestly and asked for help along the way. I knew I could never do it by myself. That’s a type of chutzpah you don’t want. Nobody steps into the cockpit of a plane for the first time and thinks, “I can do this. I don’t need lessons”

“I” can’t, but “we” can.  And if I’m going to be truthful, it’s not a bad feeling having a best seller.

Mark Schiff is a comedian, actor and writer, and host of the ‘You Don’t Know Schiff’ podcast. His new book is “Why Not? Lessons on Comedy, Courage and Chutzpah.”