Three Takes. 12/05.
Diddy, less books in publishing and telling friends their boyfriends suck.
Between the longer essays and deep dives, I’m trying something new—a quick-hit format where I share three thoughts on what’s catching my attention right now. Think of these as the conversations I’d have with you over coffee: sharper, shorter, and straight to the point.
Let me know what you think. I’m curious which of these lands with you. Drop a note in the comments.
The Reckoning
I watched even though trying to resolve 50’s level of petty attempts to break my brain. Rapper turned TV mogul 50 Cent executive produced a documentary on Sean Combs that was released on Netflix Dec. 2nd, and my curiosity drove me to watch. I mean I grew up with a Puff Daddy poster on my wall, and although everyone began to understand well before the trial that the person we were marketed was not the person deep down inside, this new documentary frames things in a completely different way. It appears he is ten times more menacing that one could even imagine. A master manipulator, not only to those in his orbit, but for all of us who used him as a pillar of motivation and what it took to work hard over the years. In my early pursuit of a music career, I used to opine about how I answered unknown numbers back then in case Diddy was ever calling. I mean, how happy I am that I never crossed that man’s path in all these years around it? I know that narcissist is the five-dollar word we’ve all learned to throw around these days, but this felt like the first time I was seeing it truly in the flesh. Nothing and no one else seem to matter but him and it was terrifying. Ultimately though, the docuseries was well done. As an avid doc watcher, it would have been interesting regardless of the subject. It was well put together and highlighted a female director, Alex Stapleton, at the helm. So, you know, if you were letting the fact that 50 is involved stop you, don’t. It’s a good (albeit sad) watch if you’re into the medium.
Last random note was people zoning in on him talking about wanting hand sanitizer and a bath after being around a bunch of folks in the streets of New York City. That may have been the most normal thing that happened in that doc. Have you ever been outside for an extensive amount of time in New York? You would likely say the same thing. There were much more egregious things than that, including his consistent and violent nature towards both women and men. Sometimes we focus on the wrong things.
Should there be less books?
I came across an Instagram post where two agents were talking about some person (not sure who they were referencing) who seemed to have said that there should be less books to have more successful launch campaigns. The agents from “The Shit No One Tells You About Writing” were discussing the conundrum of this person “maybe” having a point because there are so many books released each year vying for attention, but also like who wants to hear that there should be less books? Certainly not authors nor agents who clearly make their income from the sale of books.
I believe it was CeCe who ultimately said, look maybe we just need more readers, and I think that’s probably more along the lines of what I would hope. Not only do we need more people to remember the value of reading, but we also need to know how to market to the right people. Every creative market feels oversaturated right now because honestly publishing is the last with some pretty effective gatekeeping. But I’m not sure “less books” is the approach, because less people will have a chance and that undoubtedly effects Black and brown writers. We’re already fighting for our lives out here. I know for myself, as an author, I’m focused on finding my readers. My goal is to find 1,000 dedicated supporters. With that I think you can go far.
Do you have to let friends be dumb?
I’m a little late here, but I am a recovering fan of the Selling Sunset series and this last season crashed and burned badly. But after the reunion I kept seeing people say they felt Chrishell was wrong for telling Emma about her awful boyfriend which got me to thinking, are we supposed to let our friends make grave dating mistakes?
I mean listen, I get it, you can’t bash every boyfriend that isn’t your proverbial cup of tea, but I would think that racist and homophobic remarks might be a place where you could raise a hand. Maybe it’s just me, but what I realized at that moment was maybe I’m not a good friend because that man seemed awful and I would have said so too. What say you?
Okay, that’s it for this week … BYYYYYEEEEE.
Want more? Paid subscribers get access to exclusive fiction, in-depth essays, and monthly writing life updates where I pull back the curtain on the creative process. If these three takes are the conversation, consider the paid tier an invitation into the writing room itself.