This may come as a shock, but brilliant writing and clever wordplay do not a published author make. True, youll actually have to write if you want to be a writer, but ultimately literary success is about much more than putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys). Before you snap your pencil in half with frustration, please consider the advice writer, teacher, and self-made lit star Ariel Gore offers in this useful guide to realizing your literary dreams. If you find yourself writing when you should be sleeping and scribbling notes on odd pieces of paper at every stoplight, you might as well enjoy the fruits of your labor. How to Become a Famous Writer Before Youre Dead is an irreverent yet practical guide that combines solid writing advice with guerrilla marketing and promotion techniques guaranteed to launch you into printand into the limelight. Youll learn how to: Reimagine yourself as a buzz-worthy artist and entrepreneur Get your work and your name out in the world where other people can read it Be an anthology slut and a brazen self-promoter Apply real-world advice and experience from lit stars like Dave Barry, Susie Bright, and Dave Eggers to your own careerCheaper than an M.F.A. but just as informative, How to Become a Famous Writer Before Youre Dead is your catapult to lit stardom. Just dont forget to thank Ariel Gore for her inspiring, hands-on plan in the acknowledgments page of your first novel!From the Trade Paperback edition.