The James Altucher Show

This is for the writers.  Write something that doesn't suck.  It's a simple goal.  With low stakes, Amy Koppelman wrote "I Smile Back," which was rejected at least 80 times. It was rejected because it resembled the truth too much. One publisher said, "This is the reason we got into publishing, but I can't sell this." Now, Sara Silverman is starring in the movie. She's the main character, Laney.  I was scared for the Laney. The book bleeds.  Sometimes you have to feel sorry for someone else to stop feeling sorry for yourself.  Good fiction can do that. It's how you can escape.  They say you can't run away from yourself. But they lie all the time. Amy wrote letters. She was depressed. She needed an escape. When she recognized sadness in someone else, she wrote him letters. Years later, with a pair of scissors, she cut and pasted a story together. That's how she got her book. She wrote with scissors. In today's interview, Amy reveals how you write great fiction. I wanted to know about the sadness inside her. Doe