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On The Table Read Magazine, “the best entertainment eBook magazine UK“, Joel Samberg reflects on his inescapable calling as a writer since childhood, and introduces his novel Jackie Jester, inspired by his grandfather Benny Bell’s turbulent career in the record industry.
Written by Joel Samberg
Why Writing Chose Me
First, let me dispense with the why-I-wanted-to-be-writer question, only because the answer is short and direct. It may also sound quite arrogant to some readers, and for that I apologize. I am not by nature an arrogant person. Even though several friends and relatives yell at me for putting it this way, I did not choose to become a writer. Without getting into a discussion of faith, spirituality, destiny, or any of those challenging topics, writing chose me. Why do I say that? Because ever since I was seven years old, nearly everything I saw, overheard, or wondered about I turned—in my head at first, without any outside provocation—into a book, play, movie, or TV show.
What Makes a Professional Writer
Anyone can learn to write well. But in my view, not everyone who wants to become a professional writer should become a professional writer. Just having a good story you wish to share does not make one a good professional writer. Just having a facility for spelling, grammar, and syntax does not make one a good professional writer. Just discovering you have a way of conveying ideas in a meaningful and expressive way does not make one a good professional writer.
To me, what makes a good professional writer is all of those things, along with the following:
• The willingness to put a completed draft away for weeks or months and then revisit it with a critical and fresh pair of editorial eyes.
• The resolve to feel like a phenomenal success even if just two people in the world take it upon themselves to read your work and then say that it touched them, entertained them, informed them, or filled up a few hours with pleasure.
• A complete acceptance of the fact that professional writing is one of the most challenging professions in the world, where rejection and frustration are part of the terrain.
• A completely natural inclination to want to change a word here, delete a paragraph there, add a character quirk here, remove some punctuation there—all in pursuit of making the writing seamless, mellifluous, and delightful.
• The knowledge that, despite toying with inventor, astronaut, architect, and anesthesiologist, you never really wanted to be anything but a writer.
If I ruled the world, the only people who would be allowed to call themselves professional writers would be those who abide by those five bullets along with having a good story, wanting nothing more than to share it, demonstrating an excellent handle on spelling, grammar, and syntax, and are blessed with the skill to write in a meaningful and expressive way. Marketing success has little to do with it. Nor does income. I don’t even know if I meet all those requisites. But I sure as hell try.
Introducing Jackie Jester
Now that I got that off my chest, I’d love to share my Jackie Jester experience. A common axiom is to write what you know. Certainly there are exceptions (no writer knows for sure what it was like for prehistoric cavemen or what it will be like for people living on Mars). But a good writer must use their own experiences and philosophies to help build their tales.
I don’t come from an Irish-Catholic family, but my previous novel, Almost Like Praying, all about the Kellehers, was based on the family who lived across the street when I grew up—what I saw, what I overheard, what I wondered about.
My late grandfather Benny Bell, a songwriter and singer who gave us Shaving Cream, Everybody Wants My Fanny, Take a Ship and many other novelty classics, was the inspiration for the fictional Jack Aronson in Jackie Jester.
The Inspiration Behind the Story
Benny Bell had a professional history that defined the term up-again-and-down-again. In the 1940s, the stubborn, distrustful, and sometimes simply unlucky entrepreneur had a nervous breakdown based on his inability to succeed; when Shaving Cream resurfaced in the early 1970s, he was suddenly in wide demand. For a long time I have wanted to write a novel about the record industry. It’s a fascinating business in many ways. But I also always wanted to write a book about what the industry was like for my grandfather in particular.
So I combined the two. The result is Jackie Jester. I took some close-to-the-truth incidents and wove them around other incidents that came purely from imagination. I used a little exaggeration, speculation, irony, and—given that Jackie is a comedy songwriter—humor. Lyrics to about a dozen Jackie Jester songs are part of the narrative, including One Big Pile of Ship, I Love My Cockatiel, Sardine Serenade, and others.
The Tale of Jackie Jester
Jackie Jester is the story of a fascinating career fraught with the most miserable lows, a few enormous highs, a touch of anger, a lot of humor—and a couple of perplexing personal crossroads. As a teenager in depression-era lower Manhattan, Jack Aronson makes a name for himself writing silly songs. That’s partially why he decides to devote his life to making records. Even before he turns 20, he becomes the comic yet troubled driving force behind Jester Records.
Jackie’s first hit record is called Izzy (Who Gives Me a Smile), which leads to a hookup with a shady character named Ed Zelnick. Zelnick takes over Jester Records, which is when Jack starts to lose his heart and soul. He eventually gets them back—but it is too late? Will his loyal wife Ellie remain devoted? Will his hero-worshiping son David continue to adore him?
Jackie’s journey through the narrative includes infuriating conferences with record company executives, chance meetings with Harpo Marx, Frank Sinatra, and Irving Berlin, and a couple of impetuous decisions that could be said to permanently alter the course of his family’s future. I hope the novel is compelling. After all, I want at least two people in the world to take it upon themselves to read the novel and say it touched them, entertained them, informed them, or filled up a few hours with pleasure. Then I’ll be a success.
Find more from Joel Samberg now:
Jackie Jester
Apple Books: https://apple.co/3G4mnCb
Kindle: https://amzn.to/42yF3Tj
Paperback: https://amzn.to/4iZdvw1
Hardcover: https://amzn.to/4jsPxcE
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