Nothing Works, Then Something Works

It’s an early summertime evening in Wisconsin and the spring peepers in the pond outside are so loud as I type this that I can barely hear myself think. But after a few months of two book launches + a million school visits + already having to pivot into promoting my next middle grade, nothing could keep me from sleep at this point. Nothing besides a quality Netflix doc, that is.

I’m not necessarily a Martin Short fan. His physical, character-driven comedy isn’t usually my jam. But I do love Only Murders in the Building, his crime comedy with Selena Gomez and Steve Martin1. And so I recently clicked on the new Netflix documentary about him, Marty: Life is Short.

I tend to enjoy any documentary/article/WHAT HAVE YOU about artists and their art. I like to know what makes people in creative careers tick, how they do their work, how they wrench creativity from the grip of our world, which is overflowing with robots and ROIs.

But this documentary really wasn’t about that. It very briefly touched on Martin’s process, and showed a couple of scenes of him practicing lines. But it was mainly about the crosses he’s borne throughout his life—and there have been many. Dead parents at a young age. Dead wife. Career failure after career failure. Bomb after bomb with a sprinkling of success in between. And yet Martin, Tom Hanks2 says, moves at “the speed of joy”.

More and more, I’ve been explaining publishing to people as if it were Hollywood. I think there are a lot of similarities. My acting career ended with my coveted tenth grade role as chorus member in The Music Man, but I’ve scrolled the internet long enough to know that making it in LA is borderline impossible. Most people are auditioning for years, might snag a guest role on Law and Order, and hang up their hat because working four jobs is no longer cute after a decade or two. It is not a steady business. It is not reliable. .00002% of people “make it” and the rest are just always hoping that next job comes down the pipeline. It’s a hustle. It’s a dream.

I haven’t spoken to a single person in publishing the last few months who is not feeling crummy. AI and shuttered imprints and lowered advances and—it’s a lot, you know? The speed of joy feels like something that gets handed to you, eventually, and we’re all just sniffing around, hoping it’s our turn soon.

One comedian I am a huge fan of is John Mulaney. My husband and I have watched all of his comedy specials at least once. His dry, Catholic, self-deprecating humor just hits me right where it hurts. He’s featured in the documentary, because he’s a longtime friend of Martin’s. Once upon a time, John had a failed sitcom that Martin co-starred in. The sitcom was universally panned and canceled after only a few short months.

John talks in the documentary about the crushing disappointment of his sitcom’s failure. It’s a public embarrassment and he feels that his career is dead in the water. He runs into Marty in the hall after seeing horrible numbers.

“He just grabbed me and said John, this is what it is,” John says. “98% of it is failure. And he meant it sincerely. That this is what the job is. Nothing works, and then something works.”

This is what the job is.

Martin Short has faced loss after loss, the painful kind of loss that money and fame do not shield you from. Things are harder without money, sure. Absolutely. But being rich does not not serve as a band-aid when your beloved wife dies young. Being rich does not bring back your parents. Being rich does not buy you a successful career.

Grit does that. Tenacity does that. Devotion to your craft does that. And if everything goes to hell? Well, play a guitar by a lake with some friends. Jump into the water. Seemed to work for Marty, anyway.

“We could be doing something else,” a writer friend told me the other day over bruschetta.

I misunderstood her. “I know,” I said. “Aren’t we so lucky to be doing this?”

Three things helping me move at the speed of joy, lately:

• All of my events so far have been so great, and I’m incredibly thankful for those who’ve come out, but I was extra surprised/delighted at how many people showed up at my local public library. It was a treat to talk about the history of supper clubs and momfluencing with you, and we sold out of The Supper Club Saints, and it was just the perfect evening. Thank you times a million.

• I’m working on something new that’s invigorating me in a way I haven’t felt in a long time. I look forward to getting back to the page every single day, which is certainly not how I feel with every project.

• School’s out so soon and I can’t wait to be done packing lunches every morning. My kingdom for a professional lunch-packer. I just want to take the kids to the pool, have lazy pancake + poetry mornings, and go up north. The other night we had about 10 neighbor kids in our backyard playing some elaborate game with soccer balls and the hose while my husband and I made s’mores and drank wine. I put out juice boxes and chips and they descended on them like a pack of feral hyenas. It was everything that summers about and I know I’ll breathe easier in a few weeks when it’s here for real.

I’d love to hear your speed of joy in the comments. 🖤

My next middle grade novel, Mr. Cooper Didn’t Do It, releases next January and is available for preorder or to add on Goodreads.

Ruby Logan has always wanted to be seen. With a trouble-making older brother and a demanding baby sister, she’s invisible in the middle. So when her teacher Mr. Cooper—a cool, funny guy everyone loves—is forced to shut down his YouTube Channel “Coop’s Class,” Ruby’s one chance at feeling special is shot.

With internet fame off the table, Ruby and her friends focus on an upcoming overnight field trip—until the principal announces it’s cancelled because someone stole the admission fee. Days later, an anonymous tip says to check Mr. Cooper’s desk. To everyone’s shock, the money is there, and Mr. Cooper is removed; investigation pending.

But there’s no way Mr. Cooper did this. Using journalism techniques they learned in class, Ruby and her friends do their own digging to clear his name. As the clues pile up and the suspect list grows, Ruby finally makes some headway. And what she finds will challenge everything she believed. No, Mr. Cooper didn’t steal the money, but he might have done something else. And maybe Ruby knew about it all along…

6/2: A book talk with supper club themed treats?! Be still my heart. I’m thrilled to host a Pages & Plates event with Reads by the River in Waterford, WI at Scungilli’s to discuss The Supper Club Saints. Ticketed event—there are two tickets left as of when I’m writing this newsletter!

7/9: Brookfield, WI: I’ll be in conversation with Emily Giffin about her latest book, Love You More, with Boswell Books at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts. Ticketed event.

And lastly, a book (or two, or three) I’ve loved lately for…

Picture book fans: I’m back in the habit of reading the children poetry every morning at breakfast, and Marilyn Singer’s A Stick is an Excellent Thing: Poems Celebrating Outdoor Play has been perfect for this season!

Middle graders: Gary D. Schmidt never, ever misses, and his latest—Styx and Stones—is no exception. It’s about about a boy who escapes from the Underworld and winds up at a middle school. We’re also back on our Narnia kick and working through CS Lewis’ The Silver Chair on audio!

My kids recommend: Benjamin (10) whipped through Jennifer A. Nielsen’s Behind Enemy Lines is a matter of two days. Tess (8) adored Odder by Katherine Applegate—she was initially wary of a book told in verse, but eventually fell in love with it so much that she’s begun taking it on errands with us, refusing to leave the book behind while we go to Target or the grocery store. I think she’s on her third reread already and has decided she’d like to be a marine biologist. Bridget (5) was recently gifted a pop-up version of Jill Barklem’s Brambly Hedge collection and it’s made all of her dreams come true.

Adults: Emily St. John Mandel is a modern genius. Her short novels are so impossible to put down. Sea of Tranquility is sort of a companion to The Glass Hotel in some ways and I was absolutely swept away by this story of moon colonies (?), time travel (?!?), and galactic book tours (?!?!?!?!?). I only just found out she has a new book coming in September and I slammed that preorder button.

Thanks for reading along!

Coffee With Claire is the newsletter of Claire Swinarski, an Edgar Award nominated author of books for children and adults.

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My books for kids: Each and Every Spark | Take It From the Top | What Happened to Rachel Riley | The Kate In Between | What Happens Next

My books for adults: The Supper Club Saints | The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County