12/8/05, interview
YAW: Thanks for taking the time to interview with YAW. First off, who is your favorite young author?
MB: I love Less Than Zero, which Bret Easton Ellis wrote at 19. He's not a young author these days, so I'll say that Ned Vizzini's forthcoming book It's Kind of a Funny Story is the best thing he's ever done.
It would be nice if my best friends weren't my competitors, but I'm going to have to write something really special now if I don't want to be remembered as a footnote in Ned's biography. Goddamnit.
MB: Vagina. And raspberry chocolate cheesecake.
YAW: When did you start writing?
MB: When I was a little kid, I'd draw comic books and sell them to my friends for a dime. Actually I wanted to be a comic book writer until I was about 14. When I was 15, I started writing a humor column for the teen section of the Anchorage Daily News, and that's when I gave up on the Uncanny X-Men.
A couple years ago Marvel Comics actually contacted me, looking for new talent, but nothing ever came of it. I wouldn't even know how to write a good comic book today. Unless it was erotica.... Wolverine and Cyclops like you've never seen them before in the "Unmanly Sex-Men."
YAW: When and why did you start trying to get published?
MB: When I was 17, I self-published my first book, Death to All Cheerleaders. I'd never self-publish again -- it's shameless and expensive and lonely and unprofitable -- but the New York Press gave the book a glowing review, which eventually led to a book deal with MTV / Simon & Schuster for my second book, Generation S.L.U.T. So I always tell people I got lucky by working hard to get lucky.
YAW: What type of novel do you prefer to write or publish?
MB: I have a few topics I keep writing about, like conformity, hedonism and the pursuit of happiness. Even if I consciously try to avoid those ones, I keep coming back to them. I don't really know why. The other day my girlfriend asked why I write about sex so much, because in real life I'm not nearly as perverted as my writing suggests. I mean, if you include the phrase "shredded anus" in a rape scene, you're probably screwed up, right? But I'm a pretty boring guy. I'd make a psychologist yawn, if I weren't so sexually attractive.
Every writer has a theme. Ned's is self-acceptance. Ellis's is soullessness. Thompson's was the death of the American dream. Fitzgerald's was money. Philip K. Dick's was reality. I doubt any of those guys planned those themes, but I also doubt any of them could write about anything else. So I've accepted that I only have so many things to say -- I just hope I never run out of ways to say them. The idea of self-parody scares me a lot. If I'm lucky, I'll make a ton of money so I can retire like Salinger when I start to suck harder than Paris Hilton after twelve Jell-O shooters.
MB: Paying for my own groceries. It's liberating.
YAW: If you could have three wishes, and they wouldn’t backfire at you, what would they be?
MB: Fame. True love. Money. Two out of three isn't terrible.
YAW: [Hmm, now I’m curious as to which two! Moving on though…] A lot of writers are friends with other writers, like Tolkien was friends with CS Lewis. Are you friends with other writers of any age and if so, how does having other writers in your life influence your own writing?
MB: Sure, I'm friends with authors my age like Ned, Robyn Schneider (Random House is publishing her novel in 2007), Jackie Corley, and Ben Shapiro, who is a nice guy despite his nutty political beliefs.... I mean, I don't want to start name-dropping. I'm friendly with Stephen Chbosky, who wrote my favorite novel, the Perks of Being a Wallflower..... There are a bunch of older writers who've supported me. I feel like I'm part of a heritage when they give me the time of day. It's comforting. Or maybe they're pedophiles.
YAW: A lot of people think that young writers don’t have enough life experience to write well. They think that young writers are a gimmick. As someone who has been published young, what is your response to those people?
MB: It depends on the author. Nobody wants to read the memoirs of a 15-year-old, because it's going to be a LiveJournal pasted into a book. Some publishers have signed young writers for the hype alone, and those books are awful.
On the other hand, only a teenager knows exactly what it's like to be a teenager. I couldn't write "Generation S.L.U.T." today because I'm not going through all those emotions. My memory is only human. So in some cases it's a gimmick, and in other cases it's credible. It really comes down to ability, not age.
YAW: Do you tell new friends about your books right away or wait until you know them better?
MB: I'll usually bounce ideas off people, especially with my fiction, because non-fiction is much easier for me. But I'm also starting to get paranoid about leaking my ideas before they're copyrighted. I really thrive on feedback, so it's difficult to keep hundreds of pages to myself for months and months before they're cohesive.
YAW: Do your girlfriends think it’s cool that you’re a published writer or does it not really mean much to them (is it just another part of who you are to them)?
MB: My girlfriend likes my writing, but regrets ever telling her parents about my books. Can you imagine your mom reading your boyfriend's sex book?
YAW: [I’m going to try not to think about that…] A lot of young writers look up to young published authors, because you represent the hope that adults will take young writers seriously. What is one piece of advice that you would give to young writers?
MB: Read a bunch of authors. If you only read one writer, you'll sound exactly like him or her. When I was 15 I wanted to be the "new" Dave Barry. When I was 17 I wanted to be the "new" Hunter Thompson. That's self-defeating, because it's not authentic. It's forced, and people can tell it's forced even if they don't know the original author. It takes time to find your own voice, but it definitely comes from mixing your influences in ways nobody has ever done before, along with your original touches.
On the business side of things, you need an agent if you want to get published. No way around that, unless you self-publish, which is like masturbating in the mirror and then selling the video to your family.
YAW: [That’s sure to be an image I’m going to have a hard time shaking off today heh So moving right along.] Have you ever had someone walk up to you randomly and know who you were when you weren’t at an event? If so, what did you do?
MB: A few times. It's pretty flattering. One random kid at a party told me that Death to All Cheerleaders inspired him to become a writer. I was too drunk for it to blow my mind, but that doesn't happen every day.
YAW: What is one thing you wish you hadn’t done as far as your publishing life goes?
MB: Shit-talking Nick McDonell. I was being honest about how I felt -- and how I still feel to some degree -- but it was petty, mean, and didn't help my career. We've traded a couple e-mails since then. We'll have beers together someday.
YAW: [Nick is still on my to-do list for pages, but I’m sure I’ll find what you’re talking about sooner or later.] So what do you feel are some of the reasons your novels resonate with your readers the way they do?
MB: Humor, honesty and misogyny.
YAW: What has it been like being a young adult while also being a published author? How have things changed, or not, with your friends, family, and co-workers?
MB: I'm still adjusting to post-college life. I feel weird when I'm in bars and guys my age are wearing suits and ties after work, while I'm wearing jeans and a sweater. It's great working at home and living off my writing, but lately I haven't been feeling like a big boy. Then again, I'm Mr. Non-Conformity, so I guess I'm not supposed to care.
My family are happy for my success. They just wish I'd stop writing about my penis so much.
YAW: If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you take with you?
MB: My MP3 player (assuming I had unlimited batteries), my laptop (assuming I had wireless internet) and Guinness (assuming I had 10,000 crates).
MB: It's non-fiction, not a novel. I hope readers will gain a greater appreciation for the Bill of Rights, whether they're left-wingers or right-wingers. Too many people want to criminalize anything they find offensive, whether it's sexism or obscenity, and I'm definitely a libertarian on free speech issues. But I also hope the book proves that I'm versatile enough to write about subjects other than high school mating rituals.
MB: The marijuana. (Just kidding.)
I have a different perspective about that night now that he's gone. At the time, it was like "Holy shit, I met my idol, that's so cool." Now it's.... deeper. I think it was supposed to happen, in some cosmic karmic way. I feel deeply, deeply fortunate for that experience, whereas before his death it was just "Wow, I smoked up with Hunter!"
YAW: Who would you like to interview that you haven’t and why?
MB: Paul McCartney. I know I should be ashamed for saying this, but he's my favorite Beatle.
YAW: [No shame in that! All right, last question.] As America’s sexxxiest young journalist, when can we expect to see a Marty Beckerman 12-month calendar?
MB: As soon as you come over to my place with your camera and naughty imagination. And electrodes. My nipples need their fix.
YAW: (laughs) Well thanks, Marty! It's been an honor and a pleasure. I know everyone will be looking forward to Retard Nation in August 2006, and I wish you continued success in your writing career!
-- Interviewed by B.
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