Real Artists Have Day Jobs: (And Other Awesome Things They Don't Teach You in School)

For readers of Lena Dunham, Mindy Kaling, and #Girlboss, a hilarious—yet heartfelt—guide to growing up and taking your place in the world by the popular comedian and author of the highly praised Agorafabulous!

While the practical aspects of new adulthood can be nerve-wracking—dating, job-hunting, money-managing—the most important task of all is figuring out who you are and where you fit in the world. Author and comedian Sara Benincasa, now in her mid-thirties, had an absolutely harrowing early twenties and now, on the other side, she has a LOT of hard-earned wisdom and common sense to share.

Real Artists Have Day Jobs includes 52 witty, provocative essays on how to live like a real adult—especially for those who have chosen a slightly more offbeat path to get there. Chock full of information and advice, Sara’s warm, smart, empathetic, and quirky voice is relatable to everyone from twenty-somethings and recent college grads to anyone a bit older who’s still trying to figure things out. While Sara doesn’t have all of life’s answers, this indispensable book has more than its share!

Essays include:

• How to Read a Book
• Real Artists Have Day Jobs
• The Power of Being a Dork
• Put Your Clutter in Purgatory
• Ask for Exactly What You Want
• Elect Your Own Executive Board

Equal parts entertaining and educational, Real Artists Have Day Jobs is a life-changing book for strivers and misunderstood creatives everywhere.

“Sara captures the chaos, horror, and joy of a life pursuit of creativity.”—Jim Gaffigan

While the practical aspects of adulthood can be nerve-racking, the most important task of all is figuring out who you are and where you fit in the world. Author and comedian Sara Benincasa has a lot of hard-earned wisdom and common sense to share.

Including 52 witty, provocative essays on how to live like a real adult—especially useful for those who have chosen a slightly more offbeat path to get there—Real Artists Have Day Jobs is relatable to everyone from twentysomethings and recent college grads to anyone a bit older who’s still trying to figure things out.

Essays include:

• Stop Apologizing for Everything • Life Is Too Short for Sh*tty Friends • The Power of Being a Dork • It Gets Better, Mostly • Ask for Exactly What You Want • . . . and more!

“An incredible tour de force. If I could repeatedly hit my head so I could give myself a touch of memory loss so that I would be able to read this again for the first time, I would.”—Megan Amram

“Sara Benincasa is a great wit, a great woman, and a great writer.”—Elizabeth Gilbert

Praise for Agorafabulous!: “Agorafabulous! is laugh-out loud funny, even as it’s taking on deadly serious issues.” - Feministing.com

“A blisteringly funny yet affecting debut memoir about a young woman’s struggle to overcome panic disorder and agoraphobia. Comedian Benincasa recounts her adolescent devolution into a ‘full-on, obsessive, cowering, trembling agoraphobe’ [who] discover[s], by accident, the healing power of stand-up comedy. Fabulously quirky and outrageous.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Hilarious. . . . With expert pacing, the stand-up comic mixes humor and poignant anecdotes from her teen, college, and young adult life. As her empowering tale makes clear, she survives and thrives (with a little help from family, friends, and Prozac).” - Booklist

“The abridged list of things Sara Benincasa has been afraid of includes leaving her home, having a wet head, driving…and sex. But her memoir…dissects all of these fears with so much verve and humor, you’ll be amazed at how much fun it can be to read about such difficult circumstances.” - Bust Magazine

“Often poignant and always funny…. [Sara Benincasa’s] matter-of-fact, unselfconscious delivery allows readers to be entertained without having to feel guilty about it; further, it may just inspire them to make a few changes of their own. [A] story of triumph over adversity…you’ll be better for having read it.” - Examiner.com

“Honest, funny and completely devoid of bullshit. You might not want to hear what’s in this book, but you probably need to.” - Patton Oswalt

“It’s educational, inspiring and entertaining in equal measure…That mix of empathy and realism is what makes ‘Real Artists…’ worth reading.” - The Malcontent

“Sara’s book is an incredible tour de force. If I could repeatedly hit my head so I could give myself a touch of memory loss so that I would be able to read this again for the first time, I would.” - Megan Amram

“Sara captures the chaos, horror, and joy of a life pursuit of creativity.” - Jim Gaffigan

“Sara Benincasa is a great wit, a great woman, and a great writer.” - Elizabeth Gilbert

“Inspiring self-help guidance on just about everything: sex, love, self-esteem, even flossing…It’s hard to imagine an actual self-help book could be more inspirational…Benincasa’s wisdom and humor will reverberate for days to come.” - Library Journal

“Hilarious…refreshingly frank…Benincasa provides solid tips for relationships, health, wellness, and employment…Raunchy and unabashedly unapologetic, this is useful, take-no-prisoners humor.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Sara Benincasa is brilliant on Twitter, in her comedy and on the printed page, and her latest, Real Artists Have Day Jobs, won’t fail to make you laugh. It might make you tear up a little bit too… she’s smart, heartfelt, relatable and just plain funny.” - New York Daily News