Snapshot · The Shawn Ryan Show
After Clark removed the profanity and honored God by rewriting the book, nine publishers wanted it within one month — including Random House, the world's largest publisher.
Where this was said
At 4:14:30 · chapter starts 3:35:00
The Guns Up! publication story is the episode's triumphant third act. After four years of wallpapering his rooftop writing office with rejection notices — including one from Pam Strickler at Random House who had actually read the manuscript — Clark was spiritually convicted by the verse 'for those who honor God, God will honor.' He and his wife Nancy popped champagne the night he finished the six-month profanity-free rewrite, declaring 'the anchor's off my back.' The next morning, Soldier of Fortune called about a story submitted four years earlier that had 'just turned up in the slush pile' [1] — Johnnie Clark "Clark typically carried 400 rounds of M60 ammunition on top of the gun itself. His team was supposed to be five men — but often it was just…" 1:12:30 . Three more magazines called with the same story and the same explanation within days. Nine publishers then competed for the book within a month. Random House acquired it, but Pam Strickler — who had rejected it a year earlier — asked Clark to restore the profanity, arguing no one would believe a Vietnam War book without it. Clark's reply: slim and none. The book has been in print 42 years, published in Lithuania, and still generates letters from soldiers whose families discovered how their fathers died.
Guns Up! was rejected by every publisher in America for over four years. Clark stripped all profanity as an act of faith. The morning after finishing the rewrite, Soldier of Fortune called about a story he'd submitted four years earlier — which had just 'turned up in the slush pile.' Then Eagle, then American Legion. Within one month, nine publishers wanted the book. Random House — the biggest in the world — bought it, then asked him to put the profanity back in. He refused. The book has been in print for 42 years.
Clark's memoir Guns Up! was rejected by every publisher from New York to California for more than four years before being accepted within one month of Clark removing all profanity.
The morning after Clark finished removing all profanity from Guns Up! as an act of faith, Soldier of Fortune magazine called about a story he had submitted four years earlier — setting off a chain of events that led to Random House.
Guns Up! has been continuously in print for 42 years after being rejected by every publisher in America for four years before Random House bought it.
Guns Up! was published in Lithuania and a Lithuanian soldier emailed Clark saying his entire unit had read it, calling it 'the greatest war book that God ever wrote.'
A novel called 'Call Me, I'll Hide the Body' triggered a 14-publisher bidding war and sold for $2.4 million before critics alleged it was predominantly written by AI.
John Mulaney cold-texted Robby Hoffman out of nowhere to offer to produce her Netflix special, which became Wake Up.
Robby Hoffman posed as a courier to hand-deliver her spec script directly to the president of HBO Canada early in her career.
Robby and Mulaney filmed two shows in one night for the Netflix special; after the first they knew they had it, so the second was a victory lap.
Jimmy Carr performs up to 300 shows a year, often doing two shows per night, which he says reduces nerves rather than increasing them.
Jimmy Carr says that speaking at roughly 92 beats per minute is the optimal cadence for comedy and public speaking, including political speeches like Obama's.
The oldest recorded joke appears in a Roman book called 'The Lover of Laughter' and is still funny — a barber asking how a man wants his haircut, who replies 'in silence'.
Jimmy Carr argues that comedians like George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Dave Chappelle have permanently expanded the conversational Overton window on sex, politics, and taboo topics.
The Lion King musical has grossed over $11 billion in its 30-year run, making it the single highest-grossing piece of entertainment in history across any medium.
We use essential and analytics cookies to run Vuci. To understand how the site is used: Privacy Policy.
Install Vuci on your phone
Add it to your home screen for a faster, app-like experience.
Install Vuci on your phone
Tap the Share button, then “Add to Home Screen”.
A new version is available
Reload to get the latest Vuci.