Snapshot · Last Podcast On The Left
Joe Hill held firm on a bleak ending for his novel Nosferatu, vowing not to change a word — until his mother Tabitha called and said it 'really won't do,' after which he immediately agreed.
Where this was said
At 27:38 · chapter starts 27:00
The conversation pivots to Tabitha King, and what emerges is a portrait of the most powerful un-credited editor in American fiction. Joe describes sending his novel Nosferatu to his mother with complete certainty he wasn't changing a word of the bleak ending — and immediately agreeing to change it the moment she called. Stephen describes Tabitha shooting down a 'dope' subplot from Never Flinch after he'd fought hard for it: she called it derivative, he gnashed his teeth for 48 hours, and then made the changes. Joe reveals she also pre-emptively writes the bad reviews she imagines critics will give — when Stephen finished IT, she said the critics would say he 'left off two letters.' When he finished Insomnia, she predicted a one-word review: 'Cures it.' The bit lands with the ease of a story told many times and still funny every time.
Every King family member sends their manuscript to Tabitha first. She collapsed Joe Hill's artistic resolve with one phone call and regularly overrules Stephen after 48 hours of teeth-gnashing.
Every member of the King family sends their manuscript to Tabitha King before anyone else, making her the de facto first editor and quality gatekeeper for the entire family's output.
When Stephen King finished IT, Tabitha said critics would say he 'left off two letters.' When he finished Insomnia, she predicted the review would be just one word: 'Cures it.' This is the family editing process.
The music conservatory Mark Manson attended had a dropout rate of approximately 87–90%, illustrating how few people reach the 'religious' stage of commitment to a creative calling.
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.
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.