Prefer to video to audio? The full YouTube interview is here.
Meryl Klemow and I have worked together creating podcasts, and she might be the most fun human I have ever met.
Seriously.
And she is so sweet.
I know nothing about the stand-up comedy world, and Meryl is one of those brave souls who actually has a career doing that insane thing.
This chat takes us into some very real places. Like how envy can affect your mental health, the price of fame, and how to find balance in a chaotic industry.
Here is one of Meryl’s insights on LA:
“Everyone is in kindergarten here -- not everyone, but a lot of people, you know, are like, she has this and I don’t have this. I’ve really had to do some healing and adjust myself. Otherwise I was either going to become part of it or let it eat me alive.”
AF: You’ve built a podcast booking business alongside your comedy. How did that happen?
MK: That’s where I’ve been the most excited in a few years. I come from the production side -- show notes, project management, launching the show, all the nitty-gritty. My strong suit is both booking people onto shows and working with podcasts to book them guests. I decided to flip it around, use more of my PR background, and start booking people on shows -- and to be really intentional about it. Why is someone coming on a show, and what are they really trying to get out of it? With the boom of the past couple of years, it’s easy to spray and be on a million shows, but what’s the actual point?
So I take on only about five or six people every three months, so I can really focus on everyone. I’ll be watching a TV show and looking at it through the lens of a booking agent -- everywhere I go, I’m thinking, “This would be good for this.” I teamed up with some longtime PR people and I’m the podcast arm of it. I feel renewed and happy -- and it never would have happened if I hadn’t created the space for it.
AF: How did it get off the ground?
MK: I approached one of my favorite longtime PR friends, Jordan at Julep Publicity. I told her, “This might be a weird idea, feel free to say no, but I envision doing the podcast side of things for you.” She was open to it, and we were off and running last October. That’s the lesson: sometimes you can just create things. It didn’t fully make sense at first, but now it makes sense for everyone.
AF: How do you balance the comedy grind, your podcast job, and having a social life?
MK: That balance has been ingrained in me since I was young -- one part trying to do the normal-life things, pay my bills, go through school, be serious, and another, more artistic and comedic side. I did radio in San Diego and was part of a local variety TV show called Tonight in San Diego. There was always something a little devilish and expressive on one side while I tried to be a human who could pay her bills on the other. Now they’re converging, and it really is synergistic.
I’m relentless about having a life where I can do both. I love comedy, but I don’t need to be out every night as a stand-up. I want to do this long-term, so I’ve chosen to go a little slower at my own pace -- hopefully so I don’t burn out and can be there longer. It’s important to me to actually go to dinner with my friends, or take a night off and watch The West Wing with my boyfriend. Even if it takes longer to hit my goals, I’m happy to have a calm life.
AF: Has that pace always been your approach?
MK: The writer side of me could be prone to a nervous breakdown -- I’ve had little mini ones over the years. Experiencing my goals, wins, and challenges in a calmer, slower state is so much better for me.
I’ve had frantic periods where I met some goals and wasn’t even happy; in fact, I wasn’t feeling well. Moving to Los Angeles, surrounded by so many insanely talented, driven, cutthroat people, I had to choose my own adventure and create my own stuff.
AF: You’ve talked about the jealousy in the comedy world. What’s that like?
MK: I could never fully communicate the jealousy that goes on among comedians. I’ve had to talk friends down from just staring at other people’s flyers.
AF: How do you keep it from getting to you?
MK: I always think, “we don’t know what we don’t know.” The reason I seek balance now is that in my younger years I really struggled with anxiety and panic attacks. And when we see people succeeding so much, they’re driven, but a lot of the time it’s from some deep pain, or they’re trying to make their parents love them. We never know why people are accomplishing things. People tell me, “You’re so lucky,” and I think, “If you only knew.” We’re all dealing with so much more than what we see in the above-ground hot tub.
(Authorial note: If you listen to the podcast or watch the video, I told Meryl all about my irrational envy of people with hot tubs. Until I got my own.)
AF: You mentioned comparison a lot. How do you counsel friends through it?
MK: One of my best friends just got into a comedy festival she’d been trying to get into for years and kept getting rejected from. This year she got in -- and it went straight from an excited wave to dread: “I’m intimidated by who else is on it.” I reminded her that she’s truly competing with just herself. I try to be a voice of counsel there. I don’t really struggle with comparison; I see clearly that we’re only ever in it with ourselves.
AF: Do you ever envy the comedians at the top?
MK: I see some of the top comedians and I wouldn’t trade my life for theirs for one second. Some don’t seem very grounded -- there are a lot of addiction issues, a lot of work addiction. You have to really like the life you’re in.
AF: You work with authors on the podcast side. What’s surprised you about publishing?
MK: I assumed publishers put together book signings and did tons of publicity for their authors. A lot of traditional publishers don’t -- which is exactly why authors come to us for help getting on podcasts and doing PR. I had this older, New-York version in my head, where they put you on a 50-city tour. Some still do, but it’s not the way it used to be. It’s almost like the music industry now: the record label doesn’t do everything for you the way it once did.
If you want to learn more about Meryl, check out her Insta!
