Comedy Development

Overachieving parents want you to believe the harder you work, the better your kid will turn out. The truth is most kids end up remarkably unremarkable no matter what you do. Amateur parenting expert James Breakwell will teach you to stop worrying and embrace your child's destiny as devastatingly average. To get there, you'll have to overcome your kid, other parents, and yourself, all of whom will push you to do more than is absolutely necessary. Honestly, by reading this far, you're already trying too hard. But don't stop now. You're exactly the kind of person who needs this book.

Kids, a Primer is a collection of a grandfather's musings on the way his (now grown) children are raising their children and being glad about being a grandparent rather than a new parent with young children (again). While Ungar is convinced that grandparents could do a better job raising children if they had the energy, he is grateful that he, in fact, no longer has the energy.

After becoming trapped in present-day Bath due to a mishap with her time-traveling charm, Jane Austen is safe and sound back in the 1800s thanks to Rose Wallace’s help. Now, Rose is ready to focus on her fledgling romance with dreamy Dr. Aiden Trevellyan. But when Jane reappears in the present, it looks like Rose and Aiden have no choice but to follow her back to 1813....

Want to make a living by making people laugh? The comedy industry is bursting with opportunities—find out how to claim your place in the spotlight with 10 Steps to Be a Working Comedian. Comedy is a business, and there’s work waiting for anyone funny enough to take the stage. Greg Dean, the renowned Professor of Stand-Up Comedy, shows you how to turn your passion for laughs into a lucrative career, from one-nighters to week-long gigs. This book reveals how to build a show to get work, secure it, and what it takes to thrive in an ever-expanding industry.

Coming from one empathetic parent to another, the tips in this book are real, clever, honest, and designed to make life with a terrible two- or three-year-old a little bit more manageable. Hilarious, helpful, and handy, this book will be appreciated by any parent who has asked: "Why didn't anybody warn me that unconditional love would be so much work?"

“This book is hilarious and poignant at once. It’s sexy without being explicit, and very thought-provoking. You’ll never look at life and parenthood the same way again after you read it.” Wild-hearted, confirmed bachelorette Hope Clayton is the business expert fixing companies to save them from bankruptcy—yet she’s been unable to fix her own sentimental life. When her job sends her temporarily to Orlando, Florida, she decides to stop chasing love and just have some fun. What can go wrong in the state of sunshine and the city of theme parks? A blink later, a war has erupted ...

Writing comes down to turning your hazy mind into crystal-clear words. In this book, you will learn the different types of essays out there, the basics of research and development, use of logical reasoning and critical thinking skills, rough draft creation, editing, proofreading, and building an empire with your words. An essay is a remarkable way to spread your philosophy and grow your brand. Learn the basics of how to effectively write essays in Get to the Point....

Today's parents are navigating a new frontier in child-rearing: raising "digital natives" in a world where "screen time" is ever-present. It's a journey strewn with questions, doubts, and persistent pings. But fear not. Parenting Unplugged turns these challenges into opportunities for humor, wisdom, and a screen savvy family life.

Two real estate agents. One deal. Manhattan isn't big enough for the both of them. Scarlett is working her curvy derriere off to be one of Manhattan’s top-selling real estate agents, and she’s about to land a huge client that could make her managing partner of the agency—and generate enough commission to buy the brownstone her foster parents told her she’d never have. Except the developer didn’t mention he wanted two agents, and the second choice is Jack Shane—infuriating, smug, gorgeous… and working for a rival agency that’s trying to poach her clients. With millions up for...

Every manager learns from the same source: Dogbert's Top Secret Management Handbook. This valuable management handbook teaches new managers how to transform themselves from bitter and bewildered "little people" into fully functioning, paradigm-spewing management zombies.

Pitch, Sketch, Launch extracts the techniques used to create today’s most beloved comedy shows and applies them to revitalizing software development. It shines a spotlight on the sketch comedy world’s ethos of feedback-driven product deliveries and its playful search for original solutions. Insightful interviews, best practices, and case studies demonstrate how creating comedy applies to designing top-tier software.

Discover the six plot points at the heart of every romantic comedy. Learn to use the simple framework of great movies to make your unique romcom leap off the page. From the author of The Screenplay Outline Workbook, this concise-but-powerful guide demystifies 3-act structure and equips writers with an essential tool for crafting powerful stories. Screenplay consultant and screenwriting teacher Naomi Beaty has spent over a decade helping countless writers turn their movie ideas into great screenplays, and in Romcom Structure Made Easy she distills key lessons into concrete guidance you can ...

Both a hysterical tell-all memoir of the author's stumbles and triumphs in becoming mindfully masculine, as well as a practical drivers manual for navigating the twists and turns of mature manhood, Mindful Masculinity is a joy to read or to listen to. Scott Grace, once a prolific recording artist and stand-up comedian who opened for Robin Williams and many other legends, brings his comic touch to a very serious subject.

Approaching his 30th birthday, Sopan Deb had found comfort in his day job as a writer for the New York Times and a comedian. But his stage material highlighting his South Asian culture only masked the insecurities borne from his family history. Sure, Deb knew the facts: His parents, both Indian, separately immigrated to North America in the 1960s and 1970s. They were brought together in a volatile and ultimately doomed arranged marriage and raised a family in New Jersey before his father returned to India alone. But Deb had never learned who his parents were as individuals.

A newborn set of twins, a new apartment, and the ensuing chaos are keeping Ben and Kirsty on their toes, but their challenges don't stop there. Kirsty is an exhausted new mother, and Ben isn't faring much better. On top of that, their communication skills could be better compared to a comedy of errors or a Greek tragedy. The last thing Kirsty needs is for their zany extended family to bring their own issues into the mix, but the problems just keep on coming. It’s just as well that love will always find a way.

Women love men with a sense of humor. The life of the party is the man who cracks the right word in the right moment. The problem is: Where are the good lines when you need them? They are here. The best one-liners to show off in public and in private. All the one-liners are related to sex, women, love, and relationships. Take the lines you'll need to become the life of the party. Dating will never be the same.

This lighthearted month-by-month instruction manual on the care and nurture of a pregnant wife - the main role of expectant dads - will handle all the important milestones and topics: what not to say during the three phases of labor, what to buy, how many and when, maintaining work-life balance, and maintaining work-life-wife balance.

One afternoon in Atlanta, Georgia. Two people heading to the altar. One hundred fifty guests. The bride, Elizabeth Gottlieb, proud graduate of the University of Virginia and of Emory University School of Law, member of Atlanta's wealthy Jewish elite. The groom, Hank Jackson, not a member. Not a Jew. The couple of the hour, however, is beside the point, because We Are Gathered belongs to the guests.

Whether you dream of standing in the spotlight as a stand-up comedian, entertaining crowds with your wit and charm, or aspire to infuse humor into your everyday life and professional endeavors, this audiobook is your go-to resource. Prepare to embark on a transformative journey, navigating the intricacies of comedy writing, delivery, timing, and stage presence.

Based on the column of the same name that appeared in The Toast, Hey Ladies! is a laugh-out-loud listen that follows a fictitious group of eight 20- and-30-something female friends for one year of holidays, summer house rentals, dates, brunches, breakups, and, of course, the planning of a disastrous wedding. This instantly relatable story is told entirely through emails, texts, DMs, and every other form of communication known to man.