Being able to write comedy — and get paid for it — is a dream job. You can make a living by doing the very thing you are driven to do. When you work with other comedians, you have a great time and write some great comedy in the process. If you respect your job and your talent, everything else is just icing on the cake. Just be warned — most people won't get what you do. You'll be at a dinner party, and someone will ask what you do for a living. If you say, “I'm a comedian,” their next question will likely be, “Wow, that's great, but what do you do for a living?”

Society craves comedy yet dismisses it as a career. But that's not important. You will be doing something that makes a big difference in people's lives. Being a comedian is also one of the most important jobs in the world. And it's a blast! If you have a high opinion of yourself and love what you do, it won't matter what others think.

“No Respect, I Tell Ya!”

The late great Rodney Dangerfield spoke for all comedians when he said, “I don't get no respect!” Beginning in grade school, comedians get a bad rep. “Stop kidding around!” “Stop acting like a clown!” “What are you, some kind of comedian?” Comedians and comedy writers tend to be treated by society as second-class artists. What comedians do is fine, but it's not that important. A comedy movie isn't as important as a drama. A stand-up comedian isn't as important as a poet. A comedy writer is never as important as a “serious” novelist.

What people don't realize is it that comedy is just as important as the “serious” arts. Where would we be without humor? Comedy is what gets us by, and the world needs more of it. If there were no one around to make fun of all the stupid things that happen everyday, we'd just be stuck with, well, the stupid things that happen every day. If people in authority couldn't be taken down a peg, we'd have to (gasp!) take them seriously.

Respect Yourself

Remember, in the Middle Ages, only the jester could call the king's actions into question. Today, comedy can do more to make a change in public opinion than most people realize. Think about it: Do politicians care about what Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report say about them? You bet they do.

A barrage of jokes can bring someone down faster than an editorial in the New York Times. Comedians tend to be prosecutors for the people in the court of public opinion. It's serious stuff, this comedy thing. And, while it struggles to get artistic respect, it's always in high demand in film, TV, comedy clubs, novels, and just about any form of entertainment the public consumes.

Then why doesn't comedy writing get its due? It's because good comedians make it look easy, effortless, like they're not even trying. People don't see the work — the writing — involved in what comedians do, if they do it right. And comedy writing is work — hard work — but guess what? It's a blast! When you write a joke that works, there's no better feeling in the world. It makes all the work, and the second-class status, worthwhile. Maybe Rodney got no respect, but he respected himself, and he could make an audience laugh until they cried. That was all that mattered. If you respect yourself, that's all that should matter to you.