Never Entertain During Watermelon Season

the long version

Every successful entertainer has written a book describing how they did it. Have you noticed that nobody ever writes about how they failed? Well, here it is: "Never Entertain During Watermelon Season", by Joe Dyson. You write and rehearse your act. Then you go to an open mike night at a bar and wait through each introduction, never knowing when your name is going to be called. Around one in the morning, the Master of Cermonies will mispronounce your name and you get on stage to deliver your material to the six people left in the audience.... and they stare at you. On the other hand, some nights you're introduced at the best time and absolutely kill em! They applaud and whistle as you leave the stage. The author has seen both sides, having gotten up on open mike stages over hundred times and have experienced every kind of reaction before he finally gave up and got a real job. It took Joe over twenty years to recover enough from the experience to write a book about it. So, if you've ever wondered what its really like to try to become a stand up comedian, please read this story. It's a funny book... in a painful kind of way.