12 Social Media Accounts That Turned Into Books
12 Social Media Accounts That Turned Into Books
1. Justin Halpern, Shit My Dad Says
Justin Halpern's Shit My Dad Says
is sometimes credited with opening the floodgates to a crushing wave of
"social media personalities" who felt that they, too, deserved to make
it big. Some did. Most didn't.
But Halpern's genuinely funny feed, created in 2009 when he was forced to move back in with his hilarious, profanity-spewing father, spawned a book deal mere weeks after he registered the account, as well as a short-lived sitcom starring William Shatner.
Halpern has since written for Grantland and published a second book, I Suck At Girls, which also contains quotes from his dad.
But Halpern's genuinely funny feed, created in 2009 when he was forced to move back in with his hilarious, profanity-spewing father, spawned a book deal mere weeks after he registered the account, as well as a short-lived sitcom starring William Shatner.
Halpern has since written for Grantland and published a second book, I Suck At Girls, which also contains quotes from his dad.
2. Dan Walsh, Garfield Minus Garfield
Though arguably a little too old to be called a "viral sensation," Garfield Minus Garfield is a brilliant webcomic
from Irish technology manager Dan Walsh. By erasing Garfield -- and his
clever quips -- from Jim Davis's funnies, Walsh revealed that Jon
Arbuckle's misery bordered on total existential ennui without his
lasagna-loving feline companion. Jim Davis was a fan of the series,
telling the The New York Times, "The more you read of these strips, the funnier it gets."
3. Allie Brosh, Hyperbole and a Half
Even if you haven't visited Allie Brosh's blog, Hyperbole and a Half, you've almost definitely seen its bug-eyed protagonist in memes -- "CLEAN ALL THE THINGS!" or through reblogs. Brosh is perhaps best known for an arresting post titled "Adventures in Depression," which spawned an equally moving sequel
in May. Her deliberately crude and child-like cartoons have delighted
the web since 2009, and earlier this year she translated her signature
cynicism and wavy lines into a book deal. Like the webcomic, the graphic
memoir intersperses scenes from her childhood with sometimes-dark
personal musings and geek-culture gems. 
4. Hugh Murphy, T-rex Trying
With his stubby little arms, cartoonist Hugh Murphy's T-rex struggles with the daily activities we homo sapiens take for granted. T-rex Trying
is a collection of minimalist illustrations of the unlucky bipedal
carnivore trying (and failing) to climb a tree, eat a lollipop and send
text messages, among other things. The book was released in February,
but the tyrannosaurus probably can't pick it up. Poor little guy.
5. Charlie McDowell, Dear Girls Above Me
Comedy writer Charlie McDowell
is a pretty lucky guy, all things considered. For starters, he's the
son of actors Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenburgen. Then there's the
whole book deal thing.
In 2009, after a difficult breakup, McDowell began to hear his vapid new neighbors speaking through the ceiling. As the girls upstairs dated their way through Los Angeles and botched breaking news about "the kids who got trapped in Chile" ("Miners, not minors," McDowell noted), he began to document their exploits on Twitter. Fans of McDowell's 140-character open letters include Mindy Kaling, Jon Heder and Lena Dunham, so hopefully he publishes a sequel called Thanks, Girls Above Me.
In 2009, after a difficult breakup, McDowell began to hear his vapid new neighbors speaking through the ceiling. As the girls upstairs dated their way through Los Angeles and botched breaking news about "the kids who got trapped in Chile" ("Miners, not minors," McDowell noted), he began to document their exploits on Twitter. Fans of McDowell's 140-character open letters include Mindy Kaling, Jon Heder and Lena Dunham, so hopefully he publishes a sequel called Thanks, Girls Above Me.
6. Danielle Henderson, Feminist Ryan Gosling
Danielle Henderson already had one book under her belt when she set the Internet on fire with Feminist Ryan Gosling.
As a graduate student in gender studies, Henderson turned to Tumblr to
vent her academic frustrations, transforming the popular Ryan Gosling
"Hey Girl" memes into flashcards for feminist theory.The writing ranges
in complexity from the conversational -- "Hey girl, if I had a hammer,
I'd smash the patriarchy" -- to the nearly incomprehensible (to
non-gender studies students): "Hey girl. Are you saying the standpoint
theory could help solidify my argument about the Doctor Who/female
companion relationship dynamic as fundamentally problematic with keen
feminist undertones?"
The book was published in 2012, and Henderson has since showcased her prosy wit as a recapper for Vulture and an editor at Rookie magazine. Sadly, now that Henderson is working on her PhD, we won't be hearing much more from the Canadian heartthrob. But we'll always have Fuck Yeah Ryan Gosling!
The book was published in 2012, and Henderson has since showcased her prosy wit as a recapper for Vulture and an editor at Rookie magazine. Sadly, now that Henderson is working on her PhD, we won't be hearing much more from the Canadian heartthrob. But we'll always have Fuck Yeah Ryan Gosling!
7. Emma Koenig, F*ck! I'm In My Twenties
As a young, broke twentysomething adrift in New York City, Emma Koenig
-- sister of Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig -- began posting
black-and-white doodles to Tumblr that perfectly encapsulated the
exaggerated emotions and perpetual anxiety felt by every millenial awash
in existential crises.
Fuck! I'm In My Twenties was a runaway success, leading to a book deal, a sitcom pilot, and a New York Times profile that called the blog "a sweetly dark look at a life stage, something resembling the HBO series Girls, but defanged a bit." Koenig continues to update Fuck! I'm In My Twenties from her new home in Los Angeles, proving that your twenties kind of suck no matter how Internet-famous you become.
Fuck! I'm In My Twenties was a runaway success, leading to a book deal, a sitcom pilot, and a New York Times profile that called the blog "a sweetly dark look at a life stage, something resembling the HBO series Girls, but defanged a bit." Koenig continues to update Fuck! I'm In My Twenties from her new home in Los Angeles, proving that your twenties kind of suck no matter how Internet-famous you become.
8. Kelly Williams Brown, Adulting
Being an adult isn't much better than being in your twenties, evidently. Fortunately, reporter Kelly Williams Brown demystifies the transition in a series of simple steps on her blog.
Some are gentle affirmations -- "Do not get discouraged. Let your discontent fuel you" -- while others get snarky -- "Never, under any circumstances, begin playing Cookie Clicker." All of them constitute pretty solid advice. So it's no surprise that the book, which was published this spring, was recently optioned by J. J. Abrams to become a sitcom.
Some are gentle affirmations -- "Do not get discouraged. Let your discontent fuel you" -- while others get snarky -- "Never, under any circumstances, begin playing Cookie Clicker." All of them constitute pretty solid advice. So it's no surprise that the book, which was published this spring, was recently optioned by J. J. Abrams to become a sitcom.
9. Ryan Casey, But You Like Really Dated?
Brooklyn-based author and illustrator Ryan Casey struck gold when he merged his artistic inclinations with a healthy Hollywood obsession and added just a dash of Mean Girls snark. But You're Like Really Pretty offers flawless graphic sendups of everyone from Justin Timberlake to Lorde, with lots of Miley Cyrus in between.
Casey's book, But You Like Really Dated?, pays special attention to the most prurient moments in celebrity culture, cataloguing "Hollyweird's sexual superheroes" as well as the cheaters, womanizers and "sex tape superstars."
Casey's book, But You Like Really Dated?, pays special attention to the most prurient moments in celebrity culture, cataloguing "Hollyweird's sexual superheroes" as well as the cheaters, womanizers and "sex tape superstars."
10. Allie Hagan, Suri's Burn Book
Proof that Mean Girls-inspired celebrity blogging is entertaining in many, many forms, Suri's Burn Book offers scathing critiques of celebrity offspring's fashion choices in the guise of the ultimate stylish preschooler, Suri Cruise.
And Suri doesn't just have it in for little ones like Penelope Disick or Apple and Moses Martin -- she'll gladly go after celeb spawn several years her senior, like Willow and Jaden Smith and Shiloh Jolie-Pitt.
Allie Hagan, the voice behind Suri's snotty remarks, is a decidedly good-natured policy consultant living in Washington, D.C.; the Burn Book became available in hardcover in the fall of 2012.
And Suri doesn't just have it in for little ones like Penelope Disick or Apple and Moses Martin -- she'll gladly go after celeb spawn several years her senior, like Willow and Jaden Smith and Shiloh Jolie-Pitt.
Allie Hagan, the voice behind Suri's snotty remarks, is a decidedly good-natured policy consultant living in Washington, D.C.; the Burn Book became available in hardcover in the fall of 2012.
11. Taylor Jones, Dear Photograph
Canadian-born Taylor Jones launched the beautifully nostalgic Dear Photograph
in 2011, inviting users to hold up a photograph from the past in the
place where it was originally taken and then take a second photograph of
that. Those images, which were accompanied by a short dedication
beginning "Dear Photograph," were posted to the blog. Thousands of
people sent in submissions to supplement Jones's own photographs, and
the resulting photo series touchingly illustrates the emotional
significance of such mementos. Jones selected 200-plus images for the Dear Photograph book, which was published in May 2012, and he continues to update the blog with new photographs.
Shit Rough Drafts won Chronicle Books's Great Tumblr Book Search and will be available for purchase in April 2014.
The quickest way to get a book deal might be through social media.
With the help of Twitter and Tumblr, aspiring literary and artistic impresarios now have the world at their keyboards and a digital audience waiting to discover their talents. It's no surprise that in the past few years, publishers have taken note.
Here are a few of our favorite social media success stories. Funny and wise, touching and sassy, these books are well worth a read, or at least a click-through.
12. Paul Laudiero, Shit Rough Drafts
Comedy writer and Upright Citizens Brigade performer Paul Laudiero created the hilarious Tumblr Shit Rough Drafts, which is devoted to the faux first drafts of such literary and cinematic blockbusters as The Hunger Games, Harry Potter and The Avengers, in February of this year. (Did you know that Frodo uses the One Ring to propose to Sam in the original version of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King? Neither did we.) His first post was a brainstorm of possible titles for The Great Gatsby: Of many strange choices, The Gatsby Gatsby seems to be the winner.Shit Rough Drafts won Chronicle Books's Great Tumblr Book Search and will be available for purchase in April 2014.
The quickest way to get a book deal might be through social media.
With the help of Twitter and Tumblr, aspiring literary and artistic impresarios now have the world at their keyboards and a digital audience waiting to discover their talents. It's no surprise that in the past few years, publishers have taken note.
25 Literary GIFs for Book Lovers
Earlier this year, Tumblr founder David Karp said that at least 70 users had turned their blogs into book deals, and San Francisco publisher Chronicle Books instituted "The Great Tumblr Book Search" to scour the platform for the very best in creative fare. Here are a few of our favorite social media success stories. Funny and wise, touching and sassy, these books are well worth a read, or at least a click-through.
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