How to Sell Out: The (Hidden) Cost of Being a Black Writer

Thank you to LibraryThing and Chad Sanders for this book, which I absolutely love. It's funny and honest and interesting all at the same time. I like reading about other people's experiences and will definitely make this book available to the college students who like to write. Many are people of color and would relate to the struggle and experience of the author. I literally laughed out loud throughout the book. At one point in the chapter named The Old Kanye, the author states "...and his response made me feel like I'd just ripped off a loud fart in algebra class." He was talking about breaking the flow of creativity. I enjoyed the insights and the writing style.

"How to Sell Out: The (Hidden) Cost of Being a Black Writer" by Chad Sanders is a extremely honest look into the mind of a driven young black creative entrepreneur who moved from a successful tech career at Google to forge his path as a writer who makes his living from his writing. He says this is his last book about race and I look forward to what new topics he will develop in future writing. He speaks at length about the ‘big money lie’ that money buys freedom, equality and happiness. Of course it doesn’t but he still hopes you’ll buy his book. Overall a really interesting and educational story of how black creatives face unique challenges. I learned a lot about upper middle class black life in America as well as how it takes show more enormous effort to create a career as a ‘creative’ whatever your race or medium of expression. show less

Thanks Simon & Schuster and LibraryThing for the gifted Early Reviewers ARC book.

There’s a vulnerability to Sander’s writing and combing that with the topics of race and class makes this a compelling read. Some essays offered more introspection and societal critique than others. Some felt repetitive and detracted a bit from the overall narrative. In total, this was a thought-provoking read. I’m interested in reading his prior work.

Overall, a good read. When I read a book like this, I expect to be challenged to consider the bigger questions or examine my experiences. This definitely checked that box for me while still bringing the humor.

The good thing about this book is that it reads fast. However, despite the self-deprecating title, I think this book took itself too seriously. I found it mostly boring since it offered a point of view I don't really care for -- a tech bro who thinks he's left capitalism behind since his new job is writer, but who can only afford to live as a writer thanks to his days as a tech bro.

It does get two stars for good writing. I was especially moved by the chapter "Welcome to the Neighborhood", since I related to it so much. Honestly, until I read this I would never have thought that straight men would ever find themselves in a situation I have been in dozens of times in my life. It was very sobering to think about, and I really admire Chad show more Sanders for writing about it. I also liked the chapter "Jack and Jill and The Black Elite" since I don't know much about the Jack and Jill societies. Other than that, this book was pretty forgettable. show less

*well-written, easy to read
*powerful message
*story keeps readers engaged from cover to cover
*highly recommend

essays about choosing the creative life of a writer, and finding that the desperate chase for money lead to excavating race issues, which, while lucrative, also kept him in an emotionally bad place that bled into other parts of his life, so he is (hoping to be) writing about race for the last time, showing the insidiousness, pervasiveness, even in places one would not expect, in the US