{"id":5428,"date":"2021-04-30T15:41:39","date_gmt":"2021-04-30T19:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cartoonstock.com\/?p=5428"},"modified":"2021-08-24T15:46:15","modified_gmt":"2021-08-24T19:46:15","slug":"my-first-facebook-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cartoonstock.com\/blog\/my-first-facebook-live\/","title":{"rendered":"My First Facebook Live"},"content":{"rendered":"

On April 16th, I did my first-ever<\/em> Facebook Live<\/strong> event. Cool. It was a lot of fun to do a “first-ever” anything at my age (77 on May 1st). Watch the recording here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, as one gets older, there are fewer first-ever<\/em> things ahead of you while there\u2019s a long list of last-ever<\/em> things behind you. So sad. But even sadder would be if a fun first-ever<\/em> event also becomes a last-ever<\/em> event before its time!<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s why I\u2019m excited to announce my second-ever<\/em> Facebook Live this coming Friday, May 7th, at noon EDT<\/strong>. I plan to offer monthly presentations on topics that interest me and my “fans,” followed by Q&A sessions.<\/p>\n

The first-ever<\/em> Facebook Live event was based on my 2014 memoir How About Never\u2013Is Never Good for You? My Life in Cartoons.<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n

Following the presentation, we enjoyed a free-wheeling Q&A session led by Jessica Ziegler, daughter of my good friend and great cartoonist, the late Jack Ziegler.<\/p>\n

Below is a screenshot of Jessica posing a frequently-asked question that I couldn\u2019t answer because of my NDA with Hair Club for Men.<\/p>\n

\"hair<\/p>\n

But there were hundreds of relevant questions that I could answer, though I only got to maybe twenty or so in the broadcast. I\u2019m reprising a few here as I\u2019ve gotten new ideas on the subject that I think are worth sharing.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/strong> Has cancel culture changed your sense of what is funny and what is acceptable?<\/em><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> It hasn\u2019t changed what I think is funny, but it has changed what is acceptable from the standpoint of getting your cartoon selected for publication in any major media outlet that features cartoons.\u00a0 For most of these magazines, digital and otherwise, their audience overwhelmingly leans left. The cartoons need to support that stance or, at least, not contradict it. Good cartoons can be done within these guardrails. Better cartoons would be done without them.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/strong> Since you retired from being The New Yorker cartoon editor, do you feel the selection standards have been lowered? <\/em><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> What I\u2019ll say is that the standards have definitely changed. When I was the cartoon editor, my only criteria was the quality<\/b> of the cartoon.\u00a0 That is now qualified by the desire for diversity. Diversity is a great goal, but from the perspective of someone who had two thousand cartoons rejected by The New Yorker<\/i>, you don\u2019t do any cartoonist a favor by prematurely publishing them before they have learned their craft.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/strong> How do you jump-start your idea and know when you have a terrific one?<\/em><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> Previously, I used jumper cables, which also cured my depression. Then I switched to coffee, and when that failed, more coffee. But the serious answer, and a bit of a dirty little trade secret, is to look at your old ideas, as well as those of others, and see if you can add a new twist to them. But don\u2019t stop there; try twisting the twist you came up with. With enough twisting, you\u2019ll end up with something original and not outright plagiarism.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/strong> For a cartoonist, what usually comes first \u2014 the cartoon or the caption?<\/em><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> It\u2019s different for different cartoonists. Some cartoonists are basically writers who illustrate their captions and, in that case, it\u2019s caption first, drawing afterward. Matt Diffee falls into this category. For others, like the before mentioned Jack Ziegler, who was an inveterate doodler, it\u2019s the other way around. Through his doodling, Jack was, in effect, creating his own caption contest in which he was the sole entrant.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/strong> Are you the guy who has rejected all of the cartoon captions my friends and I have submitted over the years?<\/em><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> Yes, if you submitted between 2005 and 2017.<\/p>\n

That last answer provides a nice segue into what\u2019s coming up next at my second-ever<\/em> Facebook Live <\/strong>event. Here you go, junkies of The New Yorker Cartoon<\/i> Caption Contest<\/i>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

First, a disclaimer. While I will definitely give tips for writing a good caption and thereby increasing your odds of winning or being selected as a finalist, I can\u2019t guarantee that you will, in fact, win, place, or show. But I do guarantee<\/em> that you will enjoy the presentation, which will include the following:<\/p>\n