Thursday, July 21, 2016

Interview With Author Sam Polk



For the Love of Money: A Memoir


1. What inspired you to write your book?
In my twenties, I was consumed by this desire for wealth and success. I
suspected I wasn’t alone—that lots of young people felt like that—but I
hadn’t read anything that really delved into that feeling. I wanted to
explore what that felt like, and where it came from, in a super honest and
vulnerable way.

2. What is it about?
It’s about my awakening to a new definition of success, that includes
making a positive contribution to the world. And it’s about how the tears
of children become the misbehaviors of adults.

3. What do you hope will be the everlasting thoughts for readers who
finish your book?
I hope some people will come away feeling less alone in the world, because
they identified with what I wrote. I hope others come away with a new
definition of success, that goes beyond money to include making a real
contribution .

4. What advice do you have for writers?
Keep at it. I didn’t get my agent until my 82ndnd query letter. Got
rejected by many, many publishers before Scribner. All the while, I kept
rewriting, churning out draft after draft, that got better each time.

5. Where do you think the book publishing industry is heading?
No idea. Maybe ask Jeff Bezos?

6. What challenges did you have in writing your book?
I was writing about many people that didn’t want to be written about, so I
had to navigate their desire for privacy with my own right to my story.

7. If people can only buy one book this month, why should it be yours?
If they can only buy one, it should be *The Great Gatsby*. But to answer
your question, it’s because to my mind, For The Love of Money is the most
nakedly honest and vulnerable account of what it’s like to be a young,
ambitious man in America than I’ve ever read.



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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2016.

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