A reader writes:

What about a section… a toolbox if you will… for beginning stand-up comics such as myself? Maybe Q/A with professional comics to help in guiding the evolution of comedy? It could even develop into mentorships and eventually opportunities that could transform into established careers later down the road.

An excellent suggestion, reader! But… since we started pounding out this crazy website 12 years ago, we have studiously avoided giving advice to young ‘uns. We took a different approach– and that approach has changed over the years– of interviewing experienced comics and letting the beginners infer from the interviewee’s answers various nuggets of information and multiple strategies and tactics. Then we evolved into posting about stories about standup that we found on the internet and letting the aspiring comic take from that knowledge about the industry and about standup’s place in the pop culture. And occasionally, we’d post about events (like the Just For Laughs festival) and we’d afford the newbie an unprecedented window into an extremely important comedy biz ritual. And all along the way, we’ve taken to grousing about our own situations, or exalting about our minor triumphs here and there, or relating our occasional epiphanies, and letting our readers tell us exactly where we had our heads firmly planted. We’ve tried to challenge prevalent assumptions (or the so-called Conventional Wisdom) and invited our readers to draw their own conclusions.

We’ve always known that the opportunity has always been out there for someone else to fill the niche you speak of. But we preferred to tap the resource that was experienced comedian. Not only did they have a lot of knowledge and perspective, but the ones we chose to talk about were frequently engaged in a career change or a lefthand turn. They may have been in the biz for a while, but they were willing to apply their skills and knowledge to some quirky venture or some exploration of a newly discovered skill set.

We’re not surprised at all that our book (due out Oct. 1 and now available on Amazon.com for pre-order!) turned out to be an extremely laid-back affair that urged readers to find their own way. We encourage the aspiring comic to take in advice and data and information, and craft his/her very own path to comedy competence and fulfillment. While we may be opinionated, we are always careful not to push a comic too hard in one direction or another, lest we inadvertently deprive the comedy world of an innovator. And the same goes for the magazine.

We liken our magazine to an evening spent in a booth at a diner, eavesdropping (or sitting very quietly) while the headliner and the feature acts talk, celebrate and commiserate. As newcomers, we experienced quite a few nights like that… and we found them to be profoundly satisfying. The information we absorbed on those sessions was invaluable. They were like a wormhole, a shortcut; and way more efficient and gritty than a seminar or a comedy class (although some of those have their good points). Of course, later on, we found some of the information to be suspect. But figuring out who is credible and who isn’t is all part of the process, too.

And, of course, there’s the very practical matter of man-hours. Putting together such a “toolbox” is a nightmarish task and one that we don’t have the energy or the inclination to undertake. And those mentorships you allude to are happening all the time without our help and without the use of such fancy technology as the WWW or Facebook.

Your suggestions are appreciated. And we invite you to swim around in the deep, dark recesses of our site, especially the early days from 1999 to 2004 (much of which can only be accessed via the Wayback Machine!) and we are sure you’ll find plenty of ” professional comics… guiding the evolution of comedy.”