# Fiction: Possible mecahnism for a lay person to make direct contact with powerful billionaire. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 8, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078 "2017-11-08T23:16:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/61 "2017-11-10T13:34:11Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I’m on the fence. I’ve seen writers with real flaws improve dramatically over the space of a couple years just through the sheer act of writing constantly. You can’t really improve without trying in the first place, and if writing is a joy who am I to be any sort of gatekeeper? It’s not as if I don’t have flaws of my own to tackle in this process. When I look at my own work, I’m overwhelmed by how much there is left to learn. > > NaNo doesn’t focus on any of that, it focuses on cranking out 50k words of any quality in a short period of time and enjoying the doing. It attracts people who have no idea what they are doing and serious writers and everyone in between. I’ve been successful some years and not others. I like the ritual of it. It’s doable, and relatively easy to produce 50k words in a month. The question is what happens after that. > > I’m just really stressed about my book right now. It needs to be finished, but finishing means admitting I couldn’t make it any better, and then the challenge of finding an agent begins, which is when I find out if those four years really taught me how to write a novel. And even if I do pull it off, I’ll have to figure out how to pull it off again. I am more scared about my writing now than I think I have ever been. It means so damned much to me. > > OK, I think I needed to admit that. I can understand how you feel, after 4 years of hard work and total commitment would you really be ready to make that sort of commitment again? The thought of it can be daunting. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/62 "2017-11-10T13:45:47Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I can understand how you feel, after 4 years of hard work and total commitment would you really be ready to make that sort of commitment again? The thought of it can be daunting. Oh, I’d make the commitment again in a heartbeat. I will write until I drop dead. The question is whether I would ever get any other payoff from my effort outside of the process itself. Will I get an agent? Will I get published? Will anyone ever recognize my effort in any appreciable way? I don’t have any goals to sustain myself completely on a writer’s income, but an extra $5k or $10k a year wouldn’t hurt. I’m a very introverted person and I hate all the marketing and networking stuff but you can’t avoid it these days. I’m not looking forward to that, either. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/63 "2017-11-10T14:06:09Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I’m on the fence. I’ve seen writers with real flaws improve dramatically over the space of a couple years just through the sheer act of writing constantly. You can’t really improve without trying in the first place, and if writing is a joy who am I to be any sort of gatekeeper? It’s not as if I don’t have flaws of my own to tackle in this process. When I look at my own work, I’m overwhelmed by how much there is left to learn. I think that this Flannery O’Connor quote is the one that I was thinking of: > [@Flannery O'Connor](#): > > Everywhere I go, I’m asked if I think the universities stifle writers. My opinion is that they don’t stifle enough of them. There’s many a best seller that could have been prevented by a good teacher. (I remembered it from [Harlan Ellison’s introduction](https://books.google.com/books?id=79GknIsxF5IC&lpg=PP1&pg=PT9#v=onepage&q&f=false) to _Prayers to Broken Stones_. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/64 "2017-11-10T14:26:53Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I think that this Flannery O’Connor quote is the one that I was thinking of: > > (I remembered it from [Harlan Ellison’s introduction](https://books.google.com/books?id=79GknIsxF5IC&lpg=PP1&pg=PT9#v=onepage&q&f=false) to _Prayers to Broken Stones_. Reminds me of a buddy of mine who teases us relentlessly for doing anything with NaNoWriMo. He also makes fun of poetry, not because some poets aren’t brilliant, but because most aren’t. I’d like to think I’m a little softer. But I still laugh. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/65 "2017-11-10T14:45:26Z")
Shared interest certainly works. Through my love of chess, I’ve met people I wouldn’t normally get to know: - Gary Kasparov (World Chess champion) - Steve Davies (World Snooker champion) - Derren Brown (TV illusionist.) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/66 "2017-11-10T16:59:17Z")
If you’re talking about deliberately meeting, and the billionaire lives locally, there are often clubs and membership fees can be quite reasonable. Then there are trade associations. Through one such I’ve met many wealthy and powerful people. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/67 "2017-11-10T17:29:45Z")
They are both Furries, and the protagonist recognizes the voice of the billionaire at a party. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/68 "2017-11-10T17:40:40Z")
_Googly Eyes Wide Shut_. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/69 "2017-11-10T17:58:09Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I exchanged words with Mark Cuban via Twitter. > > So… Twitter. I ran into Cuban at a trade show. Met plenty of famous/wealthy folks at trade shows like NAB, CES and SIGGRAPH. For instance, I went to a party at SIGGRAPH for NYIT alums and met Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith. Not names the average person would know, except they co-founded PIXAR, and presumably made a nice chunk of change from that. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/70 "2017-11-10T18:09:27Z")
Occasionally, cruise ships are overbooked and a billionaire ends up sharing a stateroom with a reporter. Neither of them is pleased, but the resulting friendship is among the finest. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/71 "2017-11-11T12:01:41Z")
Shared interests. They both breed hostas and go to groups organized around that. They are in the same AA chapter. They both like to restore old cardboard jigsaw puzzles. Or the billionaire hires the lay person. Maybe the billionaire needs a sound engineer when he’s designing his living room. Or has a piece of jewelry or a musical instrument custom made. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/72 "2017-11-11T12:02:45Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Occasionally, cruise ships are overbooked and a billionaire ends up sharing a stateroom with a reporter. Neither of them is pleased, but the resulting friendship is among the finest. See, that one is so ridiculous that it would distract me from the rest of the story. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/73 "2017-11-11T13:13:10Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Shared interests. They both breed hostas and go to groups organized around that. They are in the same AA chapter. They both like to restore old cardboard jigsaw puzzles. > > Or the billionaire hires the lay person. Maybe the billionaire needs a sound engineer when he’s designing his living room. Or has a piece of jewelry or a musical instrument custom made. This is the type of thing I could carry as a writer, I am well accustomed to doing service work for wealthy people. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/74 "2017-11-11T13:18:53Z")
Warren Buffet picks up breakfast at McDonslds every morning. So hang out at McDonalds. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/75 "2017-11-11T13:20:46Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I’m just really stressed about my book right now. It needs to be finished, but finishing means admitting I couldn’t make it any better, and then the challenge of finding an agent begins, which is when I find out if those four years really taught me how to write a novel. And even if I do pull it off, I’ll have to figure out how to pull it off again. Or not. If you do, you do. If you don’t, neither did Margaret Mitchell. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/76 "2017-11-11T13:45:12Z")
I am a neighbor of one of the vacation homes of one of the real life billionaires others have mentioned in this thread. And previously I have met several socially though sailing. Often I knew far more about their sailboat and sailing skills before I ever learned they were well off. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2017, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/77 "2017-11-12T05:47:51Z")
I know people who do shows for kids birthday parties and they get calls for all kinds of kids, rich and poor. Then their is always the Howard Hughes scenario. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/78 "2017-11-14T12:55:58Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > This is the type of thing I could carry as a writer, I am well accustomed to doing service work for wealthy people. Very true - I do computer support work for half a dozen millionaires. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078/79 "2017-11-15T01:34:53Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > See, that one is so ridiculous that it would distract me from the rest of the story. 😉 Really, even with all the action and detective work? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiction-possible-mecahnism-for-a-lay-person-to-make-direct-contact-with-powerful-billionaire/801078.md?page=3)