Welcome, Gifted Underachievers!
A podcast and newsletter for midlevel creatives with delusional ambitions.
Two experienced creatives earning a living in their fields explore the paradox of making art that makes money, doing what you love, and getting past the middle rungs of the career ladder.
Are you:
doing creative-adjacent work to make ends meet?
running so low on time and energy that your own stuff gets sidelined?
wondering what’s different about the A-listers?
looking for an angle to get your work seen?
Gifted Underachievers is for writers, actors, visual artists, comedians—anyone who’s made a career out of thin air. Explore with us what it takes to ‘level up,’ make more money pursuing your creative projects, expand your work with collaborators, and avoid the stench of privilege.
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Your Lackluster Hosts
James Buchanan is working up a bio that will knock your socks off. In the meantime, you can find out more about him at https://www.orchardwriting.com/
Pat Dobie (aka Dobes) is Canadian. Enough said. Learn more about her at https://www.patdobie.com
What’s in it for you?
You’ll get two or three short podcast segments a week, in each episode, just the right length for your commute, your spot in the donut lineup, or whatever you do regularly.
Regular segments include:
Interviews—smart thoughts from people smarter than us
Sneaking one past the goalie — when and why a project gets the green light
Now what? — you got one or more book deals / shows / roles / gigs … keep it together and build on the momentum!
If them, why not us? — we unpack the bags of the A-listers and see what’s inside
Uncomfortable stories — compromising situations in the arts
What are you sitting on? — the nuances of running a creative business
The stench of privilege — sometimes clever people say dumb things and we ask them to explain themselves
The reek of desperation — when you’re career’s a hoopti, what to doopti?
Plus movie reviews, working from home, dumb jokes and other treats.
Mondays we talk about setting your goals for the week and other hopeful topics
Wednesdays are hump days, when it becomes apparent the goals are going to be a stretch. That’s when we give a nod to the delusionality of our situations and have some bracing advice
Fridays are bonus days! Crashing toward the weekend, hang on!!!
Breaking News: In keeping with our gifted underachieverness, all the above is distilled into one weekly episode with three exciting segments.
Be part of a community of people who share your interests. Participate in the comments section, or support this work with a subscription.
As a paid subscriber, you’ll get extra content and access to limited series on creative experiences…like launching a book.
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