Hot Chicks With Douchebags Blogger Interview
How Jay Louis Turned his Blog Into a Major Book Deal
The blog is Hot Chicks With Douchebags. The man is Jay Louis. What sounds like a one-note joke has become an enormously popular blog with legions of fans and a blog-based book published by Simon and Schuster. Like many bloggers who land book deals, Jay Louis began the blog without a lot of planning and with a pasion for the subject matter.
Suite101: When do you consider someone a douchebag?
Louis: Douchebaggery is constantly redefining and reinventing itself, like any mutant virus. Lately, the orange tans have been far more prevalent than the 10 degree hat tilt, so we've been looking for orange men.
Suite101: How did you get the idea for your website?
Louis: It came out of my own frustrations living and dating in Los Angeles, and seeing very attractive women dating uberdouches just drove me to want to do something about it.
Suite101: When did it start becoming popular?
Louis: About six months after I started it, word of mouth drove the traffic up, and since then it's grown steadily.
Suite101: Did you do anything to drive traffic to your blog, or was it simply word of mouth?
Louis: I've never advertised it or tried to bring people to it, I'm still amazed at how quickly it spread organically. Kind of like hair gel.
Suite101: Did you pitch a book based on the blog or were you approached by the publisher?
Louis: I was approached by a book agency who thought they could represent it, I wrote a proposal and they shopped it, landing it at Simon & Schuster.
Suite101: How has Simon and Schuster been to work with?
Louis: Phenomenal. I love the design of the book, and the quality of the images as well as their work on the cover, has been great.
Suite101: What is the book like? Is it mainly pictures or a mix of pictures and commentary like the blog?
Louis: The book is the backstory of the mythos of hottie/douchey commingling. It traced a 5000 year history of historical douchebaggery, and then moves on to all the stages and permutations of modern day choadwankery. There's also a 12 step recovery process if you or your loved one is 'bag.
Suite101: If you were starting your blog again, what would you do differently?
Louis: I think I was a little too harsh/angry at first, and now I feel I've developed a more satirical, comedic tone that is better.
Suite101: Can you comment on the lawsuit that has resulted from the book?
Louis: The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, and rightfully so. It was nothing more than a shameless shakedown by a lawyer trying to get Simon & Schuster to pay out some cash to his clients. It never stood a chance. The First Amendment will always protect our right to offer cultural critique and opinion. Especially on douchescrotes and the hotts that love them.
How a Blogger Got a Book Deal
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