-Jenna Fischer’s novel focuses on her acting career
-advice on how to get a manager, headshots, auditions, workplace
-the combination of creativity in the workplace and in paying the bills
-a complicated industry simplified and described through Fischer’s experience
-she writes about the subject to give advice to aspiring actors and document her experience becoming an actress
-“A common trait among successful working actors is their ability to keep working on their craft no matter what” (34, 35).

-Jenna Fischer, best known for playing Pam Beesly on The Office
-Grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and moved to LA after college with a theatre degree
-“While I knew I wanted to be an actor from the time I was a child, I was not a ‘child actor’.” (3)
-After years of living in LA and facing rejections and auditions and playing small roles, she landed her role as Pam
-She writes this book about 4 years after the end of The Office

-Aspiring actors!
-she is trying to give advice and warnings to people who want to become an actor like she did!
-she uses her book to be a sort of mentor
-“If you can think of anything you’re passionate about besides acting, do that… If you’re like me and can’t think of anything else either, then this book is for you!” (Fischer XV, XVI)

-Fischer talks a lot about facts and true stories to get her point across
-When trying to convince her readers that it takes time to become an actor, she says “When I landed my role on The Office I had been a poor, struggling, unknown actor for eight years” (Fischer 6)
-“I have a friend who’s been acting for more than twenty years… He’s still a full-time waiter” (Fischer 5)

-Fischer talks about how it feels like to get fired
-She talks about her thoughts and feelings and connects to her readers
-After describing the first time she got fired, she says, “Kick in the stomach… I immediately went to a dark place. I figured it must be me“ (Fischer 196).

-Jenna Fischer had received many awards for her career as an actress
-“she received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress and two SAG Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Comedy” (Fischer 255).
-She has also acted in many many films, tv shows, and plays including You, Me and the Apocalypse, Reasons to be Happy, The Giant Mechanical Man etc. (255).

-Parallelism: While talking about the difficulty in competing with other actors, Fischer says, “I had talent, they had talent. But, then, suddenly, I had luck” (6).
-Hyperbole: As she talks about the mistakes she made she says, “I sent out countless headshots to theatrical agents…” (37)
-Metaphor: She talks about the importance of headshots and says, “If acting is the business, you are the product, and your headshot is the packaging” (38).