The Real Grind is the Work No One Sees

Lots of people want to be stand-up comics. People move to cities with bigger comedy scenes in the hopes that if they work hard and cultivate their talent, they will be able to earn a living or more. There’s no one path to success. If you listen to successful comedians discuss their journey, every story is unique. But one thing they have in common is hard work. 

On the open mic scene, comics talk about grinding. “You’ve got to grind.” “I’m grinding.” “It’s a real grind.” What does that mean? It is meant to be a synonym for working hard. “I’m grinding” means I’m putting in the time to improve. There are two things that are important to understand. First, putting in time is not the same as working hard. Second, it’s not just about working hard, it’s about working smart.

I’ve heard many experienced, successful comics say that the path to success is simple. You need to get on stage as much as you can. And you need to write. Write, edit, and perform. Get on stage every night whether it be a club show, a bar show, or an open mic.  

So many open mic comics take half of this advice and think that’s it. They run from open mic to open mic and think they are doing the work. Often at an open mic you will hear someone say “I do twenty-five open mics a week. I’m grinding.” They are bragging and want credit for the hard work they are putting in as they pursue their dream of becoming a stand-up comic. But, often they’re just spinning their wheels because they are actively avoiding the elements of comedy development they do not enjoy as much.

THE HARD WORK IS THE WORK YOU DON’T SEE.

Too many people think working hard is measured in hours, but it’s also about doing the work you don’t like to do. A lot of comics brag about doing 20-25 mics a week. But how many hours a week do they write? Getting on stage, telling jokes, hearing some laughs, that’s the fun part. Listening back to those sets (YOU MUST RECORD), editing your jokes to make them better, watching and analyzing other comics especially those ahead of you, that’s also an important part of the work. Being exhausted from running all over town to do 7 open mics in a night creates an illusion of hard work. You get a reputation as a “grinder.” But, unless you’re also doing the other things, you aren’t working hard, you’re working fun. I’ll say it again - THE HARD WORK IS THE WORK YOU DON’T SEE.

Please don’t take this the wrong way. Get on stage as much as you can. But also, do the other work. If you want to be a “grinder” then really grind. There are a lot of comics on the open mic circuit that seem to do every mic and not get funnier. Why? Because they’re only doing half the work. If you’re a pen to paper writer, do that every day. If you write verbally, talk into your voice recorder or to a blank wall. Some comics say that they write on stage. Well, when you’re an open mic comic you probably don’t get the stage time to execute that process properly, so you need to find another way. It doesn’t have to be pen to paper or finger to keyboard. Maybe it’s going for a long walk and talking to yourself. Maybe it’s forming a writer’s group with a few other comics. Find your way, but just going to mics and tricking yourself into thinking you’re doing the work isn’t enough.

Yes, you need to get on stage as much as you can. But too many comics tell the same in progress joke over and over and over again without any edits or changes. It won’t magically become funny if you don’t change something. You’re not grinding, you’re repeating material verbatim that won’t get you anywhere. You need to record your sets AND THEN LISTEN TO THEM. And adjust. Try new things. Do your material in a different order? Try switching a work. Add tags every set. Anyone who appears effortless at anything, spent a lot of time putting in the effort to appear effortless.

No musician just does shows. No tennis player only plays in tournaments. No grand master chess player only pays matches. They study. They practice. They read. They go through past games of their own and of others move by move and analyze.

Some of the biggest traps that new comics fall into that you can avoid:

• The “grind” isn’t just doing mics.

• If a joke does not get an “A” laugh, edit it. Don’t just repeat something that isn’t working again and again. It won’t magically get funnier.

• Watch more comedy. A lot of open mic comics who claim to be “grinding” don’t watch comedy. You should be watching the latest specials and the classics. Watch every new late night set. And don’t just watch, analyze. What are these successful comics doing? What are they talking about? What joke structures are they using. For every set you do, watch at least one late night set. And then think about why that set was on TV and think about how that informs what you write about.

• Listen to all of your sets. Force yourself to adjust based on what you hear.

If comedy is just a hobby and you just enjoy getting on stage at an open mic then ignore all of this and keep having fun because it is fun. But, if you want to be a professional comedian and you’re willing to work hard, don’t just go through the motions of grinding, actually grind.