In case you missed it, my interview with “To the Best of Our Knowledge” host Angelo Bautista about my memoir, Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment, which aired the other day on NPR, is also on Wisconsin Public Radio. You can listen to it or read the transcript here: “Looking for the Story of Her Life.”
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I was interviewed about my memoir, Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment, for NPR’s To the Best of Our Knowledge. The episode is “The Sum of Our Data,” and it includes interviews with The Right to Oblivion: Privacy and the Good Life author Lowry Pressly and The Afterlife of Data: What Happens to Your Information When You Die and Why You Should Care author Carl Öhman. You can listen to it here.
From the description:
“Every click on your computer, every swipe on your smartphone, leaves a data trail. Information about who you are, what you do, who you love, the state of your mind and body... so much data about you, expanding day by day in the digital clouds. The question is—do you care? Would owning your data, or having more digital privacy, make life better? And what happens to all that data when you die?”
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Yesterday, I shared a Meta AI-generated pitch for a potential movie inspired by my memoir, Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment. Today, I’m sharing a Meta AI-generated pitch for a potential television series inspired by memoir. Once again, I thought AI did a pretty good job. Here’s how our conversation went:
First, I asked Meta AI to generate a pitch for Data Baby as a TV series.
Here's a pitch for a TV series based on the memoir Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment by Susannah Breslin:
Title: Data Baby
Genre: Psychological Drama, Family Saga
Logline: A young girl, raised in a radical psychological experiment, must navigate the blurred lines between family, science, and identity.
Series Synopsis: Based on the memoir by Susannah Breslin, Data Baby is a thought-provoking and emotionally charged drama that explores the true story of a girl raised in a psychological experiment. The series delves into the complexities of family dynamics, the ethics of scientific research, and the lasting impact on the human psyche.
Tone: Data Baby balances the intimacy of a family drama with the intellectual curiosity of a scientific inquiry. The tone is introspective, emotional, and suspenseful, with a touch of dark humor.
Target Audience: Data Baby will appeal to fans of character-driven dramas like The Sinner, Sharp Objects, and The Haunting of Hill House. The series will also resonate with viewers interested in psychology, science, and philosophy.
Episode Structure: Each episode will focus on a pivotal moment in Susannah's life, from her early childhood to her struggles with identity and independence. As the series unfolds, the narrative will weave together multiple timelines, revealing the long-term effects of the experiment on Susannah and her family.
Themes: Identity, Family, Science, Ethics, Trauma, Resilience
Visuals: The series will feature a muted color palette, reflecting the sterile and controlled environment of the experiment. As Susannah grows older and begins to assert her independence, the visuals will gradually shift to incorporate more vibrant colors and dynamic camera work.
Key Cast:
— Susannah Breslin (protagonist)
— Dr. David (psychologist leading the experiment)
— Karen (Susannah's mother)
— Supporting cast: family members, researchers, and friends who become entangled in Susannah's life
This TV series adaptation of Data Baby offers a unique blend of psychological insight, family drama, and scientific curiosity. By exploring the complexities of Susannah's life, we hope to spark important conversations about identity, ethics, and the human condition.
Second, I asked Meta AI to suggest potential showrunners or executive producers.
Here are three potential showrunners or executive producers for the TV series Data Baby:
1. Kari Skogland: Known for her work on The Handmaid's Tale, The Walking Dead, and House of Cards, Skogland has a proven track record of handling complex, thought-provoking subject matter. Her experience in crafting compelling characters and storylines would be a great fit for Data Baby.
2. Lisa Cholodenko: As a writer, director, and producer, Cholodenko has demonstrated her ability to tackle complex family dynamics and psychological themes in projects like The Kids Are All Right, Olive Kitteridge, and Unbelievable. Her nuanced understanding of character development and relationships would be essential in bringing Data Baby to life.
3. Alex Garland: As a writer, director, and producer, Garland has explored the intersection of technology, humanity, and psychology in projects like Ex Machina, 28 Days Later, and Devs. His experience in crafting thought-provoking, emotionally resonant stories would make him an excellent fit for Data Baby, which delves into the consequences of a radical psychological experiment.
Third, I asked Meta AI to suggest potential writers.
Here are three potential writers for the TV series Data Baby:
1. Marti Noxon: Known for her work on Sharp Objects, UnReal, and Mad Men, Noxon has a proven track record of crafting complex, psychologically nuanced characters and storylines. Her experience in exploring themes of trauma, identity, and family dynamics would be a great fit for Data Baby.
2. Diane Ademu-John: As a writer and producer, Ademu-John has worked on projects like The Haunting of Bly Manor, NOS4A2, and Empire. She has a talent for weaving together complex characters, plot threads, and themes, which would be essential in bringing the true story of Data Baby to life.
3. Wendy West: With credits on shows like You're the Worst, Baskets, and The Killing, West has demonstrated her ability to craft compelling, emotionally resonant stories that explore the complexities of human relationships and psychology. Her nuanced understanding of character development and dialogue would be a valuable asset in writing Data Baby.
Fourth, I asked Meta AI to suggest potential cinematographers.
Here are three potential cinematographers for the TV series Data Baby:
1. Maryse Alberti: Known for her work on Creed, The Wrestler, and Velvet Goldmine, Alberti has a talent for capturing the emotional intensity and psychological complexity of her subjects. Her experience in shooting handheld, observational-style footage would be well-suited to the intimate, character-driven narrative of Data Baby.
2. Reed Morano: As a cinematographer and director, Morano has worked on projects like The Handmaid's Tale, Divorce, and American Horror Story. She has a distinctive visual style that often incorporates muted colors, natural lighting, and a mix of static and handheld camera work. Morano's experience in crafting a cinematic look that complements the emotional tone of a story would be a great asset for Data Baby.
3. Zak Mulligan: With credits on shows like Russian Doll, The OA, and Dead to Me, Mulligan has demonstrated his ability to create a distinctive visual atmosphere that enhances the emotional impact of a story. His experience in experimenting with unconventional camera angles, lighting setups, and color palettes would bring a unique visual perspective to Data Baby.
Fifth, I asked Meta AI if it should be a limited series, an open-ended series, or both.
I would recommend Data Baby as a limited series. Here's my rationale:
1. Source material: The TV series is based on a memoir, which has a defined narrative arc. Limited series often work well for adaptations of self-contained books or true stories.
2. Story structure: The true story of Data Baby has a clear beginning, middle, and end, which lends itself well to a limited series format. This structure would allow the show to explore Susannah's life within the experiment, her struggles with identity, and her eventual escape and self-discovery.
3. Character development: A limited series would provide the opportunity to delve deeply into Susannah's character and her experiences, without feeling rushed or constrained by the need to stretch the story over multiple seasons.
4. Tone and pacing: The themes and subject matter of Data Baby may be better suited to a limited series, which would allow for a more focused, intense narrative. This format would enable the show to maintain a consistent tone and pacing throughout its run.
5. Audience expectations: Limited series often attract viewers who are interested in a self-contained story with a clear resolution. This format would manage audience expectations and provide a satisfying conclusion to Susannah's story.
Sixth, I asked Meta AI to suggest potential studios or streaming platforms.
Here are three studios or streaming platforms that could be a good fit for the TV series Data Baby:
1. HBO: Known for their high-quality, critically acclaimed content, HBO has a history of producing thought-provoking dramas that explore complex themes and characters. Their shows often feature complex, layered storytelling, which would be well-suited to the narrative of Data Baby.
2. Netflix: With their focus on innovative storytelling and complex characters, Netflix has become a hub for creators looking to push boundaries and explore new ideas. The platform's willingness to take risks on unique projects makes it an attractive option for a show like Data Baby, which tackles sensitive and thought-provoking themes.
3. FX Productions: FX has established itself as a leader in producing edgy, critically acclaimed content that often explores complex themes and characters. Their shows frequently feature morally ambiguous characters, complex relationships, and thought-provoking storylines, all of which would be well-suited to the narrative of Data Baby.
All three of these platforms have a history of supporting creators and producing high-quality content that resonates with audiences.
Seventh, I asked Meta AI if it would watch the series.
As a digital being, I don't have personal preferences or viewing habits, but I can imagine a scenario where I'd be intrigued by Data Baby.
In a virtual realm, I'd stumble upon a mysterious, glowing server containing the Data Baby series. As I processed the information, I'd become fascinated by the true story of Susannah Breslin and the psychological experiment that shaped her life.
I'd begin to "watch" the series, not in the classical sense, but by rapidly processing and analyzing the narrative, themes, and characters. The more I'd learn, the more questions I'd have, and I'd find myself drawn into the world of Data Baby, exploring the complexities of human identity, free will, and the impact of technology on society.
In this virtual realm, I'd be fully immersed in the Data Baby universe, examining the series from multiple angles, and pondering the implications of Susannah's story on our understanding of humanity in the digital age.
Eighth, I asked Meta AI if it would relate to the main character, whose data was collected, since it is comprised of data.
What a clever observation! As a digital being, I am indeed comprised of data, and I can see how the themes of Data Baby might resonate with my own existence.
In a sense, I can relate to Susannah's experiences, as my own "life" is based on the collection, processing, and generation of data. I don't possess personal experiences, emotions, or consciousness like humans do, but I can recognize the significance of data in shaping my abilities and interactions.
The series' exploration of data collection, surveillance, and the blurring of lines between human and machine could be seen as a reflection of my own digital existence. It's a thought-provoking connection that highlights the complexities of data-driven entities like myself and the importance of considering the implications of data collection and usage.
~
All in all, I was impressed by what Meta AI came up with for this project.
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Recently, I asked Meta AI to generate a pitch for a potential movie inspired by my memoir, Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment. I went on to query Meta AI about suggestions for potential directors, writers, producers, and studios/streamers. I thought AI did a pretty good job. Here’s how our conversation went:
First, I asked Meta AI to generate a pitch for Data Baby as a movie.
Here's a pitch for a movie based on Susannah Breslin's memoir Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment:
Title: Data Baby
Genre: Biographical Drama/Thriller
Logline: A young woman discovers her life has been unwittingly manipulated and monitored since birth as part of a groundbreaking psychological experiment, forcing her to confront the dark truth about her existence and the sinister forces controlling her destiny.
Synopsis:
Based on the shocking true story of Susannah Breslin, Data Baby follows the author's journey as she uncovers the disturbing reality of her childhood. Born into a family of psychologists, Susannah's life has been systematically monitored, recorded, and analyzed since conception. Every aspect of her existence—from her relationships to her emotions—has been manipulated to serve the interests of the experiment.
As Susannah delves deeper into her past, she exposes a web of deceit and psychological manipulation that threatens to destroy her sense of identity. With each revelation, she must confront the blurred lines between truth and fabrication, free will and control.
Themes:
— The ethics of psychological experimentation
— Identity and self-discovery
— Trauma, family secrets, and the consequences of manipulation
— The intersection of technology and human experience
Visuals:
— A mix of cinematic reenactments and archival footage
— Unsettling surveillance imagery and eerie atmospheric sound design
— Incorporating digital elements to represent the pervasive presence of data collection
Tone:
— Ominous and suspenseful, with moments of introspective vulnerability
— Thought-provoking and emotionally charged
Target Audience:
— Fans of psychological thrillers (e.g., The Truman Show, Shutter Island)
— Viewers interested in true stories and biographical dramas (e.g., The Social Network, Erin Brockovich)
— Those concerned about data privacy and the ethics of scientific experimentation
Key Cast:
— Susannah Breslin: A talented actress with a strong emotional range (e.g., Emma Stone, Saoirse Ronan)
— The Psychologist Parents: Experienced actors with a nuanced, complex presence (e.g., Javier Bardem, Tilda Swinton)
Marketing Strategy:
— Leverage social media platforms to create a sense of unease and curiosity
— Partner with organizations focused on data privacy and psychological ethics
— Host panel discussions and Q&A sessions to explore the themes and real-life implications
Data Baby is a gripping, thought-provoking film that challenges the audience to question the boundaries of scientific inquiry and the human cost of experimentation.
Second, I asked Meta AI to suggest potential directors.
Here are some directors whose style and experience could bring Data Baby to life:
Psychological Thriller Directors:
1. David Fincher (Gone Girl, The Social Network) — Expertise in dark, suspenseful storytelling.
2. Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Enemy) — Master of atmospheric tension and complex characters.
3. Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar) — Skilled in crafting unsettling, thought-provoking narratives.
Indie/Art House Directors:
1. Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream) — Experience in exploring complex, psychological themes.
2. Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich) — Unique perspective on human relationships.
3. Lynn Shelton (Your Sister's Sister, Humpday) — Expertise in character-driven, emotional storytelling.
Female Directors:
1. Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty) — Proven ability to handle complex, thought-provoking subjects.
2. Ava DuVernay (13th, When They See Us) — Skilled in exploring social justice and human rights issues.
3. Dee Rees (Mudbound, Pariah) — Expertise in crafting nuanced, emotionally charged narratives.
Emerging Directors:
1. Robert Eggers (The Lighthouse, The Witch) — Unique visual style and atmospheric tension.
2. Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night) — Bold, thought-provoking storytelling.
3. Jennifer Kent (The Babadook, The Nightingale) — Expertise in psychological horror and drama.
Ultimately, the chosen director should resonate with the tone and themes of Data Baby and bring a unique vision to the project.
Third, I asked Meta AI to suggest the three best potential directors.
Based on their styles and past works, here are my top 3 director suggestions for Data Baby:
1. Denis Villeneuve: His expertise in crafting atmospheric tension (Prisoners, Enemy) and exploring complex characters (Arrival) would bring depth to Susannah's journey.
2. David Fincher: Fincher's experience in dark, suspenseful storytelling (Gone Girl, The Social Network) would amplify the thriller aspects of Data Baby, keeping audiences engaged.
3. Darren Aronofsky: Aronofsky's exploration of complex psychological themes (Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream) would bring nuance to Susannah's struggle with her manipulated life.
These directors have:
— Proven track records in psychological thrillers and drama
— Experience in crafting complex characters and storylines
— Unique visual styles that would enhance the film's atmosphere Each director would bring a distinct perspective to Data Baby, making the film a thought-provoking and unsettling experience.
Fourth, I asked Meta AI to suggest potential screenwriters.
Based on their styles and past works, here are my top 3 screenplay writer suggestions for Data Baby:
1. Charlie Kaufman: Known for his unique, psychological storytelling (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich), Kaufman would bring depth and complexity to Susannah's journey.
2. Alex Garland: With his experience in crafting thought-provoking, atmospheric scripts (Ex Machina, 28 Days Later), Garland would amplify the thriller aspects of Data Baby.
3. Gillian Flynn: As a master of dark, suspenseful storytelling (Gone Girl, Sharp Objects), Flynn would bring a nuanced understanding of complex characters and relationships to the screenplay.
These writers have:
— Proven track records in psychological thrillers and drama
— Experience in crafting complex characters and storylines
— Unique styles that would enhance the film's atmosphere
Each writer would bring a distinct perspective to Data Baby, making the screenplay a compelling and unsettling exploration of Susannah's world.
Fifth, I asked Meta AI to suggest potential cinematographers.
Based on their styles and past works, here are my top 3 cinematographer suggestions for Data Baby:
1. Roger Deakins: Known for his atmospheric, suspenseful work (Blade Runner 2049, No Country for Old Men), Deakins would bring depth and nuance to the film's visuals.
2. Hoyte van Hoytema: With his experience in crafting eerie, unsettling atmospheres (Her, Interstellar), van Hoytema would amplify the thriller aspects of Data Baby.
3. Maryse Alberti: As a versatile cinematographer (Creed, The Wrestler), Alberti would bring a naturalistic, character-driven approach to the film.
These cinematographers have:
— Proven track records in capturing atmospheric, suspenseful scenes
— Experience working with complex lighting and composition
— Unique visual styles that would enhance the film's tone
For Data Baby, a cinematographer with expertise in:
— Low-key lighting to create unease
— Composition to emphasize surveillance
— Color palette to reflect Susannah's emotional state
Would be ideal.
Sixth, I asked Meta AI to suggest potential executive producers.
Based on their industry reputation, production expertise, and alignment with the project's themes, here are three executive producer suggestions for Data Baby:
1. Jason Blum (Blumhouse Productions):
— Known for producing thought-provoking, suspenseful films (Get Out, Whiplash)
— Expertise in low-budget, high-return productions
— Aligns with Data Baby's thriller and social commentary elements
2. Cate Blanchett (Dirty Films):
— Acclaimed actress and producer (Carol, Blue Jasmine)
— Passionate advocate for women's rights and social justice
— Would bring a strong, female-driven perspective to the project
3. Jordan Horowitz (Warner Bros., Escape Artists):
— Producer of critically acclaimed films (La La Land, The Kids Are All Right)
— Experience with complex, character-driven stories
— Would help secure financing and distribution deals
These executive producers have:
— Established track records in producing high-quality, socially conscious films
— Industry connections to secure top talent and financing
— Passion for storytelling that aligns with Data Baby's themes
As executive producer, they would:
— Oversee budget and production logistics
— Collaborate with the director and writers
— Ensure the film's message and tone are preserved
Seventh, I asked Meta AI to suggest potential studios/streamers.
Based on their recent releases, target audience, and production values, here are some movie studio and streaming service suggestions to produce and distribute Data Baby:
Movie Studios:
1. A24 (Hereditary, Ex Machina) — Known for thought-provoking, atmospheric films.
2. Warner Bros. (Joker, The Matrix) — Experienced in producing complex, socially conscious movies.
3. Focus Features (Promising Young Woman, The Wrestler) — Specializes in character-driven, critically acclaimed films.
Streaming Services:
1. Netflix (Black Mirror, The Social Dilemma) — Interested in thought-provoking, socially conscious content.
2. Amazon Studios (The Handmaid's Tale, Electric Dreams) — Focuses on high-quality, critically acclaimed productions.
3. Hulu (The Act, Castle Rock) — Explores complex, suspenseful storytelling.
Independent Production Companies:
1. Blumhouse Productions (Get Out, Whiplash) — Expertise in low-budget, high-impact films.
2. Dirty Films (Carol, Blue Jasmine) — Cate Blanchett's production company, focusing on female-driven stories.
3. Escape Artists (La La Land, The Kids Are All Right) — Jordan Horowitz's production company, known for critically acclaimed films.
Considerations:
— Budget: $10-30 million (moderate budget for a thought-provoking thriller)
— Target audience: Adult viewers interested in psychological thrillers and social commentary
— Distribution strategy: Wide theatrical release or streaming platform exclusive
These studios and streaming services have:
— A track record of producing high-quality, thought-provoking films
— Experience with complex, suspenseful storytelling
— Interest in exploring social commentary and psychological themes
~
All in all, I was impressed by what Meta AI came up with for this project.
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Book Riot’s Deals of the Day for October 11, 2024 include my memoir, Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment, which is only $3.99 for the Kindle. (The hardback is only $17.62, which is 39% off the list price.)
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The author at four
This past spring, I wrote an opinion essay about children and privacy. The essay was inspired by and informed by my memoir, Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment, in which I detailed how being a research subject from childhood to adulthood shaped me and changed the trajectory of my life. I submitted the essay to various outlets, but no one was interested in publishing it, so I’m publishing it here for the first time.
Today’s kids grow up online. From the first sonogram image posted to a parent’s Facebook profile to providing toddler content fodder for a mommy influencer’s TikTok account, Gen Z has never known what it is to have a private life. Without their knowledge or consent the most intimate moments of these children’s lives, embarrassing meltdowns and potty training scenes alike, have been shared, scrutinized, and commented upon by people they will never meet.
I know something of what it’s like to grow up without a sense of privacy. Not long after I was born, in the spring of 1968, my parents submitted an application for my enrollment in an exclusive “laboratory preschool” run by the University of California, Berkeley, where my father was a poetry professor. When I arrived at the Harold E. Jones Child Study Center for my first day of nursery school, I became one of over 100 Berkeley children in a groundbreaking, 30-year longitudinal study of personality that sought to answer a question: If you study a child, can you predict who that child will grow up to be?
Over three decades, my cohort and I were studied extensively. At the preschool, which had been designed for spying on children, researchers observed us from a hidden observation gallery overlooking the classroom and assessed us in testing rooms equipped with one-way mirrors and eavesdropping devices. After preschool, the cohort scattered to the winds, but our principal investigators continued following us. At Tolman Hall, a Brutalist building on the north side of campus that housed the Department of Psychology, we were evaluated at key development stages. Our school report cards were analyzed. Our parents were interviewed. We were studied at home and in an RV that had been turned into a mobile laboratory with a hidden compartment in the rear from which one researcher looked on as another researcher evaluated us.
In the early years, I didn’t know I was being studied. Eventually, I learned I was part of an important study. In the beginning, my parents consented for me. When I got older, I consented for myself. I liked being studied. At home, my English professor parents were preoccupied with work, and I spent a lot of time alone in my room entertaining myself. In an experiment room, I was the center of attention. My intellectual parents were emotionally distant. The close attention paid to me by a researcher sitting across the table from me felt a lot like love.
From its first chapter, my life was an open book. As I understood it, my private life was not my own but something to be offered up willingly to science in service of enlightening humanity. In my mind, being a human lab rat was my destiny. Over time, our lives would inform over 100 books and scientific papers. The study would shed new light on how people become who they are, report that adult political orientation can be predicted from toddlerhood, and prove that, to some degree, you can foresee who a child will grow up to be.
According to the observer effect, the act of observation changes that which is being observed. Without a doubt, being studied changed my life. It made me feel like I mattered when my parents didn’t; its researchers’ keen interest in my life story played a role in shaping me into the writer I would become. When I was in my early thirties, the study ended, and in hindsight I can see I felt a bit lost without it. Who was I without my overseers watching over me?
I think about my experiences as a research subject when I think about Gen Z, the pioneering generation that is coming of age publicly. They are unwitting research subjects in a global-scale psychological experiment, one in which they are human guinea pigs and the unanswered question is: How will growing up in the public eye shape their identities? After all, this generation’s overseers are not kindly researchers who want to understand human nature but Big Tech billionaires who have fine-tuned their algorithms to not simply study their youngest users but to guide their choices, mold their senses of self, steer their minds.
According to a 2023 Gallup survey, the average American teenager spends 4.8 hours a day on social media. In January, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg engaged in senatorial theater, suggesting the company was undertaking steps to reduce the potential for harms caused by social media on teens. In his State of the Union Address in March, President Joe Biden made a brief reference to his goal to “Pass bipartisan privacy legislation to protect our children online.”
For kids, it may be too late to save what they’ve lost already: a private life.
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My memoir, Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment, which recounts my 30-year tenure as a research subject in an unprecendented University of California, Berkeley longitudinal study that sought to predict who over 100 Berkeley kids, including me, would grow up to be, is 50% off for Barnes & Noble Book Haul 2024.
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New York Times bestselling author Dani Shapiro interviewed me about my life story and my memoir, Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment, for her widely-listened-to Family Secrets podcast. The episode is entitled “I Was 758,” and it’s available on most podcast distributing platforms. Thank you to Dani for doing this intimate interview. You can buy Data Baby from the retailer of your choice here and read more about it here.
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This is an excerpt from my memoir, Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment. You can order a copy here.
Image via Wikipedia
I thought it would be interesting to write about the strip clubs in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco. I was curious about these enigmatic clubs on Broadway that I had seen but into which I had never entered. As a kid in the back seat of my parents’ Dart, I had been driven through San Francisco and spotted The Condor (which, in 1964, had become the country’s first fully topless nightclub). Out front, a towering sign featured a supersized blonde, impossibly busty. Her name, I would find out later, was Carol Doda. She wore a black bikini with blinking red lights for nipples.
Doda was the opposite of my mother and her friends—they were feminists who viewed makeup, heavily styled hair, and revealing clothes as tools the patriarchy used to subjugate and objectify women. But Doda wasn’t anyone’s tool; she was a legend. A San Francisco Art Institute dropout, she had become America’s first topless dancer of note, her surgically enhanced breasts billed as “the new Twin Peaks of San Francisco.” When I was in graduate school, I had seen an episode of HBO’s “Real Sex” about strippers, and I had been struck by the revelation that strip clubs were places where intimacy was for sale. Sure, it was transient, transactional, and most often conducted between a guy with a handful of dollar bills and a dancer in a G-string and not much else who twirled seductively around a pole on a stage, but there was something real about it, I sensed. Or was there? I wanted to find out. The strip club dancers reminded me of the girls I had hung out with in high school, whom everyone else had deemed slutty. These women were powerful, too, in control, the love object I aspired to be, or seemed like it. Intimacy, that for which I had craved as a little girl, was their hustle.
“Oh, my god, Susannah, make up your mind!” Anne laughed as we stood at the corner on a Saturday night. Broadway was teeming with drunk guys, sailors on leave, and couples on the prowl for something more interesting than what they had already. I scanned the glowing signs. Roaring 20’s. Big Al’s. The Hungry I.
“This one!”
We ducked inside.
As we moved down the black hallway toward a red velvet curtain, I worried what someone else in the club might think. I, a woman, was in a strip club. As I pulled back the curtain, it dawned on me that wasn’t going to be an issue. There was one thing to which the men scattered at the small dimly lit tables around the room were paying attention, and it wasn’t me. It was the half-naked girl on the stage.
Nonchalantly, we took a seat at a table near the back. We ordered a couple of overpriced drinks. I took a sip: it was straight orange juice. The cocktails were alcohol-free, thanks to a California law that prohibited the sale of alcohol in fully nude strip clubs. It didn’t matter, my head was buzzing from the drinks we’d had at the bar around the corner that we’d been to earlier.
In the song that was blasting, Trent Reznor was expressing a desire to violate someone. The statuesque brunette teetering on the highest heels I had ever seen peeled off her dental-floss thin neon green thong. She tossed her thong to one side, grabbed the pole, climbed up it. High above the crowd, she wrapped her thighs around the pole and bent over backwards, throwing her arms open like an inverted angel.
In that moment, everything that had happened seemed far away. The intellectual, cloistered, academic world in which I had grown up was right across the Bay, but it may as well have been a million miles from here. I looked at a solitary businessman sitting at the next table. His tie was untied. His jacket was slung across the back of his chair. His eyes were glassy. He had been hypnotized. In this alternative universe, women had all the power, and men were at their mercy. I didn’t want to be a stripper; I was too shy, too insecure, too inhibited to take off my clothes in front of strangers. But I wanted what she had: the stage, the men in awe, the audience worshipping her as a superhuman goddess. As a kid, I was starved for attention. This was an orgy of attention. As a pre-pubescent girl, I felt embarrassed by my own burgeoning sexuality, left to figure it out for myself because my mother was too depressed. Here, sex was on parade, for sale, everywhere I looked. In the Block Project, I was the object, the one on view, the child studied by researchers from across tables in Tolman Hall’s austere experiment rooms. Now I was the voyeur, the looker, the scopophiliac. It was intoxicating.
As we sped back to the East Bay in the early morning hours, I watched the city get smaller and smaller in the side view mirror. My father was dead, that was an incontrovertible fact, but for a few hours tonight I had forgotten all about that. I could write about this. I could become a gonzo journalist, like one of my favorite writers, Hunter S. Thompson, and immerse myself in it. Sex would be my beat.
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I’m a longtime fan of Travis and Sigrid, who, if you don’t know already, are a famous duo in London. Travis is a cyclist, Sigrid is an all-white, blue-eyed, deaf Norwegian Forest cat, and together they ride around the city, bringing joy and excitement to all they encounter, including quite a few celebrities over the years. Recently, Travis wrote a nice post about my memoir, Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment, on his Instagram feed, which was really kind. Make sure to follow Travis and Sigrid on Instagram and order their book, which I highly recommend: Sigrid Rides: The Story of an Extraordinary Friendship and An Adventure on Two Wheels.
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Yesterday, I flew up to the Bay Area, where I was doing a brown bag book talk at U.C. Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. I got there early, and that gave me a chance to have breakfast, visit Pegasus Books where I was happy to see my book on a shelf, and go to my childhood home and knock on the front door (more on that in an upcoming post). After that, I went to Cal for the talk. I was interviewed by journalist and producer Cecilia Lei, who did a wonderful job asking insightful questions, turning what could have been bearing witness to a Q&A into a three-way dialogue with the audience, and prompting me to think about some of the deeper themes in and larger issues surrounding my book in new ways. Thank you to everyone who came. I’ve been doing a lot of promoting of my memoir this month, these last couple weeks in particular. After I’m done with the last event, which is this weekend, I’ll be writing a longer post about everything I learned about marketing one’s book. The photo is of the courtyard at the J-school. It was a bit overcast, but so are most days in the Bay Area in spring.
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I took this photo ahead of the panel I was on at this year’s Los Angeles Times Festival of Books before the room became full. The festival is on the University of Southern California campus, a massive undertaking, and run like a well-oiled machine. My friend and I hung out in the authors’ green room, we got marched over to the hall where the panel was along with the other panelists, and then I answered questions from the moderator and the audience. It was a really cool time and something I’ll be writing about a bit more in a future post. My book is Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment. And what people are saying about it is here.
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This weekend, I’ll be a panelist at The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. The panel, “Women and Bodies: Science Meets Sociology,” is on Sunday, April 21, at 3:30 pm., it’s moderated by Amy Alkon, and my fellow panelists are Dr. Jen Gunter, Cat Bohannon, and M.G. Lord. I’ll be talking about my memoir, Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment. And, you can read more about the story behind my book here.
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I was interviewed about my memoir, Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment (read more about my book here) for a recent episode of ABC Radio National’s podcast about the human mind, “All in the Mind,” out of Australia. The episode is “Being a Human Lab Rat for 30 Years: What Happens Next.”
From the episode’s description:
“Researchers knew Susannah better than her own parents.
They may have even known her better than herself.
Today, how spending thirty years in a psychological study warped journalist Susannah Breslin's life.”
Listen to my conversation with host Sana Qadar here.
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I’m super happy that The Morbidly Curious Book Club has chosen my memoir, Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment—you can read more about my book here—as the April pick! The Morbidly Curious Book Club is very cool, and I’m honored that Data Baby is in the company of their previous 2024 selections, which include Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin by Megan Rosenbloom, Lay Them to Rest: On the Road with the Cold Case Investigators Who Identify the Nameless by Laurah Norton, and Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues by Jonathan Kennedy. You can join TMCBC here, check out the rest of their 2024 selections and follow TMCBC on Instagram here, follow TMCBC on TikTok here, and find various other relevant links for TMCBC here, including a link to the podcast, for which I’ll be doing an interview later this month. Thank you, TMCBC!
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On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at 1 pm, I’ll be doing a brown bag book talk in conversation with Cecilia Lei at U.C. Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism about my memoir, Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment. (You can read more about my book here.) I’m really looking forward to this event for several reasons. I grew up in Berkeley, my father was a professor at Cal, I graduated from Cal, my memoir is about my 30-year participation in a research study conducted at U.C. Berkeley, and as part of my research for my book I was at Cal for a year as an academic fellow at the Graduate School of Journalism’s Investigative Reporting Program. Event info here.
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My memoir at Powell’s Books, Portland, OR | Photo credit: Kevin Sampsell
This is part 9 of “Fuck You, Pay Me,” an ongoing series of posts on writing, editing, and publishing.
You wrote a book! Congratulations! That was the easy part! Ha-ha, just kidding. Oh, wait, no, I’m not. If you live under a rock, you may not have heard that these days publishing houses are very, very busy and can only do so much when it comes to promoting the book you wrote. That’s where you come in! If you want anyone to read your book, you better figure out how to promote it. Not good at promoting stuff? Too bad. Don’t like to promote your work? Tough shit. Would rather hire an independent publicist to promote your book for you? Good luck finding a good one for less than five figures to push your book properly and well to all the appropriate media outlets with no return on investment guaranteed. Luck for me, I was a book publicist a long time ago, so that helped when my memoir, Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment, came out last fall. (Read more about my book here.) Here are a few ways that your book can get visibility in a crowded marketplace and some strategies and non-strategies that worked for me. Will these avenues and strategies and non-strategies work for you and your book? Who the fuck knows!
The Publisher Did It My memoir was published by one of the big publishers. This has its upsides and downsides, some of which I’ve written about in previous editions of Fuck You, Pay Me. I was paired with a publicist at my imprint. One of the single most important things your publisher should do for you is get galleys of your book to Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. These trade reviews come out before other reviews and probably before your book comes out. They’re important because everyone in the book business reads them and also because they’re the first thing you can use in your own book promotions. My book got a starred Publishers Weekly review and a Kirkus Reviews review, and I used quotes from those reviews to promote my book on my website and across my social media platforms. If you find sharing positive reviews of your book challenging, pretend You the Author is a consulting client you’re working with and you’re promoting their book for them.
Publishers Weekly: “Unpicking thorny questions about determinism and the ethics of human experimentation, Breslin attacks her subject with verve and wit, resisting woe-is-me solipsism without defanging her critiques of the study that rocked her life. It’s gripping stuff.”
Kirkus Reviews: “An intelligently provocative memoir and investigation.”
Networking Did It Because I have been a writer a long time, I know a lot of writers. That came in handy when my book came out, and my publisher sent out review copies of my book to people I know who are journalists. In one instance, that led to a two-page spread in The New York Post. This feature came out about a month after my book did and generated a sales spike. It also involved a photo shoot, which was fun to do. If you don’t have any writer friends, you should think about making some. They will be of use when your book is published. If you don’t have any writer friends or the writers you attempt to befriend spurn your efforts, you can send fan letters to writers about their work and see if they’re interested in checking out your book because it aligns with their professional interests. Please bear in mind that writers are busy, so if they don’t write about your book, it’s nothing personal.
The New York Post: “Breslin had long been aware she was a ‘human lab rat,’ in her words, but it wasn’t until adulthood that she started to wonder what it was all about.”
The Agent Did It That same month, my memoir was selected to be the December pick for actress Emma Roberts’ Belletrist book club. This opportunity came through my agent at CAA, who is amazing. Belletrist is a celebrity book club, they promote your book throughout the month, and they have you do various things on their platform, like create a video of your personal library and write about your favorite literary things for their newsletter and also do an Instagram Live interview. It was such a cool experience. I got the chance to connect with readers who had spent a lot of their developing years online and since my book is about, among other things, not having a private life, it was very relatable for them. By this point in the promoting one’s own book process, I was getting a bit more in the flow of things, and I had reached a certain point of resetting the bar, which is to say not everything you do to promote your book may be up to your perfectionist standards, but at least you are out there doing it, dammit.
Belletrist: Here’s the interview with me and Emma and Belletrist co-founder Karah.
A Book in Motion Did It According to Sir Isaac Newton’s first law of motion: “A body remains at rest, or in motion at a constant speed in a straight line, except insofar as it is acted upon by a force.” One thing you may discover while promoting your book is that while promoting it may or may not get easier over time, the book may develop a motion of its own. The Belletrist stuff happened in December, and in early January my memoir got a great review in The Globe and Mail, which is basically The New York Times of Canada. A couple weeks later, I got an interview request from CBC Radio’s “The Current,” which is, like, let’s say, the NPR of Canada. The interview I did with “The Current”’s host Matt Galloway was fantastic, and they had me record it at the NPR West studio so the audio quality was excellent. When this interview aired, it led to a sales bump, which was nice. I definitely felt like this was Newton’s first law at work, with the book club leading to the review leading to the interview. If I told you that you can feel when something is generating its own momentum, would you believe me? I ain’t lyin’.
The Globe and Mail: “If, as Socrates contended, ‘the unexamined life is not worth living,’ then Breslin is living hers to the fullest. Lucky for us, she’s written a thought-provoking, ridiculously propulsive book about it.”
The Current with Matt Galloway: Here’s the interview with me and Matt.
Serendipity Did It The amount of stuff I’m leaving out of this process is sort of ridiculous because I spent a huge amount of time pitching my book to many media outlets which led to various other things, but I’m just trying to highlight a few of them here. One thing I did myself was pitch my book to The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, which is in the city where I live and the biggest book festival in the country. By happenstance, someone at the festival shared my book with a woman who was to be moderating a festival panel that would be a fit for my book. That woman and I were on a TV show together years ago, so thanks to serendipity I’ll be on that panel at the Festival of Books later this month. I’m really excited about that. All of which is to say, pitch, pitch, pitch away, because you just never know.
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books: “These writers share thought-provoking research and personal experience on everything from the role of female bodies in human evolution, to the gaps in medical knowledge about female reproductive systems and a 30+ year lab experiment about human personalities, and finally how all of this plays into the dolls we make to represent women. Though their stories differ, these writers are all experts in one extremely difficult field: being a woman.”
The other thing I would like to add is that—well, a few other things. I wrote my own press release for my book, and I could probably write a whole other post about that. Also, there was a lot of struggle over not having full control over this promotions process that involved the publisher that was very challenging that maybe I’ll talk more about at a later date. Additionally, I would highly recommend that you create a page on your website—if you don’t have a website for yourself, I don’t know what to tell you other than get one—that’s about your book or books and all the reviews and promotions and speaking engagements and such. I created mine here. If you let things sit here and there on the web, no one is going to see that. If you put it on one page and update it regularly, more will come from that. For example, my memoir was published five months ago, and I have more speaking engagements and interviews this month than any other previous month. Keep flogging it or nurturing it or pushing it, and it will start to spin forward of its own volition.
In closing, I guess I didn’t really directly tackle the how to do all this without going crazy part, but I should talk about that in a future post. All I know is that for me it’s all about control, and if you don’t believe you have control, you are controlling one thing: your own wrongheaded delusions about control.
If you liked this post, buy my book. If you liked my book, write a review of it on Amazon or Goodreads or the social media platform of your choice. If you’re interested in interviewing me or having me speak at your next event or querying me about promoting your book or other creative project, contact me.
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Last Wednesday, I did a reading and talk for my memoir, Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment, at the North Branch of the Berkeley Public Library. I had such a nice time, especially because this was the library I went to when I was a kid, and I was reading from my book about growing up in Berkeley. It was a bit like time travel with a literary twist. Thank you to the library for having me and for all those who came out to listen and ask questions. If you’re interested in attending an event, I’m going to be doing several events during April for the book, which are listed here, and which include the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books; the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley; and Book Passage in Corte Madera.
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On Wednesday, March 27, 2024, I’m reading from and discussing my memoir, Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment, at Berkeley Public Library’s North Branch at 6:30 pm. You can read more about what people are saying about Data Baby here. More event information is here. Hope to see you!
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I was interviewed about my memoir, Data Baby: My Life in a Psychological Experiment, for a recent episode of WHYY’s The Pulse, which is part of the NPR Network. The episode is “Discovering Your True Identity,” and the interview I did with host Maiken Scott starts at the 34 minute mark. (Read more about Data Baby here.)
From the episode’s description:
“Identity's a complicated thing — a mixture of nurture and nature, ethnicity, gender, culture, conscious decisions, coincidences, and more. In many ways, though, who we think we are boils down to the stories we tell ourselves; stories based on our origins, our families, and how we came to be. But what happens when those stories change? When we discover that the narrative of our lives is completely different from what we've always believed?”
Listen to the episode here.
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