I had the pleasure of interviewing Ian Coburn, the author of the soon to be released God is a Woman: Dating Disasters. Our interview was via email and phone. Ian loves to talk, and he has strong feelings about many issues. He is a very well-educated and eloquent person to interview.

My research shows that you are becoming a writer, rather than a performer. What brought this change on?

Standup comedy is typically a stepping stone to something else, although once a comedian, always a comedian. Typically, comedians that stay in the biz try to go one of two ways: They look for a sitcom or some regular TV gig, or they get into writing. The writers of Frasier, for example, were stand-ups. Pete Schwaba, a former standup, has sold a few movie scripts. Lots of comedians become writers. There tend to be more writing gigs, they have a knack for it, and they don’t have to worry about screen issues, like having the right look. Lots of roles require certain looks.

For me personally, I didn’t want to do a sitcom. I had agents who wanted to send me out as “the next Kramer,” simply because I’m skinny with a big nose. But I’m not Kramer; it’s not my shtick. But it’s about the look. I also like to keep my anonymity. Every big act I ever worked with told me, “Cherish your anonymity while you can; you never miss it till it’s gone and you can never get it back.” Mostly, I had a lot of ideas that didn’t work on stage, mainly because of length. For example, God is a Woman: Dating Disasters is basically a standup routine in a book. The stories simply wouldn’t work on stage but work great in a book. Writing gives me more ways to express myself and my background in comedy gives me credibility to land writing gigs.

You make home base in Chicago, why not LA, or New York?

It’s real easy to live in L.A and feel like you’re doing a lot when you aren’t. You’re surrounded by the industry. Just being there makes you feel like you’re part of it, for no other reason than you’re there. As a result, there are lots of people in L.A who sit around and do nothing. Also, it’s hard to find variety in L.A. to inspire characters and originality. It’s industry, industry, industry. People aren’t waiters or bankers or teachers… they’re waiters who want to act, bankers with a script, teachers who want to direct… I was meeting with a producer in L.A. outdoors at a coffee house once. A homeless guy overheard our conversation and approached us with his script. Even the homeless in L.A. have scripts! In Chicago and New York, people are who they are. A teacher is a teacher. It makes for better writing of characters. Also, in Chicago, I feel like I’m part of the industry, I have to be writing. I have to be productive. Otherwise, I’m not part of anything. New York is further from L.A. than Chicago, which is centrally located. Whether you live in NY or not, you have to travel to L.A. That’s where the industry is. In Chi-Town, I can easily head to where I need, usually L.A., NY, or even Toronto.