We were lucky to catch up with Gabi Conti recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Gabi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
Co-creating the 9-part fiction podcast Bad Influencer with NY Times Best Selling Author Jane Green meant so much to me. I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember because I wanted to be just like my dad. Growing up my dad wrote, produced, and directed radio commercials. But not the annoying ones you turn off, commercials that really pulled at your heartstrings, that still make me tear up when I listen to them today. As a kid, I would tag along with him to sessions and watch the magic come to life. I got chills when we were recording Bad Influencer in New York City. Taking the train from Connecticut to Manhattan to go to the recording studio to work like my dad did when I was growing up.
Working with Jane was such an incredible experience and a crash course in fiction writing. Up until this point, most of my produced work has been non-fiction, although I’ve written a lot of unproduced screenplays. But writing for audio is totally different. In screenwriting, you’re always told “Show it, don’t say it.” But with audio, you have to say it or find a way to say it through sound. Action lines are replaced with sound cues as you build scenes. I wrote this series during a really difficult time in my life. Both of my parents were in and out of hospitals (but are stable now). I was back and forth from LA to Connecticut as I was writing this. Which actually was a silver lining because I got to run things by my dad.
So much of my heart is poured into this project, and it was such an honor to see it recognized. When we were the number one fiction podcast on Apple the week we came out. We were outranking actual influencers and celebrities at the top of the charts. I was so proud. But this accomplishment wasn’t just me. It was the incredible team at Emerald Audio and Gemini XIII, or super talented cast, and real-life celebrities and influencers who had a sense of humor and played versions of themselves, and who let us use their names to promote this show. I am beyond grateful to everyone who made this show the success and I am thrilled to write season 2.
Gabi, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Growing up I was a theater kid. My passion for writing was really nurtured at Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut where I was really active in Staples Players (our theater group) and the school paper. I really flourished at Emerson College where I was a double major in Broadcast Journalism and writing for television and film. I had the honor of working with our artist-in-residence Kevin S. Bright (executive producer of Friends). I worked with him on 4 comedy pilots in college and moved out to LA after graduating because I had more contacts here working in the industry than I did in NY.
In LA I started doing sketch comedy with some friends I wrote with in college. We were called Half Day Today! And we had some viral hits, like a parody movie trailer for Monopoly the movie, which I wrote and played the Community Chest in (a stripper, duh). I did a ton of stand-up and found myself on a lot of reality shows. By day I worked production for Comedy Central.
I never stopped writing. I started a blog in college and kept it until my work got published. First on Hello Giggles, then on Popsugar, Elite Daily, Cosmopolitan, and more. My side hustles eventually became my main hustle when Popsugar hired me to make viral videos for them. This later turned into Version’s go90 and Elite Daily hiring me to write and host The Elite Daily Show, which was like a talk show meets late-night sketch comedy show.
But I still had a side hustle. My book. I started writing it after my first world-shattering break-up at 23. It’s called Twenty Guys You Date In Your Twenties. It’s a guide for dating at any age, during any time in your life that breaks down the 20 different types of relationships we find ourselves in any time we’re single, which are really obstacles or insecurities. Like the person who you think is hotter than you, cooler than you, or who is older than you, younger than you, long distance, etc. Each chapter has my experience dating this guy, charts, and quizzes to help the reader navigate the relationship, and advice from couples who have overcome this obstacle, licensed experts, and even my exes. Yes, I reached out to 19 of my “exes” when I was writing this book. Why didn’t I reach out to number 20? You’ll have to read the book to find out.
When I turned 30 I was determined to get Twenty Guys published. So I figured out how to write a book proposal, and got connected to my incredible agent Beth Davey who sold it to Chronicle Books. I adapted Twenty Guys into a Rom-Com with DiNovi pictures. And the book just got translated into French. You can buy it wherever you buy books (it makes a great holiday present, wink, wink).
Podcasts were also always a side hustle for me, that turned into a main hustle. I’ve had podcasts for over a decade (before everyone and their mom had podcasts). I even had one with my therapist The Angry Therapist. After my book came out I co-created, executive produced, and hosted “Am I Dating A Serial Killer?!” with XG Productions. A true crime and true dating podcast that became Audible’s top ten podcast.
I met Jane Green at my best friend’s wedding. Jane just heard Am I Dating A Serial Killer and was a fan. She was starting her own female-driven podcast network Emerald Audio. We started talking. And soon Bad Influencer was born and the rest is history.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Buy books. Listen to podcasts. Watch content. Comment encouraging things. Be kind. If you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say it. Review podcasts and books on Amazon, Goodreads, etc. If you didn’t like said book or podcast, don’t leave a one-star review and leave a snarky review that personally attacks the creator. I can’t speak for all creators, but my inbox is always open. I LOVE constructive criticism and I can keep it in mind for the next project. I do not love cruel criticism that tanks the rating of my work and could prevent me from doing other work. People are more likely to leave a negative review if they didn’t like something, than a positive review if they enjoyed something. Be the latter.
Also FYI podcast listeners, you know you can fast-forward the ads, right? Ads are how podcasts make money. You wouldn’t be listening to said podcast without the advertisers. Accept that. And stop leaving one-star reviews of “too many ads.”
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Helping people. I got so many DMs from people all over the world when my book came out telling how my book helped them and their dating journey. That was always the goal.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gabiconti.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsgabiconti/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553825369360
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsgabiconti/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/itsgabiconti
- Other: Listen to Bad Influencer here: https://link.chtbl.com/LdLb8v6u Buy my book Twenty Guys You Date In Your Twenties here: https://www.gabiconti.com/book-twenty-guys-you-date-in-your-twenties-by-gabi-conti Listen to Am I Dating A Serial Killer? here: https://www.audible.com/pd/Am-I-Dating-a-Serial-Killer-Podcast/B09RGF92W3
Image Credits
Red Blazer: Marlow Photography All other headshots: Susan Sheridan Book: Chronicle Books Bad Influencer: Emerald Audio