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You’ve probably never heard of Michael Tunney. In fact, some authors and entrepreneurs may not want you to hear about him – he’s their secret weapon.
Trained under the controversial media strategist and author Ryan Holiday, Michael is a media mastermind who works behind the scenes to get epic amounts of publicity for his clients. Although he can’t disclose all of his work, some of the most notable projects he’s worked on include James Altucher’s Choose Yourself (which sold over 40,000 copies in its first month), Robert Greene’s Mastery (a New York Times bestseller), and Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is The Way (which has sold over 100,000 copies and is widely popular among professional athletes).
I discovered Michael after reading Ryan Holiday’s acknowledgements in his most recent book Ego Is The Enemy and was fortunate to strike up a conversation with him recently. Michael does much of the same work that I enjoy, most notably writing. I even found out that his father and brother went to Xavier University, where I’m currently a student.
As you can imagine, I had a million questions for Michael and wanted to ask him things that would particularly interest readers. But before we get into the good stuff, here’s Michael Tunney at a glance:
Current gig: Product Developer at Social Triggers & Founder of Lost Context Media
Location: Los Angeles
Favorite hobby: Exploring LA, been here for about six months
Music of choice: White guy rock (Wilco, Pearl Jam, Jason Isbell, etc.)
One word that best describes you: Knowledgeable
One person you’d love to meet: Eddie Vedder
You originally started a career in law before launching bestselling book campaigns and exploring your writing career—how did you get into the business you’re in today?
I got the stones to leave the law about two years into practicing, but I should have dropped out of law school when I had the chance. For anyone thinking about going to law school, don’t. For why, read this or this.
I had moved to Austin with my girlfriend at the time, working a meaningless job at smaller firm. I was desperate and looking for a way out because I knew I didn’t want to end up miserable, like every single middle-aged lawyer I’d ever met. I was also basically destitute.
On a lark I emailed two authors, Camille Sweeney and Josh Gosfield, who were coming out with The Art of Doing and looking for unpaid interns. I did some marketing work for them and then emailed Ryan Holiday, who’s blog I’d been following for a while. After a series of emails and a phone call, he had me meet one of his mentors in Austin, Tucker Max, to make sure I wasn’t a serial killer. I think the next week I was interning for Brass Check and it went from there.
People typically consider careers in marketing or writing to be broad or vague – what makes your work unique?
Job titles in marketing have become almost purposely vague, which comes along with specialization. Like any other business, you have to learn the language of that niche to look like you fit in or know what people actually do.
I can’t sit here and say my work is unique, but I do have a knack for writing in other people’s voices in a way that resonates with their ideal audience (95% of my writing work is ghostwriting).
You write a lot about “hustling” and carving a path – what do you feel that young people today are doing wrong or could improve upon career-wise?
I regularly refer to my “career” in my twenties as a dumpster fire, and transitioning out of law in my mid-twenties was a nightmare. So as someone who has been at the bottom of the barrel career-wise, I’ve learned it is essential not to lose hope or stop believing in yourself.
I’m not a religious person and just typing “believe in yourself” makes me cringe, but without some faith that things will get better, its going to be nearly impossible to take action and have the confidence to take risks.
Other than that, be generous and give to other people. It’s not always the natural impulse when you are looking for a job because you’re most likely thinking about being able to pay rent. But acting selfish or entitled just doesn’t work. Give, give, give and you’ll be paid back in ways you can’t see in the moment.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to people you look up to or think you could be of service to. Every time I’ve done it something good has come my way, even if it was just lessening the fear of rejection by sending the damn email.
Finally, don’t be so afraid. There is nothing to be afraid of. So be bold, be assertive, ask the dumb questions, and get out of your own head and do shit.
You’ve had success with some of the top authors in the world such as Robert Greene, James Altucher, and Ryan Holiday – do you have clients knocking your door down trying to get you to work for them? How many clients do you currently have?
I only take on a few clients every month, so it’s usually about choosing the right projects and making sure there’s a good fit for the client. I consider myself very lucky to be very busy.
Who would you love to work for but haven’t yet been able to?
I’ve been pretty lucky to work with some hard working people who know what they’re doing and taught me a lot. Maybe working for a great show runner like David Simon or Vince Gilligan.
What should we expect to see in the next few years from Michael Tunney?
Getting more of my own writing out in the blood stream. My current poor excuse is that I’m too busy with my other work, but we both know that’s a lie.
How can people get in touch with you and follow your work?
My email is michaelatunney@gmail.com, my website is michaeltunney.com and Lost Context Media can be found here. Oh, and I’m on Twitter @mike_tunney.
Along with my writing, I send my newsletter subscribers some book recommendations twice a month – do you have any book recommendations of your own?
I’m currently reading What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami. I’m not a runner, but there’s a lot of stuff in here about the mind of a writer that’s pretty good.
Dominic Vaiana studies writing and media strategy at Xavier University. He founded a campus newspaper and later went on to advise, ghostwrite, and edit for colleagues and startups. His biweekly newsletter with his personal articles, essays, interviews, and book recommendations, can be found here. For any questions or comments, email dominicvaiana@gmail.com.
