Former College Roommates Discuss Ups and Downs of Professional Writing

Benjamin A. Mezrich ’91, author of “The Accidental Billionaires,” and his college roommate, Scott H. Stossel ’91, the editor of The Atlantic magazine, told aspiring writers about the benefits of self-confidence and the beauty of being published Thursday evening during an event in Sever Hall.

The event, sponsored by the Harvard College Writing Program, allowed both author’s to tell the story of how they progressed from being students at the College to bestselling writers, and was filled with personal experiences and anecdotes.

Best selling authors Benjamin A. Mezrich ’91 (left) and Scott H. Stossel ’91 (right) describe the many challenges they faced as they developed their writing careers, after attending Harvard College, on Thursday, April 4. By George J Lok

“We both knew that we wanted to be writers pretty early on,” said Mezrich, who, according to Stossel, wrote a novel in his sophomore year.

Mezrich and Stossel recalled writing for the Harvard Independent and covering the Harvard football team.

“Scott and I were terrified of people larger than us,” Mezrich said, adding that this made the task of interviewing football players more daunting.

Stossel recalled that Mezrich “papered the wall with rejection slips” from publishers. At one point, the wall was covered with 190 rejection slips. However, the rejections did not put Mezrich down.

“I loved the rejection,” said Mezrich, who explained how being delusional about his talent and potential helped him overcome rejection. “You have to have this incredible level of delusion when you are a writer.”

After graduating from the College, both authors applied to Law School. However, both retracted their applications to pursue writing careers, which Stossel admits, “freaked his parents out.”

After the decision, Mezrich and Stossel moved to an apartment in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, where they took part-time jobs at City Year and a bookstore, respectively, while devoting most of their time to writing. Having bonded with each other as roommates during and after college, Mezrich and Stossel said they still rely on each other for advice and criticism.

Stossel admitted that every time Mezrich sends him one of his recent works, Mezrich says, “This is the best thing I’ve written and my dad agrees.”

Mezrich, whose book became the basis for the movie "The Social Network" added that as a writer he relies on self-confidence.

“If you’re not believing in yourself, it’s not going to happen,” he said.

To this, Stossel commented, “more than talent, [as a writer] you need to have persistence and resilience and a really thick skin.”

In his final comments, Mezrich described the joy of having a published book. “The first time you see your book in a bookstore is the best moment of your life, it's like the first time you have sex.”