The character arc of Mark Manson
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born 9 March 1984 in Austin, Texas. Between then and now sit a degree in international relations from Boston University in 2007, a first blog in 2008, another in 2010, a self-published book in 2011, a blog post in 2015 that became something else, a book in 2016 that has sold more than twelve million copies, a sequel in 2019 and a co-written autobiography in 2021. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Mark Manson?
One blog post, and twelve million copies.
He went to St Andrews Episcopal School and then to Boston University, taking a degree in international relations in 2007. Nothing about that points at what followed. In 2008 he started a blog about dating advice, and in 2010 another one offering life guidance for men, which is a category of writing that was not then, and is not now, treated as serious work.
He self-published a book in 2011, Models. Then in 2015 he wrote a blog post titled with the phrase that would later be the book, and it travelled. The argument underneath it is genuinely unusual for its shelf: that you have a finite amount of caring available, that spending it on everything leaves nothing for what matters, and that the promise of feeling good all the time is itself the problem.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck was published in 2016 and has sold more than twelve million copies, which puts it among the best selling non-fiction books of its era. Everything Is F*cked, a book about hope, followed in 2019 and went straight to number one on the New York Times list. In 2021 he co-wrote Will, the autobiography of Will Smith. He married Fernanda Neute in 2016 and has written or co-written four books. His line is worth reading because the thing that worked was the thing nobody in publishing would have commissioned.
The moments
Mark Manson's timeline.
The 2000s
International relations
Milestone. A degree that points at diplomacy or policy, and not at any of this.
He started blogging
Milestone, and it changed everything. A category of writing nobody serious was reading, and he wrote in it for years.
The 2010s
He self-published
Milestone, and it changed his direction. No publisher. He put it out himself, which in 2011 meant nobody would review it.
The post
Milestone, and it changed everything. One post. Written on an ordinary day, in a blog, and everything after it comes from there.
Let the post be a post, or build a book
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: turn it into a book, taken, or keep blogging. The book has sold more than twelve million copies and the sequel went straight to number one.
He married Fernanda Neute
Everyday. The same year as the book.
Twelve million copies
Milestone, and it changed everything. Twelve million. Among the best selling non-fiction books of its era, off the back of a blog.
Number one with the sequel
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Straight in at number one, which is the hardest thing to do twice.
The 2020s
He wrote Will Smith's book
Milestone, and it changed his direction. From a blog nobody rated to writing a film star's life story.
The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is a change of tone: a whole shelf of books that stopped promising readers they could feel good all the time, and said something more useful instead.
What he wrote
Books by Mark Manson
- 2011
Models
Attract women through honesty. Self-published in 2011 and reissued in 2017, five years before anybody had heard of him.
- 2016
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
A counterintuitive approach to living a good life. More than twelve million copies sold, which puts it among the best selling non-fiction books of its era.
- 2019
Everything Is F*cked
A book about hope, which went straight to number one on the New York Times list. Following a twelve million copy seller is one of the hardest things in publishing.
- 2021
Will
The autobiography of Will Smith, which he co-wrote.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
His came out of a blog post written on an ordinary day. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Mark Manson: frequently asked questions
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Sources
- Mark Manson, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- The New York Times bestseller list, 2019.