[ocelotpotpie]

Assuming your write your own material, the rough equivalent for a comic is getting a writing gig. TV shows, for other comedians, etc. You basically write "session" material as a comic the same way a "session" musician would be a hired gun.

[nerfhammer]

Being a writer for a TV show isn't "making it without making it", it's "making it" proper.

[ocelotpotpie]

Absolutely - I didn't intend to downplay being a TV writer.

In that vein, being a session musician is also "making it" as well. But "it" is subjective - if "it" is being on stage, you didn't "make it" in either case.