LisaB; Lain...would you like to open by saying something?/ 

Lainie9; Wow... Where do I start? I guess I'd say, this all happened so fast that I wasn't really ready for it. I hope I can be of some help to you all!/ 

LisaB; I think we're happy to learn anything you can share with us! 

LisaB; OK...Anne...go ahead... 

frenchfoodADM; Lain, how many hours a week are you spending on writing and if you want to tell, how much money would you say you are making? I'm just curious to see what kind of goals are actually attainable, I want to stay working from home 

Leisa; Hi okie think i've got it 

Lainie9; I'm assuming you're talking about all my writing, not just my book writing? Because my book writing has paid a big *0* so far! 

frenchfoodADM yes, all your combined efforts/ 

Lainie9; As far as freelancing, I have three days a week that are set aside as "working" days. Benjamin is in daycare those days. Plus I work about ten hours outside that -- in the evenings or on the weekends. 

crystal; ? 

Lainie9; So I'd say there are 40 "working"hours. Of those forty, I am actually working about 25. The other 15 are answering email, cleaning the house, etc. 

Lainie9; As far as how much money I make, that's a tricky question! Our budget says at least $2200 a month. 

Lainie9; I easily make that now, though I didn't earlier this year. This will be my biggest month so far, and I'm slated to bring in about $8000. 

Lainie9; Not every month is like that, though! 

frenchfoodADM; that's great Lain!!!, my goal is $2000 a month, I'm not quite there, got a ways to go yet :-)/ 

LisaB; Just curious, Lain...are you still doing your corporate client work or were you able to give that up?/ 

Kathy; ? 

Lainie9; It takes a while... it is a constant focus for me. I think about it all day, every day. I gave up all my corporate clients when we moved to Boston in March. That was a great thing, personally, but a little scary , professionally. I wasn't sure i"d find the income to replace the PR and marketing income./ 

LisaB; That's great that you were able to, though. Crystal...go ahead.../ 

crystal; I know that you are busy with articles. Do you set aside certain times for the book writing only? / 

Lainie9; Well, my book writing is on hold until we sell the proposal. I just finished the revision of the proposal and the first chapter -- that's what the nonfiction book is sold on. 

Lainie9; Once my agent sells it, I will take fewer journalism assignments to make time to complete the rest of the book./ 

LisaB; Kathy...go ahead.../ 

Kathy; Are you self-publishing or going with a traditional publisher for your book Lain?/ 

Lainie9; I am going the traditional route with my nonfiction book. We don't have a publisher yet, but I have an agent who is HOPEFULLY selling it!/ 

Kathy; Thanks Lain.../ 

LisaB; Getting an agent sounds so wonderful...everyone's dream...but there are certain things you have to have prepared well in advance. You can't just walk up to an agent and say "i've got this idea.." Tell us a bit about what you did to prepare for pitching to agents./ 

Lainie9; It's funny. I am one of the most organized people I know. I really, really read everything and do all my homework. But when it comes to making major steps forward in my career, it seems like I do everything backwards. I don' t know why it works that way! 

Lainie9; Anyway, I've had the idea for a nonfiction book swimming around in my head for about two years and never did anything with it. 

Lainie9; I was attending a writers' conference, and I knew I'd have the opportunity to meet with agents. I signed up for about five or six of these consultations (15 minutes, for which you pay $40!!!). 

Lainie9; The night before the first one, I sat in my hotel room and pulled together a synopsis of the two books (my novel that is a work in progress and the nonfiction book). 

Lainie9; The synopsis included a target market, an overview of the book, and a section about me. It was one page. 

Lainie9; Then I read up on each of the agents I was going to meet with, found out what their interests were, and then first tried to sell myself. 

Lainie9; Agents don't want one-book authors. So in the first few minutes of the meeting, I tried to show them that I was experienced, that I was serious, and that I was going to be around for a long time -- 

Lainie9; And if they didn't sign me, someone else would. 

Lainie9; Then I presented my book concepts to them, leaving them with the one-page sheets. 

Lainie9; Five of the six were interested in seeing my proposal -- which I gave them the impression was completed. In actuality, I hadn't even started! 

LisaB; LOL!/ 

Lainie9; But I had written a proposal before and knew I could pull one together in a week. So I told them all that I would send it as soon as I got back to Mass. 

Lainie9; When we got back home, I spent the next week NONSTOP working on my articles and my proposal. I think I was up until about 1 every morning -- and my DH was out of town on business. It was a crazy time, but fun, too./ 

frenchfoodADM ! 

LisaB; Anne...go ahead... 

frenchfoodADM; I just wanted to say that it makes a difference when you're really passionate about something, obviously you are Lain, great job!/ 

Lainie9; Thanks, Anne- 

Lainie9; That is really true. I told someone else who was asking me for advice, you need to write the book that only YOU can write. 

jackie; okay 

jackie; ? 

LisaB; Lain, had you previously tried to pitch to any agents via mail?/ 

Lainie9; Nope. The closest I came was about a year ago with a totally different book concept -- I had taken a class through the Learning Annex on how to write a nonfiction book proposal. The instructors were agents, and they reviewed proposals from the class. They didn't like mine. :( Oh well.../ 

LisaB; Jackie... 

jackie; So I don't know what I missed, but did you go through an agent? 

Lainie9; That's the stage I'm at now. I have an agent, and she is currently selling my book. 

Lainie9; Book proposal, that is/ 

jackie; Was she your first choice? 

April; ? 

Lainie9; Yes, I had four of the five agents offer to represent me. I was going to meet with them all.... They were very different. 

Lainie9; I went down to NYC to meet with this one -- she is a BIG agent (Bridges of Madison County, the Christmas Box), and I was afraid that I would get lost in the shuffle. 

Lainie9; But I absolutely loved her. We clicked really well. I decided there was no reason NOT to go with her, so I canceled my other meetings./ 

jackie; Okay one last question, I have been using the book by Susan Page "The shortest Distance Between You and Getting Published" is this a good guide? 

Lainie9; I've never read it, so I can't really say. I used two nonfiction book proposal books, one by Elizabeth Lyons and one by Michael Larsen./ 

frenchfoodADM; ? 

LisaB; April...go ahead... 

April; how did you chose,by who who you felt could get you the most , or is it a matter of clicking with someone? 

Kathy; ? 

Lainie9; It was both for me. There was one agent I loved, but she only does nonfiction books. And she isn't the same tier as the agent I eventually selected. She's a member of the AAR, so she's well-respected. But I figured that Laurie (my agent) was A. in New York, B. has everyone's ear and C. has experience./ 

LisaB; Anne..go ahead.. 

frenchfoodADM Are you syndicating anything? I'm trying to get other papers to buy my column and it's slow going, just wondered if you had any luck with that kind of thing/ 

Lainie9; I have sort of self-syndicated, and I'm actually waiting for a call from a very small syndicate. I write a parenting column that is published in California and in Boston. And I resell the pieces online, usually to Myria or ePregnancy. I really would like to have a syndicated column, as that's my true dream. I'll let you know if it happens!/ 

Lainie9; Oh, I should add -- a year ago i was rejected from all the major syndicates./ 

LisaB; Leisa...go ahead... 

Leisa; do we need a proposal with fiction books and is 

LisaB; Leisa...click the "private chat" box off... :) 

Leisa; there a good guide book for doing them?/ 

Lainie9; I really can't answer that, as I have no experience there yet. I do know you'll need a chapter synopsis./ 

LisaB; Kathy...go ahead... 

Leisa; okay thanks 

Kathy; Why is a agent so important? Couldn't you pitch your proposal to a publisher just as well?/ 

Lainie9; I don't think so. I've heard horror stories about unread manuscripts piling up in hallways... And even if you got your manuscript read, who's going to negotiate your contract? Make sure you get paid? Stand up for you? I'm a wimp -- I need a bulldog on my side!/ 

Kathy; LOL That makes sense. I never thought of it like that...Thanks Lain./ 

LisaB; Just thought I'd interject that there is a book out called "Manuscript Submission" by Scott Edelstein...it is a Writer's Digest book and answers a lot of quesitons about novel submissions./ 

jackie; ? 

LisaB; What is the likely time frame of things after your proposal is sold, 

Lain;?/ 

Lainie9; I've promised to deliver the manuscript in six months, so I loosely anticipate selling the proposal before the end of this year, getting it in in June, doing revisions, and seeing it published in SPring 2001./ 

LisaB; Wow! That makes it seem so much more real when you can put a timeline to it, huh? Jackie...go ahead.../ 

jackie; I might be a bit confused. You have an agent and a book, has she sold it for you yet? 

Lainie9; I have an agent and a book proposal. She is working to sell it right now. Just got the revised proposal to her last week./ 

jackie; okay, so the book itself is not written yet? 

Lainie9; Correct. Nonfiction books are sold on basis of proposal./ 

jackie; Are you paying her anything extra, such as photocopying fees or postage fees etc.? There are many Agents who work that way/ 

LisaB; Has your agent given you any helpful advice yet about the book process that you hadn't considered before?/

LisaB; Oopss...sorry...answer Jackie's first... 

Lainie9; She hasn't asked for anything! I'm still waiting to get an agency agreement from her. To my surprise, many agents don't require you to actually sign anything. / 

crystal; ? 

Lainie9; Lisa, to answer your question, I'd say she's given me specific feedback on the proposal, but nothing about the overall process./ 

LisaB; OK...Crystal...go ahead.../ 

crysta;l Lain, had you considered e-publishing? what are your thoughts on the future of book publishing? 

Lainie9; Oh, I'm the wrong person to ask about that! I know a lot of people feel it's a great industry. My PERSONAL feeling is that I want a book I can hold in my hand -- I don't want to either print it out or read it on the screen. So if my proposal weren't bought, I'd just move on to the next one./ 

frenchfoodADM; ! 

crystal; I understand that! I just wonder if it might be easier for us less experienced writers! 

LisaB; Back to the payment thing...I was always under the impression that agents usually made their $$ from taking a percentage of your book's profits, not from you paying them anything up front. Is that accurate?/ 

April; ? 

jackie; ? 

Lainie9; That's true. Many will charge you an administrative fee, or a fee for postage, though. This is true even for the legitimate agents. Most now take 15%./ 

LisaB; Crystal...just to comment on what you said...there are several momwriters who have e-published, and I don't think it is just for less experienced writers. I think it is just another venue for publication, though e-publishers seem more open to working with unpublished authors than print publsihers, I think./ 

LisaB; Anne...go ahead.../ 

frenchfoodADM; I was just wondering if anyone here has bought an ebook online? I confess I bought the "how to become a syndicated columnist" book and it did have great advice, but maybe wasn't quite what I wanted/ 

LisaB; No, I've not had any experience with them. / 

Kathy; ! 

LisaB; April...you're next with your question.../ 

April; you said you'd move on to the next propasal - does that mean you'd give up on the idea of writing the original book (that you proposed ) altogether? 

jackie; (Sorry if I am out of turn, but nothing is happening on my screen) I'm sorry Lain, but I work full time and haven't really had a chance to catch up on what's going on. What is your book about? 

LisaB; Jackie...you'll be up right after April... :) 

Lainie9; April, I would abandon my original book idea and move onto something more salable. I have so many ideas... This is just one. I really think it's publishable, but maybe the time is wrong./ 

Lainie9; Jackie, my book is a career book on how people without technical degrees can get jobs in high-tech./ 

LisaB; Kathy...go ahead.../ 

Kathy; This is a comment on the e-books... Yes I have and I like them a lot, but at the same time, I like the print version as well. 

Kathy; opps sorry.....forgot to put the / 

LisaB; Well, we're about at the end of our hour here...Lain, thanks so much for your contribution here tonight! 

LisaB; Please keep us posted as to the status of your book! 

frenchfoodADM; yes, thanks Lain, love hearing about your work, you ROAR 

Lainie9; Sure! Thanks for having me. :) / 

LisaB; And maybe we can bring you back to fill us in later in the process? 

Kathy; Thanks Lain.....you go girl!!!!! 

LisaB; Any closing comments you'd like to make, Lain? 

April; Thank you much lain - 

Kathy; Thank you Lain 

Lainie9; Hmmm... Just to believe in yourself, take yourself seriously, and act professionally always. You never know who's out there reading your work/looking at you!!/ 

Leisa; I'm grateful for hearing anything encouraging You Go Lain 

Lainie9; Thanks, ladies! 

crystal; I appreciate your taking the time to share! 

LisaB; Thanks bunches, Lain! :) 

Lainie9; Goodnight! 

LisaB; Good night! :) 

............................ jackie left............. 

frenchfoodADM; night everyone, see you in the mail 

April; good night all thanks a bunch ! 

frenchfoodADM; thanks Lisa, I had fun