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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2007. 9:00AM

look ---> http://www.mediabistro.com/articles/cache/a9852.asp?pntvs=1

i'm famous ! yay !

here is the text (sshh) cuz unfortunately that link is for subscribers only-- it's a super secret private batcave website specifically for "media" peoples only (you have to sell your soul to afford the price of admission. eeheee just kidding!). so here is what the article says (in case you are wondering):

Hey, How'd You Publish An Industry Tell-All?
A maitre d'-turned-author pens a tell-all that gets her banned from restaurants but spurs industry change

By Stephanie Burton – September 12, 2007
RELATED:
Hey, How'd You Become a New Media Agent?
Hey, How'd You Get Rachael Ray on the Food Network?

After 20 years of work in some of the biggest, glitziest, star-studded restaurants in New York City, Abbe Diaz never imagined she'd one day pen a tell-all book, contribute to the New York Post, and host an exclusive, members-only Web forum for restaurant insiders. Below the former hostess, maitre-d, and self-proclaimed "potted plant" explains how she landed in the throes of New York media.

In May 2004, you published PX This: The Diary of a Potted Plant, a personal narrative chronicling your years working at Mercer Kitchen, The Park, Smith, Lotus, Theo, 66 and several others. How did this all come about and what does the term "PX this" mean?
The literal translation for "PX" is in French: personne extraordinaire. In the restaurant industry it means just that: a VIP. When an important person comes into a restaurant, a celebrity, an editor, a political person, whoever, it's the maitre d's job to recognize this person. At most restaurants there's a special slip of paper that the maitre d' will quickly fill out, noting the name of the person, what table they're sitting at, and why they're a "PX." Then they'll slip it to the waiter as quickly as possible.

The term "PX this" is sort of a little stab, almost like an industry curse word. If you're a server and it's the end of a long night, the last thing you want to deal with is a PX. You've been on your feet for hours, dealing with everyone's requests all night and now you're going to have to be extra careful and alert. In your mind you're thinking, "F*ck having to deal with this PX!" which becomes, "PX this!"

Publishing a book was not planned. I didn't go to journalism school. [Diaz graduated from Rutgers with a B.A. in economics.] I was out to dinner one night with a group of friends and we were gossiping about one thing or the other. It seemed like every celebrity or VIP that was mentioned, I'd had some kind of experience or interaction with. I'd spent 20 years working for some big-name restaurateurs, especially Jean-Georges [Vongerichten], and there was always a lot going on in his restaurants.

Someone said, "You should write a book about all of this!" I'd been keeping a journal on my computer [in Word documents] for years, but I'd never thought about it before. This whole conversation took place around the same time Lauren Weisberger's The Devil Wears Prada was published [early 2003]. The idea of a New York City restaurant roman á clef seemed very possible. A few days after that dinner, a friend of mine called to say she had contacts at Ballantine [Publishing Group] and if I was willing to let her act as my independent agent, she was very confident she could push the book through to the right people. [Diaz asked not to name this particular friend as they are no longer on speaking terms]. Within days, I sent her over 30 or 40 pages from my journal.

Since this was your private journal, weren't you worried about revealing things that were excessively personal? Did you change any names or details before sending everything over?
Not really. There were some parts where I thought, "Well, I don't love the fact that everyone might read about this, but I can live with it." As far as names and details, I'd already given a number of the "worst" characters pseudonyms because I didn't want to look at their names in my own journal. Just dealing with them in real life was enough.

Your friend was confident she could put your book in the hands of the right people, but she wasn't a publisher or author. Why did you decide to take her up on her offer?
First of all, this woman wasn't blowing smoke around when she said she could help me. She did have very influential friends and she'd helped people before, so her suggestion wasn't far-fetched. There was no real promise of money -- more a suggestion that a book could lead to bigger things like a movie or publicity. The writing was already done, so I didn't see a risk in taking a chance.

The thing that was truly important to me was the chance to expose the injustices going on at Jean-Georges' restaurants. More times than I can remember, I saw servers lose hard-earned tips because management was taking a share of it. The people who should have been encouraging morale could not have been less interested in the staff.

The subtitle of my book, "The Diary of a Potted Plant," is in reference to how I felt when I was working as a hostess for Jean-George. I was as invisible as a potted plant. I thought if a book could publicize any of the wrongdoings, I was more than willing to put my name on it.

Within a few days your friend came back to you with changes and suggestions from the editors she knew. What was the biggest challenge in meeting their requests?
There were grammar and spelling issues, but the main thing they wanted was to bold-face all of the celebrity names in the book. They wanted it to be very Page Six-esque. I made three pages worth of changes before I had to stop.

My writing had a totally different look and feel. It wasn't the same voice -- it wasn't me. I sounded pompous and vain. I tried to explain to [my friend], "It's not the same book. It's not me!" but she wouldn't listen. Her feeling was, "If you want this to be commercially viable, you have to get over it." My opinion as the author was completely irrelevant.

I asked myself, "Why would I make myself look like an asshole for $10,000? Is it worth it?"

When did you finally decide you couldn't get over it?
The publishing house put me in touch with a lawyer to help protect me any against libel charges. Obviously, he saw I wasn't making the edits. One afternoon, I broke down crying. I told him flat out, "I can't go through with this." At that point, I feel like he stopped being my lawyer and started being my friend. He asked me what I was hoping to accomplish by publishing my work. He asked me the questions that no one else had.

He explained that even though I wasn't expecting to make much money from the book, I should consider the profits. After the publishing house and my friend took the fees, taxes, and all the other royalties, I wasn't looking at much of a payday.

I asked myself, "Why would I make myself look like an asshole, even for $10,000? Is it worth it?" I didn't think so. That's when this lawyer explained to me I had other options. He gave me information about smaller, independent publishing companies that would give me a lot more freedom to publish the book the way I wanted to.

Were you worried what your friend would think when you decided to go your own route with a lesser-known publisher?
At the time I wasn't scared at all. I never in a million years thought she would take it as a slap in the face, but that's exactly how she took it. She thought I was ungrateful, that I was going behind her back to set up my own deal. I never thought she would see it that way. I was naïve. She was furious. To this day, we don't speak.

This July, former employees at eight of Vongerichte's restaurants filed a lawsuit claiming they were paid sub-minimum wages, cheated out of overtime, and forced to share tips with their bosses. How does that feel?
It's great, although I'm sure they'll settle before it ever reaches court. I have documented proof that, yes, those things were going on. I wouldn't hesitate to testify.

The book also affected your personal life. Lois Freedman, widely regarded as Jean-Georges's "right-hand woman" had you thrown out of Mercer Kitchen when you went in for drinks one night. If you were going to do it all over again, would you still make the same decisions?
I have no regrets. When I decided to publish the book, I knew there was no way in hell I was going back [to work] for Jean-George. Despite any criticism or backlash, I'm happy. The best thing about PX This is that it's my own and it's the truth. People can say I created rumors or tried to pump out a salacious novel, but the simple reality is everything I wrote is dated. There's no question about my motives. For that, I always will always be grateful.

Five Things To Know Before Publishing a Tell-All
1) Take a closer look.
You might have a book on your hands and not even know it. "It wasn't until my friend mentioned the idea that I realized I had hundreds of stories sitting around doing nothing," Diaz says.

2) Your idea of a "memoir" might be vastly different from the people who are considering publishing it.
"The [traditional publishing] system is structured to give the author very little control," Diaz says. "You're going to have to play by their rules and make their changes. It's a losing battle to fight what they want. Your work won't be commercially viable to them."

3) The stigma is lifting: Don't be afraid to consider self-publishing.
"There's an inherent integrity in self-publishing that doesn't exist when you take a more traditional route," Diaz says. "You can exercise much greater control over your work. Basically, self-publishing is putting your money and reputation where your mouth is. I believe there will be a day when self-publishing is even more respected than the traditional route."

4) If it's a memoir with your name on it, you better be able to stand by the content.
"After you publish, there's no going back," Diaz warns. "There are going to be critics, but no one can touch you if you write the truth."

5) Fight for a product that is true to you.
"Maintain your integrity," Diaz says. "The final product must be true to what I was going through at that time. No one can take that away from me."

The continuing "sequel" to PX This can be found on Diaz's weblog.

Stephanie Burton is a New York-based freelancer.

yay, me !

:)

• september 14, 2007 "i'm famous, bitch!" • COMMENT on this entry (registration required)