Monday was the second time.
In July, a fabulous friend of mine had the brilliant idea to 'pitch' me to a producer at a, as it was worded in the query, "National Daytime Talk Show." They were looking for people who'd written a book and wanted to learn more about self-publishing, etc. The catch? The show was a Fifty Shades of Grey themed hour. I thought about it for a hot second and told her to pitch away.
Fast forward to mid-August. My mobile phone rang and I checked to see who was calling. It was a New York number that I didn't recognize so I let it go to voice mail. When I listened to the message I had one of those what-the-hell-is-going-on moments. It was a producer from the brand spanking new Katie Couric Show. They'd gotten my friend's email pitch and wanted to talk to me. To be honest, I'd completely forgotten about the whole thing.
Of course, I panicked slightly. I called my friend who basically told me to breathe for the ten minutes we were on the phone. After I regained human status, I gathered my wits and returned the producers's call.
I spoke with a very nice girl who chattered away about what the show was going to be about. EL James, who wrote Fifty Shades, was going to be the guest and they wanted to know if I'd be interested in asking her a question about self-publishing. Basically, I'd be an audience member who got to stand up during the show and ask a pre-arranged question.
Sure, why the hell not. I sent off a requested photo of myself to the producer and waited to see if I made the cut.
From this point on, the producer & I communicated via email. Last week everything was finalized. They were putting me up in a hotel in New York (The Lucerne), providing car service for me and giving me tips on what to wear. Needless to say, I was excited. Super excited.
I got to New York Sunday afternoon. A shiny black Lincoln Navigator was waiting for me, complete with a sign in the window that said "Katie Show" with my name written underneath. I got to the hotel and promptly found a bar showing the Patriots game. Priorities people, priorities. In a nutshell, I had lots of rum and Coke and couldn't feel my face. A good time had by all.
Monday morning. I was awake before the sun peeked above the horizon. I was nervous. I was excited. I was twitchy. I just wanted to have a good hair day.
The car picked me up at the hotel at 10:30 and drove me to the studio. I was greeted by the producer I'd been in touch with and escorted to the green room. Yes, it was green-ish in color. There were other women, and some men, milling around. We all had a part to play in the show.
Our questions were rehearsed and we were given directions as to how it would all go down. There were seven of us who had pre-arranged questions for EL. Mine was the only one about publishing. Everyone else was asking about Christian Grey or sex toys or something of that nature. Katie would call out our names and we'd stand up to ask our question. Easy, right?
It all hit home for me the minute the audio guy mic'd me. The nerves went away and full on excitement took over. I was escorted to the set. The general audience was already seated. Each of us had an assigned seat with our names on it. We all sat sort of clustered on one side of the set.
The audience warm up guy came out and told silly jokes, did some trivia and gave away prizes. Then, it was showtime.
Can I just tell you how freaking adorable Katie Couric is? Adorable with a capital A. Her set was lit in red. You know, like the Red Room of Pain.
EL was introduced and was incredibly funny and shy and also, adorable. There was a lot of adorableness on this Fifty Shades themed show.....
Now, I'm going to preface this next part by saying that I know how live TV works. I know the time contraints. I'd worked in TV news long enough to know that things get cut. So, you know where this is going.
Only three women got to ask their questions. Like I said, there were seven of us. Even though I didn't get to ask my question, Katie did sneak it in at the end of the show. EL's advice? "Write for yourself. And write everyday."
Done and done.
Oh, and a side note: EL stayed and signed copies of her book for all of us. We also got the Fifty Shades of Grey Soundtrack. Very gracious.
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