This content is a discussion between author Lauren Smith and her editor Jennifer Smith about the launch of Smith's debut novel, "Someday Maybe," exploring the writing process, inspirations, and the transition from acting to authorship.
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okay get
can you hear me yeah you can hear you
love my
bracelet it's just a piece of leather
with a little wait with
a thingy on
it this is what the whole video chat's
GNA be like
guys okay so everybody can hear
us yeah I think they can hear us okay so
but now this picture looks weird is it
okay I think yeah it is okay uh hi
everybody I'm Jennifer Smith I'm
Lauren's editor here at random house so
um Lauren and I are going to chat for a
little bit and then about sort of the
writing the book Happy Pub day to Lauren
it's it's the first day I couldn't have
done it without you thank you thank you
it's uh Lauren's been a published author
for like 12 hours now so how does it
feel very strange because all I've done
is talk about how it feels so I haven't
really felt it because I've just been
trying to explain to people how it I
don't know feels yeah yeah um so sorry so
so
um we're like sitting so close I know um
so the first question is um why why it's
two parter um first of all why a book
and secondly why a novel because I feel
like a lot of actors do like a cookbook
or a memoir or a picture book and yours
have some pictures but mine mostly words
um I really wanted to do something I
want this is a story I wanted to tell I
I I don't enti know where uh the
creative impulse to do things comes from
I really don't I don't know um I don't
know why I woke up and wanted to be an
actor but um I knew that I did not want
to write a memoir I knew I did not
wanted write a book yeah that's good um
I don't like to cook so I would have
been much less interested I do like to
cook but I would rather read somebody
else's cookbook um and I really wanted
to talk about what it was like to I
wanted to try to tell a story about what
it's like to start out at at anything
and the and acting happens to be the
world I know the best um great so uh it
was announced last week that Parenthood
got renewed which I'm very excited about
because I love the show but also because
you were so productive as a writer while
on set so much more than you were isn't
that weird that I'm more productive with
another job they always say if you want
something done give it to a busy person
like busy sort of um but I wanted to
hear about sort of your writing routine
on set and off yes I think there's
something about the Parenthood day which
is where uh also where the idea to write
came from because sometimes I'm off for
three hours or the afternoon or just the
morning or I have a day and there's
nothing really that can fill that time
um I couldn't do a play you know I
couldn't like go shoot a movie so I
thought what kind can I kind of give
myself to have a creative outlet and um
and so this is what it was and the and
the easier thing about Parenthood is I
have a trailer that and I get I have a
TV that gets like three channels and so
um there isn't much to do there it's not
an attractive trailer there's no good
art in there the bathroom's terrible I
can't there's nothing like to play with
you know so I would sit in my computer
and um and it's quiet and I did get a
lot done there so I'm glad that we have
22 Episodes for me to continue to get
things done don't get cable or any art
no well I have cable but it's okay okay
um so was this is your obviously your
first book was there anything that sort
of surprised you about the writing
process or what was your favorite part
or worst it really really surprised me
how much would happen if I would just um
work and it really surprised me how much
the characters and the world would take
on a life of their own and speak back to
me at risk of sounding insane or direct
sort of go in an unexpected Direction um
but as you I think said to me many times
like you can't you can't revise
something that isn't
there and um so sometimes even when I
didn't feel that I had that I was saying
exactly what I wanted to say I tried to
push through and no matter what I came
up with it was better than nothing yeah
that is true always better yeah um so
did you find it isolating it all after
you know acting so collaborative um or
did you like the creative Independence I
liked it both I found it isolating and
sometimes I would see friends or whoever
at the end of the day and and I would
feel insane like I would feel like I
hadn't like talked to anybody and and I
would feel really strange
um uh I didn't like sitting that was the
that was um I don't know if I have to
get like one of those treadmill
desks it was so that was was so crazy is
to sit that long because I haven't had a
a job that requires sitting you know in
a long time so that was just strange my
us yay yay okay hi sorry this is why s
sucks you guys this is what I've been
saying all along the video chat is
confusing to me it's still confusing I
don't understand what is going on and
thank you for sticking with us we'll
stay here and we'll talk for a long time
to the point where you want us to shut
up okay a little bit more for me and
then we'll we'll open up to questions um
so um not to open myself up to
complaints but what was the editorial
process what you expected
um I actually first of all you're a
wonderful editor and I learned a lot and
it was it was something that it was a
partnership I can see being
um brought with as I can see being
really difficult because it really is a
partnership it really is somebody you
need to work well with and and um and
trust and I would say at times I
actually expected this is I was always
like this about uh you know Hollywood
too I I I always thought somebody was
gonna be like it's terrible it's
horrible you should throw this all out
and start all over again like I expected
like you know scary I expected you to be
like who do you think you are you're
insane and you'd be like no I really
like it and I was like remember in the
beginning I had to be like Jen just cuz
you like Parenthood don't you be easy on
me you tell me you tell me if this is
terrible and you were very positive and
encouraging and then also extremely
exacting and um and and precise and I
would say in some cases I didn't take
your good ideas just because I was
trying so hard to be independent and not
and not feel like I you know was leaning
I really wanted this to be my successor
failure and it is I mean it was it was
good I mean I think the best the best
writer out relationships it's really a
dialogue and I feel like you have those
authors who take every single note
because they're like you're my editor of
course I'm gonna listen to you and then
you have the ones who are like I'm an
artist I'm not taking anything and you
are sort of somewhere in between where
you you thoughtfully considered every
everything and then um and then took the
ones that you want to and I would say
some of the most helpful and now I see
it myself um and I saw it really in
Reading when I read the audio book but
there are a lot of habits I have or even
tastes I have that have to do with
working mainly from script yeah so I
really like dialogue and it's harder for
me to slow down and kind of set the
scene and say she picked up the pen and
wrote on the you know because my mind
fills that in as an actor I'm used to
thinking o and then I'll do this or you
get a stage direction or but so so that
was challenging to me to to um to set
the scene yeah um but I see when I read
the audiobook I there were places where
I thought this is a lot of dialogue so
I'll fix it next time
oh well yes well you want to talk so
you're working well you're you're you're
working you're starting new book a
second book do you want to talk about
that at all or not really because you're
no I mean I I
Envision I Envision this character the
same main character having her first
year in Los Angeles and in the way that
it isn't she doesn't have like huge
successes or um you know she doesn't
become uh well known or anything but
I would like the idea of at least this
character maybe some of the others in
Los Angeles for a year whether she goes
back to New York or stays in Los Angeles
I'm not sure um but I like kind of
centering the world around the cast of a
show yeah and I don't know if the show
will succeed or fail or what kind of
show exactly it is don't say
anymore don't give it all okay and then
at the end you don't even have to buy it
and then draw my um so actually I want
to talk about that so for was it hard
for you to balance the book is
ultimately hopeful in terms of like
prospects with acting but you know was
it hard just balance that with the
realities of it's obviously sort of a
tough you know it's a tough business and
I had a librarian actually I was talking
with this book with a lot of librarians
who said you know is this book okay for
my teenage daughter who's obsessed with
theater and I immediately was like oh
it's totally fine like it crosses over
to ya and she was like no no no I mean
like is it going to crush her hopes in
terms of want to be an actor so how was
it was it hard to sort of because you
did talk about like how it's baby steps
and yeah I mean I knew I wanted it to be
a kind and hopeful story and so I you
know I would never Crush anyone's hopes
and dreams on purpose um but yeah to me
it's about the realities somewhat it's
about the realities of someone who
really deserves to be there yeah and um
and still is going to face all kinds of difficulty
difficulty
um but yeah I guess I wanted it to be
encouraging not just to somebody trying
to be an actor but to the idea of your
20s as a time when the learning curve
for everything is huge and and and you
don't know if you're going to get what
you ultimately dream of you know yeah um
so um this is I know not your favorite
question in the world but even though
the book is fiction there's obviously
you know it's sort of loosely based on
your experiences do you want to sort of
like set the record straight on how like
I mean to me I guess I there's no
um there's a piece of me in all of these
characters and that was part of the fun
too of creating a world there's a piece
of me and the old asmatic agent there's
a you know there's so it's it's it's not
just that main character it's a world I
know and like but it was similar to me
to the process of acting which is I
started from things I knew and then kind
of fictionalized a l which is like any
debut novels I me I think there's
especially of debuts there's always sort
of a lot and it's true it's not just
everybody will go right to Franny but it
really is it sort of fits of everything
but there's no there's no relationship
I'm trying to talk about there is no
there was no you know person who none of
the other characters are stand-ins for
you know a person in my real life and so
in that way it's not like it's not like
I'm writing a me you know like I sort of
thinly veiled a memoir or something um
so okay speaking of the old asthmatic
agent Barney who my favorite charact you
know I love Barney um I was my not more
Barney um so he's really funny and the
book is really funny and it's it's
actually even for funny people it's not
always easy to to be funny on the page
and I feel like sometimes my notes to
you were literally just like you funnier
and you did it immediately and and but
the but the book has sort of a lot of
heart to it too was it did that come
easily to you the humor part wasn't hard
to sort of balance the two it was hard
to balance the two I I think I
envisioned it more the way I speak which
is um I think a lot of people are
probably Envision no I know and I hope
you're not disappointed but I found it
hard to structure a 350 page novel in a
Snappy sort of voice that's not
ultimately I don't think it's
sustainable necessarily I think it would
have been easier in a memoir to write the
the
way I you know try to be on a talk show
or something but I was surprised at how
much um I don't know Nostalgia I had for
this time and that I wanted to bring
some depth to these characters in this
story and you know I will say so far in
the work I've done on this next one it
is slightly brighter I would say and
it's easier to make fun of La it's a
place that is pretty funny and I think I
in in the parts of me that reached back
to that time in New York I I feel real
affection for it and it doesn't and it
wasn't a funny time yeah you know it it
was and I think for most people um
there's such vulnerability in in
starting out and that's just kind of
what came up to me you know um I think
as this person grows and gets more
confident and you know gets in more like
originally I conceived it as like a
bunch of wacky scrapes of like audition
mishaps and that's just not what it
turned into yeah well I mean it's really
the New York part it's such a love
letter to the city I mean it's so it's
so much fun to sort of the 90s thing
where you have Time Square being this
very dangerous place and I kept calling
you out on think like the mcdlt Jen was
like I I wrote about a mcdlt does anyone
know what this is it was a sandwich
McDonald's had in the '90s where the hot
part was hot on the hot side and then
the cold part was uh you know it was
kept your lettuce and tomato separate
does anybody care about this like no um
and then so you could have the two
together and not because we have such
problems with our lettuce getting hot
what and so I said mcdlt and Jen was
like do you mean BLT I was like no I
never heard of person I went back and
watched the commercials and it seemed
like a pretty ridiculous sandwich right
um so did you ever have a file and was
it doodled as oh yeah I that's also
something those haven't gotten their
order yet there's filofax do we have a
book we could show do we have a book I
just signed like the 10,000 million of
them they're are great one of my
favorite parts of the book is there are
filofax pages that are covered in Lauren
Doodles um throughout throughout the
pages um so did you have one a
mcdlt yes I had file of facts
and so maybe maybe we should
show more doodled page more more
um it's something that is only recently
gone out of use you know which is that
you had to write your appointments down
and then you would get no I'm gonna
answer this Franny Banks has to do with
um in the story Franny and Zoe the
Salinger the two Salinger short stories
come into play and that's uh partially
where Franny's name comes from answer to
somebody's question I just saw um but
one thing I miss even though and I've to
revive it and it doesn't quite happen is
is to write down the my week because at
the end of the year you look at at the
pages and you can see the weeks that
were full and the weeks that were empty
know and just that tactile and then at
the end of the year you sort of put it I
would put it away and I would get fresh
new pages and there's something you know
that you don't have you don't have when
you write it on your phone yes let's all
try to keep our appointments in a book
um doodled horses are Doodles I'm sorry
I get distracted by your good questions
doodled horses are Doodles because it's
one of the only things I know how to
draw you did it really well thanks you
wrote about it before you drew them and
I was wondering the whole the whole
process how the horses and hats were
gonna turn out they turned out really
nicely um so um I was gonna ask you how
Franny and Zoe sort of made its way into
into the book but also what are some of
your favorite alltime favorite books
which is a question I actually have to
say I hate because it always like all
the books you read go out of your head
immediately well also people keep asking
me what's my f my most recent favorite
book and and I keep saying the same
thing because once I started trying to
work on my next book I stopped reading
yeah because I feel too guilty because
I'm supposed to be working you and um so
I don't know um uh I don't I can't even
give a list of favorite books
necessarily I just saw somebody say oh
she looks so exhausted thanks guys
wow really feeling great she been really
busy she's she's been running around you
it's wonderful Lighting in here let me
tell you the overhead fluorescent is I
recommend it highly I'm just gonna do
the rest of it like this should we do
some audience questions now Kate yes
let's do audience questions because
that's what I'm doing anyway um um wait
but what were you saying though oh
favorite book uh uh only that again en
channeling a time of um in the world of
of being in your 20s and and maybe a
little earlier that that
um those that Salinger stuff was
especially important then and um and
it's just always something that has
stuck with me and it's something for a
while it was even woven into the plot
more that she has finds this huge
parallel and then it just didn't make
sense it's one of the things I sort of
um dropped I love the character of Dan
too chrisell the best who would who
would I see playing him I don't know
because all these people have to be in
like May Whitman playing playing Franny
May Whitman my TV daughter although May
has such confidence but she could act it
she could you know I just see you need
somebody like spunky and and special um
so uh yes there's pictures at the
signing you guys but we're figuring out
how to do them it may be like a I'm
sitting at a desk and you stick your
head in but we're going to do pictures
for sure um I don't have my file effects
from 1995 or it would have come in way
handy because we had it was really we
put the art Department to um uh it was
it was a yeah a lot of work to to get
what I thought would be kind of a simple
um you know uh thing I would stand at
the signing but I have to sign oh you
did that for guys doll you had to stick
your head in I'm sorry we're trying to
figure it out but I'm trying to I'm not
coming to the UK have I read my editor's
books are you kidding I love them they
are wonderful and you should read them
too out recently this is what happiness
looks like thank you
on it's fun to do this with Jen because
she doesn't get to do it as often
although you've done more author events
than I have yeah but not on the scale
what you're doing but I like talking to
you so thank you for doing this because
it helps it helps me not feel nervous
cuz I still have I'm nervous I am
nervous the nervous you know like
probably Kelly RI is not more like
nervous than you when you're giving
interview so you I don't know I don't
know you don't know maybe Kelly Ripa is
nervous I had fun probably not as
nervous as me though um so do we want to
actually do some like video sessions or
are we doing that hi graham crackers I
give you a shout out I'm just gonna
Rogue do questions that I see this has
gone off the rails keep keep some text
ones okay um what has been the best part
of this premere week finally that it's
here I have been nervous and waiting and
I am excited to be talking to you and
saying thank you to all the people who
have been so sweet reading up to this
and it's exciting to sort of um to be
here it's a long process being a writer
I mean Laur yeah I mean Lauren start you
started this book you know well over two
years ago and we acquired the book two
years ago it's so it's it's been a long
time coming yeah TV where you're filming
an episode and then it comes out uh yes
well and even I mean sometimes you do a
movie and it takes a while but you can
kind of move on and forget about it in a
way and then also it's you know a lot of
other people's hands go into it so by
the time you see it it's something else
it's not just the last thing you did
it's oh there's music and you know they
adjusted the color and in this case you
can't blame the director although I'm gonna
gonna try
try [Music]
[Music]
um Fred is in California taking care of
his child um I okay the title oh that's
interesting how do we come up with the
title well the title was originally um
faster funnier louder which is something
Barney Sparks says to her and is also an
old theater expression and I thought it
would be funny given how much he speaks
in cliche that he gives her this
profound advice that in a way is
profound and in a way is the simplest
thing you know it's like it's there's no
place like home or something and but um
the Publishers felt the director blame
in blaming the director the Publishers
felt that it was felt too much like
theater like too inside and too and it
was a little too Punchy like the book
has a lot of heart and that was sort of
set up to be like this very right yeah
sharp it sounds sharp Som a little bit
whistful yes but you came up with that
in about two I was so scared to tell
well because I know that's right and and
I because I had actually thought I
thought that someday somebody maybe was
going to be a suggestion because to me
that was it's just a passage in the book
where Franny is dreaming of someday when
she will not be in this place where she
doesn't have any money and doesn't have
a job and doesn't have a boyfriend and
you know that someday she will feel like
she belongs on I think she's walking
down Fifth Avenue and I do like cheese
balls but not cheese balls I like I like
cheese Crispies and I don't even like
cheese puffs I just thought cheese puffs
is funnier but I like crunchy cheese
puffs but I try not to eat them but I do
like them
myself um was I influenced by any of my
high school English teachers I would say
I had uh first of all I was an English
major at Barnard college and that whole
time was a huge influence on me and I
had a drama a teacher named Brian Nelson
in high school who was also just a very
smart um person who um was a huge
influences and and is writer himself now
um hi Brian Nelson that's nice of you
you guys are so fast um did I ever
accidentally walk into the wrong
audition like Franny um just not
entirely but uh it's I was trying to
show the world of these confusing
audition rooms um where you always feel
like you're in the wrong Place uh no
matter no matter what what was the worst
audition you ever had I couldn't even
pick one I couldn't even pick one here's
one that was really particularly
horrible that I was talking about the
other day I auditioned from Mike Nichols
you know who that is giant director um
and I was so
nervous and I had prepared but I was so
nervous I left out an entire page of the
scene so it made no sense I went from
one line and then he gave me or somebody
gave me the next line and then I was
like but they're all wearing blue or
something like it made no sense and he
was so nice and didn't really say
anything and I mean didn't say that I
like oh you dropped a page and um but I
still think about it because that was my
one chance to audition for Mike Nichols
and it was over you brought a lot of
emotional truth to this in the book
those are the fun I mean they make me
I've read this book probably I can't
count how many times those make me laugh
out loud every single time God you're
nice I there will be more um because
there's no matter how many times you
have a bad audition and think that you
can't possibly ever go through that
again it will happen and some new the
phone rings somebody's eating a sandwich
you got interrupted there's a siren
going off outside I mean it's just an
endless parade of things that can yes f
for bucks
um Diane Keaton here's the thing about
Diane Keaton uh said to me um one day
and it's in the acknowledgements in the
book When We Were doing the movie
because I said
so you know you should write a book and
I was I thought wh why would she what
but it was it's something about the
power don't ever forget it of someone you
you
admire lifting you up and saying
something nice and and and giving and
saying I believe in you for no
particular reason I just um do you like
the water bottle I um I just uh I don't
know she just yeah saw she just was
encouraging and and it meant so so much
um you love the wedding polka dot cake
in that movie
movie
um sorry I'm reading things they're
moving really fast yeah they're moving
really fast there's not yet a book tour
in Europe I am going to Spain this summer
summer
um come to Minnesota I do
regularly but not for this book Ray
Romano or Jason Ritter I don't know I
don't know if we have of them for the
show next year so I can't even I can't
even try like get my hopes up to to to
think about either story because we may
not have the
actor to yeah do it so um Jason Jason
Jason Jason Jason wow uh maybe Sarah
will get really career focused Sarah
needs to stop sleeping on a pull out bed
and um and and anywhere from there would
oh Ray Ray nice okay see this is exactly
how yeah Ray for sure
um how about Seth I know John Corbett uh
I haven't read 50 Shades of Gray Am I
the only person in the universe you Mak
me blush again just talking about it I
haven't read it Jason Scott Patterson
you haven't read it either um Digger
Digger Chris aaman good one Katie
what's more nerve-racking opening night
on Broadway or debuting your first novel
I think they're all pretty
nerve-wracking and I would like to try
to pick a next hobby or pursuit or
career that was that had it was easier
and not so um not so scary but I don't
know I also feel here's something about
writing the book completing it um was it
I felt
really um you know it's it is not
perfect but I was better at the end than
I was when I started and I thought God
what else could this apply to like if
you just kind of put your mind to
something and and practiceing it was
incredible how much you I mean you were
great to start with which is why I
wanted to buy the book because you have
a great voice that's sort of naturally
funny and charming and the characters
were great but it was amazing watching
over the course of like the you know
couple years we worked on it by the end
it was just yeah long time so take that
guys no matter what if you have practi
makes you better if not perfect it's not
me on the cover of the book it's a nice
we we really that was another thing Jen
was incredibly helpful with the cover
she found that photograph of the
Brooklyn Bridge and we needed a person
on it and we kept getting these examples
of people who I just didn't feel looked
like even the back of Franny like you
know for those who read the book they
looked like the perfume lady version of
Franny it looked like an ad for someone
you know thinking about their life and I
was like it's spunky she's got to have
life and you know yeah and we looked for
a girl on a bicycle and it was hard to
find so we ultimately got um got someone
to to pose and I'm happy with how the
cover looks great yeah Lauren and I
designed it it doesn't usually happen
that way yeah um I don't know if I'm
going to direct an episode of Parenthood
Peter has directed some great episodes
and I think I have enough careers for
now I think I I think I have enough to
to focus on and um and but I would like
to direct
someday um Twitter I first of all I love
talking to you guys on Twitter I love
hearing from you I I love especially on
a day like today when I'm feeling
nervous to get your support and like
feel cheered on is really incredible and
then I get nervous sometimes when I feel
I'm letting you down I'm not tweeting
enough and like who can forget Mike
ell's um criticism of me that I gave me
a B on my tweeting I'm seeing him this
week we'll discuss it um but no it's
been really fun and and uh and nice to
hear from you oh A+ thanks Amber Martin
A++ plus A++ plus thanks W Melle W
Buel are there any parts of the book you
hope will really stand out to people any proud
proud
of I I really like um to me the sort of
last third of the book um and
you know I'm happy with how things kind
of all came together I like um the
wedding scene that for a long time Jen
was like where's the wedding scene
because I kept saying then there's a
wedding scene with I would get this
whole stck of pages and it would be a
fluid story and then there would
literally be a thing that just this
wedding scene and then like why you g to
write the wedding scene and then I wrote
the wedding scene and I like it and I
just like it as a relationship moment of
because I've definitely and especially
then had strange things where you're
like am I with a friend is this
something more and you know those are
always weird in uh in your 20s
especially writer block for sure and um
but not I I guess I think of writer's
block as something you have first of all
when you're already a published author
and then you go through a tough time
where you feel like you can't write I I
would have writers block day when I had
set aside a whole day to do my work and
I was like I'm gonna really get a lot
done and then I would not get anything
done Google Pao and then I would Google
patio furniture and truly I keep meaning
I have to take a picture of
of the Asian food ingredients um none of
which I have used um if they made a bad
Santa too which for a while they were
talking about making hi Josie uh Jossie
know her name is Jossie um and I don't
know then and there were like excited
phone calls about Bad Santa 2 and then
um then it never happened Welcome to
Hollywood guys it's only like half of
what anybody ever says happen yes Jen's
editing her next book too I'm editing it
too yeah yes yes you're editing it too
um movie I feel like if someday somay
maybe was anything it would be a um Tv
show uh but I'm not really there yet
seeing as how it just came out today but
no I mean I can't help but think how
much fun that would be and um and I so I
don't know that's the kind of stuff that
happens I guess after today um my oh the
movie I'm filming in Atlanta was great I
am done they're still working on it I
think it's going to be I mean it's
called right now A Fran Christmas
miracle um I don't know what it's going
to be called um yes I can read that
fast you can Bank on banks you know
what's funny about the first episode of
the show Christel you can Bank on banks
you can Bank on banks is a line in the
next book I'm working on uh Franny gets
an article about her in The Hollywood
Reporter and that's the kind of um
title they would give it my favorite
color it's
blue um hi
Robin um the TV show that doesn't exist
that people are already asking me about
um would be set in the 90s yeah but that
would be the first thing they would
argue about that' be the first budget
thing that to go they'd be like listen
it can't really be New York in the 90s
um but we would try
try
uh what hair color do I prefer on May I
think she's beautiful no matter what
she's very brunette right now which
makes her look more makes us look more
alike for the show which I think is nice
but I feel like she can get away with
literally anything do I like Dolly
Parton yes I
do I would like to do Broadway again um
but boy is it tough and I uh my god um
I'm answering clearly a random slew of
questions but I figure that's what we're
here for i' H would I dye my hair ever
I've dyed my hair every color in the
world and it's so fried I I can't dye it anymore
anymore
um hi Nora Lizzie and mo
mo
um will I be on bun heads I don't know
people ask me this I don't think you
need me on bun heads Sutton Foster is
awesome and uh I think it's such a
wonderful show and
um they don't need me I love that Kelly
Bishop too um Fred has not read my novel
yet he's just starting it I just gave it
to him um can we go to Mexico City for
dinner I'm in New York you know what I
don't have a good Mexican restaurant to
go to in New York anybody I don't we
don't I don't have a do you oh no I'm
just expecting
that my sister and I were trying to go
out last night and we really had a tough
time figuring out a place to go
how
much I can't go to dinner with you
tomorrow I'm
sorry um American Idol really oh it's 2:
am. guys go to
sleep my favorite thing to do in New
York City is walk and I'll tell you and
I'm not just saying this because because
of this my my favorite thing to do in
New York City which I try to do every
time I'm here is walk across the
Brooklyn Bridge it just makes me feel
like I'm in New York and um I don't know
it's a nice I have friends in Brooklyn I
can like go over and and visit them um I
can't hang out with you the Random House
open house because I have to work but
I'll say hi and we'll um take
pictures um is Peter reading your book
now he better be no I think he is I feel
I I have to say I don't feel very
um like when I think of you know I think
this is I I hope that there are men and
who will read the book and I hope that
my the men in my life my boyfriend my
dad and other good friends will read it
but it's to me they're not your Target
demographic it's not the even though I
said the opposite in USA Today well you
were being politic which is
understandable but [Music]
[Music]
um uh you've done it all movies TV
Broadway which is your favorite and
books and author um of the
four I don't know it's it's not it I
don't think it's uh medium specific it's
it's it's more
um Project Specific some projects are
just have a great life to them and have
a great energy to them um this movie I
just did was a ball and really fun and
just a great group of people and um and
you know all these shows and Oliver
Platt is in the movie which was so fun
because I hadn't worked with him since
guys and dos he's he's been he's my
friend and I see him all the time but um
but I hadn't like worked with him in
another capacity in so long so that was
really fun yeah so maybe one more
question um just cuz Lauren has to go go
talk no I oh yes I have to go do Watch
What Happens live but weirdly not live
because airing on Thursday I'm probably
not supposed to say that but I am doing
it tonight and I'm pretending like it's
live on Thursday this is part of
Hollywood guys so one more question
let's see someone write a good
one I'm doing Ellen on Monday no but
that's also weird because it's airing on
Tuesday Ellen were air on Tuesday the
7th what kind of advice would I give to
Young aspiring authors you're so nice to
ask me given that I am a new at it
myself but I again was really moved by
just set yourself a goal of words and
just fill it and worry about how it all
fits and how you're going to fix it later
later
um and in the same vein advice to young
actors would be um there's so much you
can do now that you couldn't do when I
was starting out in terms of research
there's so much uh to see and you should
be educated to in in you know what's out
there and what you see yourself doing
and you know where you think you can fit
and you can read so much and great uh
you know plays and um scripts and so
just educate yourself as much as you can
um well and I think we're gonna say good
night thank you guys so much for being
here thanks Lauren for chatting with us
um everybody I know you all pre-ordered
a copy of someday someday maybe but feel
free to order a second one um or an Audi
book or a Kindle um or sorry or an ebook and
and
uh no brand specific um but thank you so
much thank you all for being to I hope
you all love thank you to Germany thank
you to Italy thank you to Norway thank
you to everywhere Brazil Spain Mexico
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