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Date Posted: 10:06:58 07/31/06 Mon
Author: Uncle Sam
Subject: Blooger gets book deal and NBC pilot

With millions of blogs in existence, you'd be forgiven for not recognizing Stephanie Klein as a household name. But her online "diary" is read by more than 200,000 followers, and with a two-book deal and pilot for NBC in the works there's no doubt you'll soon be seeing more of her.

Her blog, called "Greek Tragedy" (http://stephanieklein.blogs.com) — a nod to her part-Greek heritage and a hurtful sorority rejection at Columbia University — focuses on all aspects of her life, from weight struggles and dating to rejection and change.

She began writing it in January 2004, as part of a New Year's resolution to write every day.

So what makes 30-year-old native New Yorker Klein stand out from the rest of the bloggers in cyberspace? For starters, there's a certain Hollywood element to her "had it all, lost it all, struggled to get back on her own terms" story.

At 27, a married and pregnant Klein walked away from her seemingly perfect upper East Side life to start afresh. She divorced the doctor husband she could no longer trust and terminated the pregnancy.

Subsequent despair soon turned into a full-throttle foray into the shark-infested waters of the New York dating scene, detailed in her new memoir, "Straight Up and Dirty" (ReganBooks), which masterfully intertwines the breakdown of her marriage with postdivorce dating exploits.

Think Carrie Bradshaw — with a back story.

But Klein's no one-trick pony. Though she maintains that she read no blogs before starting her own, her confessional, intimate writing style has a magnetic and often voyeuristic appeal that transcends the gloss of her "Sex and the City"-style escapades.

"People do respond to the fact that I write so honestly," she admits. "The writing I'm most proud of is about the rejections I've had in my life. It wasn't easy to write about how you move forward from that. I found that when I worried about people reading what I would write, it became more self-conscious, so I stopped caring and just did it."

In her blog's list of "100 things about me," eyebrow-raising facts are interspersed with the banal: "I have never shoplifted; I wet the bed until I was in sixth grade; I hate salmon or tuna fish out of a can; I have slept with multiple people in the same day, not all at once," she writes. But contrary to revealing her weaknesses, Klein's public honesty has given her strength. "I realized that actually what we fear about being honest is being judged and being told how wrong we are. Being criticized, for the way you're writing, for the way you're living your life, is never really easy, but when I get feedback like 'Wow, I totally relate' and 'Thank you for putting that out there, because it makes me feel less alone,' it balances it out. It makes it worth it for me."

She accepts the inevitable accusations of exhibitionism with grace, conceding that the appeal is "very similar to reality television."

Like reality television, her exposure has had its downside.

"You take the good and the bad; I'm not complaining. There is a loss of privacy. I've been eavesdropped on, with people re-creating what they've heard all wrong and posting it on the Internet. That's a strange feeling. I've also had E-mails saying, 'I hope you get cancer.'"

However, Klein remains positive and feels no pressure to compete with or outshock other popular female confessional blogs, such as "Belle de Jour" or "Washingtonienne," whose sexual honesty has proven equally beguiling.

"I applaud other women who are brave enough to put their lives out there so that other women know that they're not alone," she says.

Despite her success, Klein refuses to let blogging take over her life.

"I write a journal, and if I've got nothing to post, I'll post something out that I've written months ago. So it's not, 'Oh, I've got nothing to write about tonight so I'd better go out so that I've got something to post tomorrow.'"

The flexibility of her blog and a fresh batch of lucrative writing projects, including a second book about her childhood experiences at fat camp, have allowed Klein to start another chapter in her life. She recently moved from Manhattan to Austin, Tex., with her new fiance.

Though she's retained her loyal readership, Klein admits that leaving New York was a challenge.

"I love New York — it's where I've lived my entire life. Leaving was hard, but it was an adventure also. I feel like I'm on vacation in Austin, but I do miss the convenience of New York — going downstairs to the store instead of having to drive for 20 minutes, and being able to just jump in a cab home. And I miss my friends."

However, an undeniable upside of writing one of the country's most widely read blogs is the wealth of potential new friends who have contacted her through her blog.

"I get to meet great people. I get set up on friend dates now," she grins.

Finally on the cusp of fulfilling her ultimate ambitions of having "a family and close friends and being able to write," Klein seems able to put her angst to one side and enjoy her success.

"I'm very happy," she says, smiling.

You can meet Stephanie Klein at 7 p.m. Wednesday, when she'll be discussing her writing and signing copies of "Straight Up and Dirty" at Borders Books & Music, 10 Columbus Circle.

Blogging broken down

* "Blogs are history's easiest publishing tool hooked up to history's best distribution network," says Jeff Jarvis, a blogger at Buzzmachine.com.

* Sign up at a site such as Blogger, Typepad or LiveJournal, and within minutes you're posting to the world.

* About 12 million American adults are blogging, while the number of blog readers has climbed to 57 million.

* Fifty-four percent of bloggers are under 30, and 37% blog about their own life experiences — breaking blogs' political stereotype.

* Fifty-five percent of bloggers write under a pseudonym.

* Eight percent — including Stephanie Klein — earn money on their blogs.

Stephanie Klein

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/439358p-370175c.html

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>With millions of blogs in existence, you'd be forgiven >for not recognizing Stephanie Klein as a household >name. But her online "diary" is read by more than >200,000 followers, and with a two-book deal and pilot >for NBC in the works there's no doubt you'll soon be >seeing more of her. > >Her blog, called "Greek Tragedy" >(http://stephanieklein.blogs.com) — a nod to her >part-Greek heritage and a hurtful sorority rejection >at Columbia University — focuses on all aspects of her >life, from weight struggles and dating to rejection >and change. > >She began writing it in January 2004, as part of a New >Year's resolution to write every day. > >So what makes 30-year-old native New Yorker Klein >stand out from the rest of the bloggers in cyberspace? >For starters, there's a certain Hollywood element to >her "had it all, lost it all, struggled to get back on >her own terms" story. > >At 27, a married and pregnant Klein walked away from >her seemingly perfect upper East Side life to start >afresh. She divorced the doctor husband she could no >longer trust and terminated the pregnancy. > >Subsequent despair soon turned into a full-throttle >foray into the shark-infested waters of the New York >dating scene, detailed in her new memoir, "Straight Up >and Dirty" (ReganBooks), which masterfully intertwines >the breakdown of her marriage with postdivorce dating >exploits. > >Think Carrie Bradshaw — with a back story. > >But Klein's no one-trick pony. Though she maintains >that she read no blogs before starting her own, her >confessional, intimate writing style has a magnetic >and often voyeuristic appeal that transcends the gloss >of her "Sex and the City"-style escapades. > >"People do respond to the fact that I write so >honestly," she admits. "The writing I'm most proud of >is about the rejections I've had in my life. It wasn't >easy to write about how you move forward from that. I >found that when I worried about people reading what I >would write, it became more self-conscious, so I >stopped caring and just did it." > >In her blog's list of "100 things about me," >eyebrow-raising facts are interspersed with the banal: >"I have never shoplifted; I wet the bed until I was in >sixth grade; I hate salmon or tuna fish out of a can; >I have slept with multiple people in the same day, not >all at once," she writes. But contrary to revealing >her weaknesses, Klein's public honesty has given her >strength. "I realized that actually what we fear about >being honest is being judged and being told how wrong >we are. Being criticized, for the way you're writing, >for the way you're living your life, is never really >easy, but when I get feedback like 'Wow, I totally >relate' and 'Thank you for putting that out there, >because it makes me feel less alone,' it balances it >out. It makes it worth it for me." > >She accepts the inevitable accusations of >exhibitionism with grace, conceding that the appeal is >"very similar to reality television." > >Like reality television, her exposure has had its >downside. > >"You take the good and the bad; I'm not complaining. >There is a loss of privacy. I've been eavesdropped on, >with people re-creating what they've heard all wrong >and posting it on the Internet. That's a strange >feeling. I've also had E-mails saying, 'I hope you get >cancer.'" > >However, Klein remains positive and feels no pressure >to compete with or outshock other popular female >confessional blogs, such as "Belle de Jour" or >"Washingtonienne," whose sexual honesty has proven >equally beguiling. > >"I applaud other women who are brave enough to put >their lives out there so that other women know that >they're not alone," she says. > >Despite her success, Klein refuses to let blogging >take over her life. > >"I write a journal, and if I've got nothing to post, >I'll post something out that I've written months ago. >So it's not, 'Oh, I've got nothing to write about >tonight so I'd better go out so that I've got >something to post tomorrow.'" > >The flexibility of her blog and a fresh batch of >lucrative writing projects, including a second book >about her childhood experiences at fat camp, have >allowed Klein to start another chapter in her life. >She recently moved from Manhattan to Austin, Tex., >with her new fiance. > >Though she's retained her loyal readership, Klein >admits that leaving New York was a challenge. > >"I love New York — it's where I've lived my entire >life. Leaving was hard, but it was an adventure also. >I feel like I'm on vacation in Austin, but I do miss >the convenience of New York — going downstairs to the >store instead of having to drive for 20 minutes, and >being able to just jump in a cab home. And I miss my >friends." > >However, an undeniable upside of writing one of the >country's most widely read blogs is the wealth of >potential new friends who have contacted her through >her blog. > >"I get to meet great people. I get set up on friend >dates now," she grins. > >Finally on the cusp of fulfilling her ultimate >ambitions of having "a family and close friends and >being able to write," Klein seems able to put her >angst to one side and enjoy her success. > >"I'm very happy," she says, smiling. > >You can meet Stephanie Klein at 7 p.m. Wednesday, when >she'll be discussing her writing and signing copies of >"Straight Up and Dirty" at Borders Books & Music, 10 >Columbus Circle. > >Blogging broken down > >* "Blogs are history's easiest publishing tool hooked >up to history's best distribution network," says Jeff >Jarvis, a blogger at Buzzmachine.com. > >* Sign up at a site such as Blogger, Typepad or >LiveJournal, and within minutes you're posting to the >world. > >* About 12 million American adults are blogging, while >the number of blog readers has climbed to 57 million. > >* Fifty-four percent of bloggers are under 30, and 37% >blog about their own life experiences — breaking >blogs' political stereotype. > >* Fifty-five percent of bloggers write under a >pseudonym. > >* Eight percent — including Stephanie Klein — earn >money on their blogs. ><img >src="http://www.nydailynews.com/ips_rich_content/826-kl >ein2.JPG"> >Stephanie Klein > >http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/439358p-370175c. >html
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