Self-Publishing 

Diane Pfeifer is a self-published author who writes fun, vegetarian cookbooks. Her comedian husband is also a writer. He writes humorous pregnancy and new baby books. Together they've sold over 300,000 books from their home.

Q. How long have you been working from home?
A. In the publishing business, 10 years; altogether 25.

Q. How many hours do you work in a typical week?
A. About 30-35 hours a week.

Q. Why did you decide to start your own business?
A. I was rejected by one publisher when I wrote my first book (a popcorn cookbook) and decided to do it myself. Also I'd published my own songs and foolishly thought it was the same business.

Q. How did you get started?
A. I read a great book ("The Self-Publishing Manual" by Dan Poynter) and also knew someone in the business for quick answers.

Q. What were the approximate start-up costs?
A. It cost me about $20,000 for computers, designers, printers, illustrators, photographers, recipe testing, etc. Normally, it shouldn't have been that much but my first faux pas was printing 10,000 books (even though it turned out ok later that year when I appeared on "Regis & Kathie Lee").

Q. What were the the hardest obstacles to overcome starting out?
A. For me, it was physically going to stores and trying to sell the book without being discouraged when they didn't buy it. Also I had never been in "business" before and didn't know the lingo.

Q. What are some ways you market your business?
A. I sell mostly to the gift trade which I learned was the most profitable since bookstores can return books (usually ruined as well). I've also done premium deals, my latest for Quaker Oats who will put a coupon for my "Gone With The Grits" cookbook on 16.5 million packages of Quaker Grits this fall.

Q. How do you manage your time?
A. Under normal circumstances (without a baby), I get up easily at about 4:30 a.m. and do all paperwork, correspondence, etc. to start the day off with a clean desk. But with a very wakeful baby, it's been trickier to find that free time. We just hired a lady in our neighborhood to play with the baby and do our shipping/mailing for a few hours in the morning -- but I still spend half the time running in to see what cute things the baby is doing.

Q. How do you separate work from home?
A. I've kept a firm rule: I shut the door to my office at 4 p.m. and very rarely go back in until the next morning.

Q. How do you handle working at home with children?
A. With our new baby, it's been tough because I now have 16 books instead of one. But I use voice mail a lot and even joke on it that I'm probably changing a diaper and will call right back. While it is a definite challenge to keep kids at home, that's why I got into a home business. I'm sure I'm not as productive this year business-wise, but I was very clear about that when I found out I was expecting at 45.

Q. What advice would you give others wanting to work from home?
A. Be sure you have a work-at-home personality (no goofing off because you're home and no working into "family" hours). While I must constantly change hats, I also must use BALANCE and be OK with that. .

Diane Pfeifer has two children ages 1 1/2 and 8 1/2. She is the owner of the Strawberry Patch. Email her at: DiPfeifer@aol.com or view her web site at: http://www.readersndex.com/strawberrypatch.