Tomorrow, I leave for New York City—to spend the weekend with my oldest, Hannah Fons, and to meet my agent Ms. Evans in person. Hannah and I have some neat plans, including Friday night’s Art Battle New York, (a live painting competition with artists as contestants), a wine-and-cheese tasting yacht cruise, on which I hope to catch up with longtime family friend Captain Greer, and some serious Lower Manhattan traipsing.
Plans for Tuesday with my agent Ms. Evans aren’t finalized yet, but I’m guessing they’ll include lunch. I simply can’t wait to meet her! What writer wouldn’t be jazzed to meet the person who, when queried, responded, “Why don’t you go ahead and send me your full manuscript?” And who said when we talked on the phone, “We’ll want to get you a two-book deal.”
Earlier this week, I happened to touch base with BJ, a longtime friend who works in publishing in New York, a specialist in craft and fashion genres. Years ago, when Quilter’s Complete Guide (coauthored by Liz Porter and myself) was on its way to becoming “the bible of quiltmaking,” BJ was crafts book buyer for Book-of-the-Month Club and chose our title as a main selection. I had the opportunity to visit her at Time, Inc., when in New York once upon a time and got a tour of offices on her floor. (I’ll never forget us stepping into a small conference room that had a counter piled high with coverless, pre-publication novels where employees could take as many as they wanted.)
In corresponding with BJ on Monday, I mentioned the name of my agent, to which my friend replied:
She is a top agent, and well respected. I am sure she will get your book in the hands of the right editors. I haven’t worked with her personally, but she has a great background, has great authors, and has agented books that have done very well! I don’t know much about the agency because I haven’t worked with them, but they are top notch also.
Reading this from BJ put me in a state of euphoria I’m still enjoying. Apparently the NYC publishing world is not unlike the US quilting industry. People who’ve spent a career in it know who’s who. I feel the way a budding quilter might feel if she found out her new quilting friend was Alex Anderson, Barbara Brackman, or Tulia Pink! See you soon, Ms. Evans!
It sounds like a perfect long weekend. And to know there’s a stamp of approval from a trusted friend regarding your agent! Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy and then share with your readers what happens!
Janie, thanks for your well wishes, and, yes, I’ll definitely be reporting on my adventures in NYC!
Euphoria. What a nice place to be. Especially after all your hard, hard work.
Indeed, Brian, and as one of my writer friends says, “We know what hard work it is to write, but we do it anyway.”
I envision your response as it was during our retreat. Excitement, Euphoria, Ecstatic! You go girl. This is so well deserved.
Enjoy New York! Have fun with Hannah! And good luck with meeting your agent and getting your book published!
Oh, Marianne! I’m so excited for you! Enjoy your time with Hannah (please tell her I said “hi”!), Ms. Evans, and NYC! I’ll be there this weekend, too, so I’ll be waving from wherever I am to wherever you are! 😃
Thank you, Kelly. Who knows, we may spot each other crossing a street. It happens! Have a swell time yourself.
Best of luck, Marianne, on this new option in your life! Hope the meeting and visit to NYC is a memorable adventure!
Oh Marianne, I’m just SO excited for you and all the good things that are happening. Best of luck with everything, and enjoy your time with your daughter. Best wishes to you from Columbus where I’m learning:-)