Being Me Part II: The Book Update

So…

NYCThe Big Apple

After telling you all about the Smoothie Explosion I was prepared to share the outcome of that story and update you on the progress of the book.

I planned to remind you of the loooooooooooong journey the book has been on.

How it all began with the birth of a tiny baby, and the fleeting idea that blew in on the breeze 7 years later: Write your story down.  It will help people.  

How a year (or three) later, I had a newly finished manuscript (made that sound painless, didn’t I?) ready to find a home with a publisher.

I was going to jog your memory of the indie publisher who loved the book, slated it for publication in November of 2011 (yes, last month!) and then fell into financial crisis and was no longer in a position to publish the book.

Then I would have told you how I decided to pursue the path of finding a literary agent, sending out 10, 20, 30, 40 query letters and receiving 10, 20, 30 + rejection letters.  How I’d held one agent in line as my number one choice, you know, Her, from the Smoothie Story, the one I traveled to New York City to meet.

Which would have led us to a table for two at a cozy Thai restaurant on the Upper West Side, where I sat across from my literary agent in a brand-new, non-smoothie covered, dress.

This is where I’d ended the story last week.  Where I’d left you hanging, wanting to hear all about the meeting.

And this is where I’d planned to tell you that the literary agent was just as gracious and elegant as I had imagined her to be.

But this is also where I’d tell you that she was really worried about the current state of the publishing industry, and I would have used words like fearful and negative.

I would have told you how I spent an enitre week trying to make sense of that meeting, that I wondered if I should work with someone who seemed so uncertain.

How I tried to convince myself that I had to because she was a NEW YORK CITY LITERARY AGENT!

And then I would have told you that after going back and forth and realizing all the amazing light and love and support that already surrounded the book, I couldn’t choose a path that didn’t feel just right.

I would have told you how after hitting send on the email thanking the agent for the opportunity to work with her but that I was going to pursue a different path, I’d sat back in my chair and thought and what the hell other path might that be? 

And there my book update would have ended with a hopeful sigh.

I would have told you that one way or another, I would get that book into the hands of the people waiting to read it.

And then (insert a month+ here) my phone rang.

Then a one-woman, force-of-nature, literary agent entered the story.

She loves the book and talks so quickly and so excitedly about publishing houses and newspapers and magazines that I have to ask her to repeat herself just to make sure I’ve heard her correctly.  We get on the phone and laugh and swap stories until one of us fianlly realizes we’ve been on the phone for over an hour.

So without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to my new friend and literary agent (book designer and author, as well), Dede Cummings!

I’ve known her for all of a week.

And in that week, I’ve realized that Dede Cummings is the giant smoothie explosion of positive energy and enthusiasm this book has been waiting for!

brattA Northern Apple – Brattleboro, VT

And as comfortable as I am traveling down to New York, you know, The City, Dede is in Brattelboro, Vermont, which works just fine for me!

Thanks for being a part of this journey!  I can’t wait to hear what you think!

 

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