Never, Never, Never Give In ~ Pt. 4
A behind the scenes post on heading to New York to search for an agent (again)
Welcome:
In my last “Never, Never, Never Give In” post, I sent a box of Deluxe and Delicious pears to my PR pal at Penguin, the editor at Crown, and finally to Kim at Simon & Schuster. 🍐🍐🍐
I also wrote a personal note to each woman and followed up with a phone call a few days later.
At Penguin, my friend in the PR department was surprised and delighted with the gift and passed the book to a big-time editor specializing in creative non-fiction. She also gave me the woman’s number to follow up directly. I promptly sent this woman a box of pears, along with a note of gratitude that also mentioned the book was being read over at Simon & Schuster and generating excitement.
At Crown, my editor pal had also received the fruit. She said she was touched and appreciative but was unfortunately buried with other projects. I told her it was being read at Simon & Schuster. This lit her up a bit, and when we hung up, she promised to get to it…soon.
Kim was blown away by the box of pears. “I passed them out to everyone who is reading the book and told them, ‘The author sent these with her thanks, isn’t that amazing?’” My enterprising friend was using my gift to promote my book. What a brilliant idea!
According to Kim, these pear-eating editors were now hiding in their offices or the coffee room to read the manuscript. “And They love it,” Kim reported. “Honestly, I might have an offer for you in two weeks—a month tops. We need to know you have an agent. How’s that going?”
Ahhhhh…
It wasn’t going. But, I was thinking, thinking, thinking 🧐 of how to make it happen. Then an email from The International Women’s Writing Guild arrived in my inbox that announced an event in New York City called the Meet the Agents Luncheon.
A non-profit and recognized NGO at the United Nations, IWWG was founded by Hannelore Hahn in 1976 to “empower women writers personally and professionally through writing.”
When I started writing my memoir years earlier, I took a weekend event with Hannelore, and we became immediate friends. I bought and read her sweet memoir On the Way to Feed the Swans about her childhood in Germany, Czechoslovakia, and the United States, which was included in the 1983 American Book Awards. Hannelore was an inspiration, generous and kind. And I had long been on her mailing list.
In a month, this event would take place at a swank NYC hotel where I could eat a swank meal and listen to several swank NYC agents talk about their areas of interests. Finally, and for a few bucks, I could stand in line to “meet” the agents who appealed to me and speak with each for about five minutes (or the time it took to make my pitch).
Talking it through with Steve, we agreed I could use some of his frequent flyer miles and go to NYC.
“Let’s do it,” Kim wrote back when I told her my idea. She would pull together an editorial meeting with those now reading the book and invite her boss Nancy Miller who was the decision-maker. I got back on the phone with Penguin and Crown, saying I would be in NY and asked for a meeting. Everyone agreed. My datebook was full. First the luncheon where I hoped to secure an agent, then the meetings with Penguin and Crown, and finally, a round-table meeting with Kim and the Simon & Schuster team.
It would soon be time to take off!
Thanks for being here with me,
~ Jennifer, 🍎
(Go directly to the next post on the Blackbird journey now).
Before I began with Blackbird, two years ago, I thought my journals were worthy of being read. Boy was I mistaken. When I consider what I have learned in the past two years at Blackbird (soon starting year three), I am so thankful that Cloie pointed me to my first class.
I think there will always be folks who want to skip ahead and forge new paths but if the work isn't worthy it will fail.