Shelf Space
The new shelves are measured, they're dusted and neat.
They're measured in inches, they're measured in feet.
The movers have measured in boxes and pounds,
But books still pile up in undignified mounds.
They capture the table, they conquer the floor.
They have to be shifted to open the door.
From now on I'll be good, I'll learn to be tough.
A room lined with tall shelves is surely enough.
One birthday, two yard sales, three local book fairs
The books climb off the shelves and head for the stairs.
The other thing that's certain is curious looks,
Followed each time by: "Have you read all these books?"
Heheh. That's good, Ginger. Books are kind of like crab grass, invasive and hard to get rid of.
I think I need to print that out in large font and post it in my entryway.
(I just shared it with my mom. Cause it describes them too!)
::Has happy memories of Ginger's books::
Guess who just went into what was supposed to be strictly a group Q&A at a writers conference with an editor from one of her target houses, no pitching allowed...and it ended up with the editor strolling in, asking how this thing was supposed to work, and then having everyone pitch their books.
Guess who had five minutes to talk, and hadn't prepared anything beyond her 25-word elevator pitch, because she wasn't expecting to pitch, as such, just to try to connect with the editor.
Guess who fleshed out her pitch on the fly, and had time at the end to answer the editor's questions about her background, what gave her the idea, and the logic of her alternate history. (And, incidentally, guess who was surprised when the editor knew what she was talking about when she explained the importance of the Battle of the Nile in real-reality.)
Guess who somehow managed to get a request for a partial out of all that improv...
Go, Susan!
I have to say, groups were always a nightmare for me as an editor. All those faces! And I never knew how to handle it. A lot of the time I did exactly what she did and said, "Take turns and let 'er rip." Because, honestly, you know that what's the authors would like to do anyway.
Yay! It's possible that you were better off winging it. I often am, because otherwise I tend to overthink things.
It's possible. I certainly didn't let myself get bogged down in the intricacies of the plot. I considered giving a brief synopsis, figured I'd stumble into overexplaining, and stuck to stating the premise and a bit about the role and motivations for Wellesley as my central protagonist. Then I looked at him expectantly, and he started asking questions. It was pretty clear he was trying to tell if I knew my stuff historically and had thought my AU premise through, and I'm confident I came out OK on that front.
Time to venture into the wilds of Portland in search of dinner...
