Okay, it wasn’t exactly fun-filled and action-packed, but it was pretty interesting.
On Saturday, I had the first of three book signings at Borders, with the first being here in Austin. A lot of people stopped by my table; not nearly as many bought a book. One woman did buy a book based on my Acknowledgements (I thanked God first, and she really liked that). I think I saw Mike Judge, the creator of Beavis and Butthead and King of the Hill (the guy said that he wasn’t Mike Judge, but I don’t believe him). I heard somewhere before that Mike Judge lived in Austin, but maybe I’m mistaken. Anyway….
On Sunday, I headed down to San Antonio to browse the Exhibits at the ALA Midwinter Conference. For $25, I was able to walk the floor and view all of the booths that publishers and other companies had set up. My current publisher was not there, but most of the publishers I’m interested in now were there. A quick summary of my highlights:
1) I ran into Austin SCBWIers Chris Barton, Don Tate, and the Wonderful Greg and Cynthia Leitich Smith.
2A) I saw a lot of editors, although I was too afraid to approach most of them. However, I did have a nice conversation with Arianne Lewin, an editor at Hyperion. One of the guys in my critique group met her a few months ago, and had nothing but good things to say about her. After speaking with her, I agree with everything that he said. I expect to hear many more promising things about her and her career in the future.
2B) I also spoke with Krista Marino, an editor at Random House (Delacorte). I heard her speak at the SCBWI conference last year, and after passing by the Random House booth five times, I finally found the courage to ask her a few questions about the Delacorte YA contest. (FYI – Because Red Polka Dot was published as an Adult novel, I’m eligible for the contest. That’s a very good thing, being that I already submitted my new manuscript to it!)
2C) I saw Wendy Lamb!!! I have promised myself that if I ever, ever, ever, get the chance to work with her on a project, I’ll do it, no questions asked.
3) I got more ARCs (advanced reading copies) than I’ll ever be able to read. Publishers were practically throwing them at people as they walked by. The book I’m most excited about: V for Vendetta.
More to come in a few days, after I’ve finished sorting through all the ARCs.
I’m sure that it’s just a matter of time before we’ll be reading that you’ve been snatched up by one of the big agents and publishers.
Thanks for sharing your experience! Enjoyed it
Sounds like you had a great time at the ALA. And congratulations on your first book signing. (Those things can be very stressful. I’m always convinced that no only will people not talk to me, they will run away when they see me!)