I spent two hours in another life yesterday. I had a long lunch with my editor in the middle of my workday, as if I were a real author. At the restaurant, for a short time, it felt like I was. We talked about what the head of the imprint had to say about my writing. We talked about what the Barnes & Noble sales rep had to say. (I am thrilled, on both counts.) We talked about the cover and what it could be like. It occurred to me that there are these people I’ve never met, people who actually read my pages and then sat around a table talking about me and decided to take the leap and publish these pages in an actual book, even though I haven’t finished it yet. Isn’t that weird, like on so many levels? My editor and I talked for so long that a whole other lunch party came and went in the tables beside us.

My editor told me how people are responding to the voice of the first three chapters (all I’ve really written so far). Such a great response. Which means… which means… well, I really have to work hard to make the remaining chapters just as good. No pressure!

Also there’s this: I really, really like my editor. I mean I want to be friends with her. We have so much in common. What do you do when you like your editor that much? And isn’t it a coincidence that this person I never met really is a lot like me and, of course, knowing that, of course, she responded to my writing. I got very lucky in pitching to her, very lucky.

In a way, I’m happy I went at this without an agent. The working relationship between me and my editor feels great to me; I don’t know what it would be like with an agent in the middle. Of course, we also talked about agents and when and if I’d look for one and I said not yet—too late for this particular book anyway. Maybe later… I’m just not ready to go through that again (and I also have to finish my other manuscript first).

So then, as always happens, lunch was over and it was time to return to my other life… you know, the one where I mark things up with a red pencil and I’m no one anyone would sit around talking about at a meeting. That’s the one that feels like my real life just because I spend so much time in it… but I sure do like the other one better.

p.s. The title of my book might change… Sales, or was it marketing?, may like the original title better… Not sure how I feel about this yet. I’m just going to focus on finishing my outline now and see what happens.