Literary representative and AmSAW member Faye Swetky asked me to sit in at the agency while she was out of town recently.  While manning the e-mail, which consists of culling 2 percent legitimate mail from 98 percent spam, I came across several notes from editors whom she had previously contacted.  She was apparently in the process of updating her files and asked those editors in her address book to tell her what genres they're actively acquiring.  (Not all publishers publish all genres, of course, and not all editors handle all the genres that their houses publish).

What I learned nearly floored me.  It appears that some of these editors actually went out of their way to be cordial--even cooperative!--with Swetky.  It occurred to me that these cold-hearted denizens of the publishing world may actually have a soul.  Can you imagine?

One editor asked Swetky what specific titles she currently represents within six different genres.  Another asked her to send him anything she had of interest.  A third actually said that she looked forward to working with Swetky on some projects in the near future!

This, of course, totally screws up my outlook on life.  Not only do I now have to move editors off the bottom rung of the food chain where my boundless generosity had previously allowed them to wallow, but also I have to move the rest of the chain down a notch until another species rests securely at the bottom.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm grateful to have had an opportunity to learn just how understanding some Publishers' Row editors can be.  But I hate having to adjust my thinking and admit that I just might have been wrong about editors all along.

Worse, yet, I still have to find a new group of people to fill that bottom rung in the chain.  Do you think anyone would mind if I booked bankers, lawyers, and realtors into the same slot?

Smoke if you got 'em.

D. J. Herda
President