Publishers Fair

Yesterday, my friend Suzette and I left our little ones with my husband (thank you, dear) and headed out to the Publishers Fair. It was at BYU, so naturally, there wasn't anywhere to park. We ended up clear out at the stadium, several blocks away from the Wilkinson Center where the fair was being held. It was cold day, but we survived the walk, found the Garden Court, and got down to business.

There were several different magazine and book publishers with representatives there. We went around to each of the tables to talk to them. Sitting down and talking face to face with an editor seemed like a scary proposition at first (a little weird, since I am an editor, and I'm not scary). Once we got started, though, it turned out to be painless -- even fun! It really helped to have a friend there with me, so I didn't just have to start talking all by myself. We both left manuscript queries with different book publishers (keeping fingers crossed), and we had a really fun conversation with an editor from the Ensign, who it turned out writes fantasy novels and is about ready to look for an agent. We had a lot in common. I also got to see my old friend Kathleen Dalton-Woodbury, who was there on behalf of Irreantum. I haven't seen her for years, so that was a treat.

The walk back to the car was even colder than the walk there, but all in all, it was a fun afternoon. Thanks for coming with me, Suzette! And a huge thanks to Tracy for watching over the kids (as Camary put it).