Finding an Editor Ch. 01

"Girl, you've got my interest peaked. I'm kind of busy, but I can give you an hour Tuesday morning, say ten? It's the best I can do."

"I'll take it. And Beth, you won't be sorry."

I let Whitney read part of it the night before, in our hotel room. We had to call room service to bring us more tissues.

"That's what Poppy does? Why didn't you tell us? We all wondered where the money came from at the wedding."

"You're stepfather is a very private man. He likes his life the way it is."

"You know if this gets published, that will all change, right?"

I sighed.

"I know, but it's just too good. It has to be published."

I spent an uneasy night, agonizing over my decision. Eventually I went to sleep, knowing in my heart it was the right thing to do.

We were ushered into Beths' office the next morning, right on the dot. She was the epitome of a successful business woman, impeccably dressed in designer clothes and shoes, hair perfect, little lines around her eyes, and an air of exhaustion.

She asked if we wanted coffee. I told her yes, but we didn't have time to waste. I shoved the manuscript at her. I saw her frown.

"Please Beth, this is the only time I'll ever presume on our friendship. Please."

She gave me a long stare, picked up her phone and ordered coffee and snacks.

We sipped coffee, ate bagels, and watched her intently.

At first, she was frowning. In five minutes she was concentrating hard, starting to tune out everything around her. Fifteen minutes later tears started leaking, and Whitney silently handed he a travel pack of tissues. When she had used them all up, forty five minutes had gone by.

She tilted her chair back, sighed, and stared at the ceiling for a minute. Abruptly she came upright and grabbed her phone.

"Jan, reschedule my appointments. Give them my apologies, but something important has come up and I need to deal with it. Get Kevin, Geraldine, and Yvette, and tell them I have my white whale, and to get their asses in here as fast as possible. I don't care, Jan, convince them."

She swiveled around to me.

"All right Bonnie, where did you get this?"

"My husband wrote it."

Her mouth fell open.

"No shit? I thought he was some kind of delivery driver or something. Where did he go to school?"

I grinned. "Central High. He never had an opportunity to attend college."

"Really? Did you help him?"

"No, Beth. What you see is what he showed me."

It took about forty five minutes to convince her we were on the up and up.

"Has he ever written anything else?"

I couldn't contain my pride.

"Yes, five books in all, all romances. Ebooks, Loveland Publishing. Look him up, under B. Henson.

She stared at me for a minute, then got on the phone again.

"Jan, I need you go online to Loveland Publishing. Look up and download everything you can find from a B. Henson. H E N S O N. Yeah. I want six of our readers to go over them, give me their thoughts. I want it first thing tomorrow. Got it? Bye."

"Now the big question, Bonnie. Who else has he shown this to?"

"No one. He doesn't know I'm showing it to you."

"How did you get it?"

"Simple. I'm his wife. He knows I would never do anything to hurt him."

She sighed.

"Before we go farther, he needs to get a manager and an entertainment lawyer. This thing has blockbuster movie written all over it. This will probably make you two very rich, you know that, right?"

It was my turn to sigh.

"I know. I've been praying every night that this doesn't change him too much. I don't think I could stand losing my gentle, loving man."

The three people she had asked for came in then. She sat them at the conference table and gave them half the manuscript.

"We're going to lunch. Read this aloud, taking turns when your voice falters. We'll be back in ninety minutes."

She turned to Whitney.

"I'm afraid you can't go with us dear. I need a guard dog. If for any reason any of these people try to leave with any part of that book, call me immediately, then have Jan call security. Understand? Good."

She turned to the others, holding the rest of the book.

"Mine! Do you understand? Mine! Don't even think about trying to poach. Just read, and give me a consult when we get back. Oh, tell Jan to bring a fresh box of tissues. Trust me on this."

I know we went somewhere fancy and expensive, but I bet neither of us were able to tell you later what we had. Beth stayed on the phone, lining up agents and lawyers for us to interview. She finally got off the phone, took a few bites, drank half a bottle of water, and started talking to me.

"This could put me over the top, Bonnie. I already have a good reputation, but as long as I've done this I've never brought a book as powerful as this tho the public eye. What I'm about to say is off the record. Do not agree to any deal without having an agent review it. Don't talk to us at all if you can help it, that's what their skill set is. And you might want to hint you're in town shopping the book, looking for the perfect publishing house. That should scare them into treating you right and giving you a good contract. Understand? All right, back to the lion's den."

When we got back, the box of tissues was pretty much used up. The man had the reddest eyes of the three. The two women were sitting in amazement.

"You should have been here, Beth. It was the only time I've ever seen him cry."

The younger woman, Yvette turned to me.

"Did you write this?"

Before I could answer, Beth took over.

"No, but she is very close to the author, he trusts her so much he's letting her shop it around. And just so you know, he has another publisher interested."

The older woman burst out.

"You're kidding, right? There's no fucking way a man wrote this. It isn't natural. He's not an eunuch, or gay, is he?"

Whitney laughed out loud. I quickly answered.

"I have it on pretty good authority he's not gay and has fully functioning equipment. In fact, he's newly married. And his wife is loving the attention she's getting in the bedroom."

Beth brought everyone back into focus.

"Bonnie brought this to me because we're old friends. In fact, she used to work here years ago. She's bringing the writer up next week, with his agent. I hope we can work with him."

She looked at me, asking me to back her up with her eyes.

"That is correct, probably Monday or Tuesday. I'd really like it if he works with you, for old times sake. And if he does, Beth takes lead, and he works with her. I have the authority to say this, so take it to heart. Now, we have a plane to catch, so if you'd pass the manuscript back to me, we'll leave you to your work. A pleasure to meet you all. Whitney, come along."

"I'll walk you out, Bonnie. It really is nice to see you again."

In the outer office Beth whispered in my ear.

"Will you trust me with this? I'd like to edit the first few chapters so the managing partners get a taste of the finished product."

I left her the first ten chapters.

...............................................

I got home, hugged Benny like I hadn't seen him for a month, savoring his kisses like they were the nectar of life.

"I'm tired, honey. Let's talk after dinner. I need a nap and some of your ribs."

I turned to go to the bedroom but stopped, went back and clung to him, desperately.

"Please don't change, please.

He had no idea what I was talking about, but he was about to learn.

.................................................

Well, I'm back. Professional and personal concerns kept me away, but things seem to have settled down a bit. I didn't stop writing, stealing moments when I could, jotting down ideas as they come to me. I must have the outline of thirty stories jotted down. Will I finish them in a timely manner? Couldn't say. But I'll do my best.

One of my favorite bands, the Grateful Dead, once did an experiment where they released eight singles at the same time. Touch of Grey was the clear winner, one of the most successful efforts, commercially.

I was fascinated by the idea, so I'm going to try to emulate it. In the next two weeks, I'll be releasing at least six, maybe more, of the stories I have. They'll be all over the place, and I hope you enjoy them.

As always, tell me what you think, and vote if you like.

And thank you for your time, I've become aware recently how precious that is.

Q