Successes from 2012
To me, being a successful book editor is all about asking myself at the end of every day, "Have I done everything possible to make this book perfect?" And indeed, last year set all kinds of records: in my number of clients, in increasing my efficiency in the administrative side of my business, in attracting new visitors to this site, and most of all, in client successes. Here are the highlights:
- Harriet Parke's novel Agenda 21 hit the bestseller lists on its launch day.
- Jen Westby's beautiful memoir of grief Six Days of Kindness came out, following plenty of great local media attention.
- David Seaburn's fifth novel, Chimney Bluffs, was released by Savant Books.
- Patricia Vanasse's YA novel, Resilient, was accepted by Pants on Fire Press.
- Nazli Ghassemi's hilarious multicultural novel, Desert Mojito, earned almost $12,000 on Kickstarter.
- Steven Maitland-Lewis's novel, Emeralds Never Fade, won the 2012 Benjamin Franklin Award for a self-published novel.
- Ross Goldstein sold the film rights to his self-published novel about cycling, Chain Reaction.
- David Rothstein's gorgeous self-published novel about the Civil War, Casualties, got a big sales boost when university classes started teaching it.
- Tony Russo made it to the semifinals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award with his YA novel, Zak Corbin: Master of Machines.
- Shelley and Jason McClanahan's Sea of Jasmine rose through the ranks of Authonomy to become nominated as "One to Watch," and got a personal submission invitation from an editor at HarperCollins.
I also had a few personal successes as a writer. This doesn't usually matter much in the scheme of my business, but the foundation of my editing is a deep, personal connection to the struggles and aspirations common to every working writer. I also try to practice what I preach. Here's what I'm proud of:
- Attended the San Miguel de Allende Writers Conference in Mexico
- Connected personally with several agents who invited me to submit my novel
- Completed four short stories in a month, and two were accepted for publication
- Had my first-ever article published on Salon.com
- Got included in two anthologies: Laura Stanfill's Brave on the Page (interview) and the Association of Independent Editors guide, Self-Publishing! (article)
- The Threepenny Editor entered its tenth year of business
- Completed three semesters of Arabic, part of a research effort for my current novel
- Ran a marathon
May 2013 bring health, wealth, and creative successes to each and every writer out there, on a tide that raises all boats. Happy New Year!