A Life in the Day

I'm staring at the blinking cursor willing the words the come. Willing the thoughts to stop swirling in my head so I can properly explain what Robin Williams has meant to me. But I just keep staring at the cursor and my eyes continue to water with every second that goes by. I need to put my thoughts down, you see. I don't know why it's such a fervent need but it is. I can't concentrate on work. Can't redirect my focus to the tasks on my to-do list. Can't even look at social media without gravitating to the thousands of memorial posts, pictures, videos of a man who was a part of so many lives, he was family and MADE us family through our shared love for him. For me, his death is a reminder that even the greats suffer but most of all, he's a link my father and I share. He's a year younger than my dad and when he first appeared on the scene, he was one of my father's favorite comedians. I grew up listening to my dad retell the jokes Robin told on stag...

In her Mashable article: 7 Reasons You Should Unplug This Summer , Kyli Singh includes things like improved health, career and sleep among her reasons for giving your brain a tech break. In my house, we have had to implement a daily "no-tech" hour for our son who suffers from seizures. It wasn't until he pointed out how many hours I work in front of a screen that I realized how much I needed a break from the screen as well. This weekend, I vowed to spend less screen time reading and more paper time reading. Reading for pleasure is such a rarity these days for me that when I can do so without guilt, I savor every second of it. This weekend, I did a full unplug and only read on my iPad if I was in a non-wifi area. Yes, I can just turn off the WiFi on my iPad and read without distractions but I like to play Frozen Free Fall and The Sims FreePlay  on my downtime too so I tend to leave the WiFi turned on. But because I also edit manuscripts on my iPad when I really want...

My teenagers are home for the summer so that means my house is a mess, my fridge is empty and the piles of laundry are threatening to consume us. It also means I get to hear things like, "there's nothing to do" and "I'm bored, Mom!" Really? You're bored? Well, if you didn't stay up playing video games until 2 AM then woke at 2 PM to stare at the ceiling (which could use some dusting, just sayin') and actually did your chores on time, picked up a book, went outside (and take out the garbage while you're at it), you wouldn't be bored, son! In the course of one day, I get more done than any of my teenagers (or husband) and I don't know if it's because I'm just a can't-sit-on-my-ass-all-day kind of person or if it's because they are! Either way, I know I've shared my workday with you before but today was all kinds of special in its ability to pack a whole lot of work in a short period of time. Behold, my day...

My dog-eared copy I dog-eared a paperback. Let me explain why this is a big deal (at least for me). I don't buy paperbacks much anymore. Ever since I got my first iPad a few years ago, I haven't really felt the need to spend $8.99 on a paperback when the ebook is available for $2.99 and I can read it or a dozen others on my iPad without having to carry them all. But, for Christmas, my daughter gave me The Perks of Being a Wallflower to read since she knows I loved the movie and wanted to read the book. I don't' have a lot of time to read for pleasure like I used to but today, I decided to pick it up and keep it as bathroom literature. Don't look at me like that! It's a place of honor for me as I spend the most quiet of times on the can these days and the previous book to hold such an esteemed honor was Michio Kaku's The Physics of the Future . I didn't dog-ear that one. I just kept a bookmark in it but I also co-read it on my Kindle app...

Many of you know that I have a day job in addition to the agency duties which means I tend to work 75-80 hours per week, Monday-Friday. When I started agenting, I would spend my weekends doing agency work that would leave me exhausted and groggy since I lived on coffee and sandwiches for the most part. Hubby would take the kids out on the weekends to get them out of my hair but that just meant more work for me since the housework didn't get done without them home to do it. I realized rather quickly that I needed to establish a better work-life balance or I would work myself into an early grave. Two cancer scares later, and a fortieth birthday milestone achieved, I decided to take back my weekends. I still "work" a little on the weekends, but it's only reading and revising manuscripts. I spend time with my family, clean the house on Saturdays and, as I did this morning, spend a little time pinning things on Pinterest, playing Candy Crush (OMG, it's so addicting) a...

Photo by Saritza Hernandez If I could go back in time and leave myself a note about becoming a literary agent, what would I tell myself? What have I really learned about being an ePub Agent, the first in the industry and one of the first to approach digitally-pubbed authors with an opportunity to have a partner in their career? I suppose the best way to do so is to do a Top Ten list. So here are the top ten things I learned about being an ePub Agent in 2012. 1. Go with your instincts and don't let your authors deviate you from them. Your gut's never steered you wrong. 2. Authors need guidance as well as a partner in business. Be ready to not just talk them down but to lift them up as well. 3. Business and friendship don't always mesh. Be ready to part ways with one if your friend is also your client. 4. Digital publishers have authors who are sometimes blindly loyal to them. Warn your clients about this but understand that sometimes it's better to just...

Well, it's that time again. The holidays are coming upon us and end-of-year planning is happening all around yet it sometimes feels like I have to remind folks agents are people too. I was reading Andrew Zach's Annual Reminder that Agents are People, too  and while I was nodding along with the post, I received several emails from folks who queried me a few months ago asking for status on their queries. They were well within the allotted timeframe to send a status request so I wasn't bothered by the emails but it suddenly hit me how much I have to get done at the end of this year and how much that's delayed my response time. So, I wanted to give you a glimpse into my regular "workday". I put the word in quotes because so much of my day is a workday that it's generally a full 18-21-hour day. My day starts at 5:30 AM where I get the kids up, start breakfast and get the medicine regimen started. Two of my three teens are on daily prescriptions so breakfa...