Dream Big

By Amy

This is the very picture of a dream-come-true.

Like Lisa, I remember when Lynne asked us to review some pages of her non-fiction parenting book. To be honest, I was hesitant. I was comfortable giving feedback on fiction, memoir, narrative nf, but this was all together a separate beast.

The pages sat on my desk too long until I forced myself into the chair to review them. It wasn't that I was uninterested, more afraid I would let Lynne down. What a relief once I read her work! It was near perfect, mere tweaks was all it needed before she could begin her agent search. In the days to follow, she passed along a query letter for us to review and then late one week she sent it out.

Whoa! I wanted to tell her. Don't rush it. Instead I wished her well and tried to prepare her for the inevitable rejections to come. Even though she had a list of agents she intended to query, I began a list of my own to pass along when she ran through hers. Lynne's contained only a few names, some of the best in the business. It wasn't that I didn't believe in her book, it's that I didn't have enough faith in this writing life. I was still burdened by the yoke of rejections I shouldered from my first manuscript: I became an anxious wreck on her behalf.

But not for long. Lynne received immediate requests. Within days, she received multiple offers from agents. She spoke with all of them and chose one, the one. To this day, we can't mention her name without following it with, We love her. When it was decided, Lynne called, giddy, and I remember sinking into the nearest chair. It was really going to happen. Lynne would get her book published.

My husband overheard everything. Noticing my dazed expression and the tears that suddenly welled, he said, "This must be hard for you. Are you you a little envious?"

"No," I said. "Our dream came true."