Making a Literary Life Friday: Dream Big

Dream big. Do it. Imagine the most wondrous vision for your literary life.


Allow yourself to fantasize an outrageous scenario where you land the agent of your dreams and she works with you to make your manuscript the best it can be. It feels pretty good, doesn't it? Then picture the day she tells you she's sending your manuscript out to multiple houses, to editors who've refined some of your favorite books. Now dream a little bigger. You can see it, right? Imagine some of these editors -- whose careers you've tracked for years -- want to buy your treasured book. Are you tingling yet? Go with it, it's your ultimate fantasy. Now imagine that your book sells and the fantasy editor who's just bought it tells you she's excited to be working with you. I know, I know it's a stretch after all of these years of rejections, but try it. Dream big.

PUBLISHERS MARKETPLACE
3 October, 2007
Fiction: Debut
Amy MacKinnon's TETHERED, about a young mortician -- with her own damaged past -- who finds herself at the center of a investigation and a sordid underworld when she unwittingly identifies a body which leads to consequences almost impossible to imagine, to Sally Kim at Shaye Areheart Books, in a significant deal, at auction, by Emma Sweeney (world).mailto:.lkaplan@randomhouse.com

Lisa
Show don't tell: words to live by. How's this for showing? In this success, Amy has shown me what counts, her feedback to me: hook, stakes, and beautiful writing. Can it be that simple? And that complicated? Blog readers, please realize, this dream is possible. It's all about keeping the bar high.

To me, Amy is an inspiration. I am blessed to have her in my life.

Amy
There have been three points in my life when a long-held dream came true. The first was marrying my husband, the second, becoming a mother to children who exceeded all of my hopes, and now this. Thank you to the women of my Writers' Group for your respective roles in this fairy tale. Your support means everything.

Hannah
Amy's journey is one of hope and dedication. She wrote, learned the craft, wrote more, found a writers' group/readers, wrote, edited, wrote, learned more, found a different writers' group, learned more, wrote, wrote, wrote. Then she pitched, waited, waited, rewrote, waited, waited... and has a tangible achievement that is beyond well-deserved. She carried her hope, fostered it, nurtured it, breathed life into a dream. Watching her do so has been a joy and an honor.

Lynne
Just like she cried on the day I told her about my deal, I wept when she told me about hers. Amy MacKinnon--generous writer and friend--you deserve this dream come true. Enjoy every minute of your success! We are so proud of you.