I love my job.
No, I mean it. I LOVE my job.
I get to spend all day, every work day, immersed in stories. Or talking and brainstorming with the authors I acquire and edit. And then there are weeks--like this week, for example--where I get to spend day after day with fellow editors and my authors.
I live in Southern Oregon, but my company, B&H Publishing Group, is located in Nashville, Tennessee. If you have to go someplace four to five times a year, Nashville's pretty cool. Not only do you get to say things like "y'all" without anyone thinking you're weird, you have all kinds of things to do when you're done with the work day.
So I flew in last Sunday in preparation for our quarterly sales conference on Tuesday. Tuesday dawned bright and early as I maneuvered snarled traffice (okay, Nashville does have a few downsides). But I didn't mind. I don't have to face it very often, and what lay at the end of my traffic trials was a day steeped in the power of words! Sure enough, when I got to the office, two of our newest novelists, Tracy Higley and Pamela Binnings Ewen, were there waiting. Joined with them and my boss, David Webb, we pitched their upcoming books (along with two others: Coming Unglued by Rebeca Seitz--a wonderful bit of Southern fiction that celebrates sisterhood and scrapbooking--and a suspense novel by David Aikmann). The reception was grand--fiction at B&H is up and coming--and the fellowship after the presentation was even more so. We heard from the salesmen how our novels are touching readers' and retailers' lives. By the end of the day, as I was again facing Nashville traffic, I could only sit and wonder at the blessing of my job. Reading, writing, partner with others who love the power of words...as my 17-year-old niece loved to say a few years ago: It's all good.
More than that, it's all wondrous. To work with words, to refine stories so they reach their full potential, to join the Master Creator in using the Word to breathe life into a world that's hurting and so terribly lost...
There's nothing I'd rather do. Novelist. Editor. Mentor. Three of my favorite words. And, by God's grace, three facets of my life. All of which show me, over and over, the power contained in our words, be they written or spoken. So let us write and speak them with thought and care. For my friends, they are a force in our lives and the lives of those we encounter.
Blessings to you today.
Karen
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8 comments:
I hear you! I love reviewing the books that are coming out these days, and I only wish I could do it and nothing else for my job...but I adore it, no matter what.
I envy you with a godly envy, if that's possible:-)
Excellent - looking forward to reviewing them :)
You mean some people think it's weird to say "y'all?"
Love you, dear lady! Welcome to blogdom!
Angie
Karen,
So glad to hear that you've finally decided that you don't have enough to keep you busy, so you've set up a blog. You'll find that it probably won't eat up more than an hour of your day...unless you start reading the blogs of other authors and editors...or something strikes your fancy and you click on a hyperlink to some neat site...or....
Anyway, it's good to hear from you. As always, you have and will continue to have my best wishes.
Richard
Hi Karen. Last night the crit group I belong to met and we discussed words---oh boy did we discuss words. One person has a pet-peeve about "walk" or "turn" the other about conjunctions. It's a lot to keep in mind. Still, when I read through the work they've influenced, I smile. Things zip along. I love their help and their fellowship. I'm with you. Writing is the best; partnering with the Creator is fantastic fun. So glad I get to put those words to the page, even if I may have to change them every now and then.
It's great to see you out here in the blogosphere! Looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts, Karen.
Isn't it amazing how caught up we get in the wonder of words? I was just having a conversation with my boss the other day on one word--ONE WORD--about whether or not we should let authors use it in our fiction. In the middle of the conversation I started laughing, and David Webb, my wonderful boss, asked what was so funny.
"How many people can YOU think of who would have a half hour conversation on one word?"
He chuckled. "Don't you love this job?"
"Oh yeah. Big time."
God is so gracious to let me work with something I love so much: Words!
Oh, and don't forget "Bless your heart" :-)
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