It’s easy to connect with them.
by Andy Scheer
Even if I weren’t in the business, I’d still like book people.
But having spent years in the business, I enjoy some insider connections. A few months ago I got to hang around as the client for whom I had just edited a manuscript had a photo taken for the back cover. Afterward he gave me a spin in the classic car that made a cameo appearance.
That was fun, but I mostly enjoyed simply talking with him. We had communicated during the project, but only about the manuscript—and just via email, as he lives in another state. I’d looked forward to hearing his plans for a trip he planned with his family.
That evening my wife and I met for dinner with two more friends. I met him at a writers conference, then a book signing. Since then we’ve gotten together several times a year for a meal, for a special event, to attend the other’s church, visit used book stores, or just to talk.
I appreciate talking with people with common interests. Especially when those interests include books.
That applies even when I don’t know the other person. This past weekend as I was browsing my favorite used book store, I noticed a woman holding several trade paperbacks—and a list.
She glanced at her list and said that without one, she tends to buy books she already has. I said I knew what she meant. We chatted a moment, then continued scanning the shelves.
We may have been checking different genres, but I knew we had much in common. Most book people do.
