Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Spring Fling Play-by-Play




So here's how it went down.

4:30 a.m. Friday morning: Wake up with a start, heart racing, stomach churning. In other words, normal pre-conference stuff for me.

7:00: Donuts for The Kid. And the Husband.

7:10: Dogs deposited. We are officially on the road!

10:00: Arrive at Beloved In-Laws. The Kid deposited. I picked up my sister Hannah, and her husband Mr. Steve picked up the Husband. Eat snacks.

10:45: Finish snacks. Officially back on the road!

11:05: Realize The Kid's car seat is still in my car. Double back to Beloved In-Laws to deposit car seat.

11:25: Officially on the road again!

1:45: Realize there is no way in holy heck I can make the 1 p.m. meeting with my agent. Begin panicking.

2:25: Rediscover the joy of Chicago gridlock with over an hour of travel time left. Begin panicking in earnest.

3:45: Arrive in the hotel without getting lost. Victory!

3:50: Apply fastest coat of make-up and cowboy boots EVER.

4:15: Listen to the Headliners Panel, and immediately worship Julia Quinn for endorsing full-time daycare. Cherry Adair informs us that she's not supposed to abuse us on the first day.

5:30: Find my agent! Victory!

5:35: Adjourn for dinner. Sit at a table with Hannah, my agent, and a variety of women who are really excited about sitting at a table with an agent.

5:50: First dinner companion pitches my agent.

5:59: Second dinner companion pitches my agent.

6:07: Awkward silence descends over dinner table. Agent leans over and whispers "They all hate me now." I assure her that Hannah and I will still talk to her. 

7:00: Move to the Agent/Editor panel. Listen to the one editor say that sometimes, she just needs a book. Watch as four agents waver between lunging at her and throwing their cards at her. 

8:30: Now is officially the time for chocolate. We pick up A.J. Brower, a lovely woman named Marta Bliese, some wine, and chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

8:34: The following conversation (the first of many) occurs: "Hey! Sarah! It's so great to see you! Is this your agent?" Introductions follow.

8:43: My agent uses the word "anomaly" to describe me in a sentence. 

8:50: "Anomaly" again.

9:10 Photo!
Cast, in order of appearance: Laurie McLean, Andrea Dickinson, Sarah M. Anderson, Marta Bliese, A.J. Brower. Photo by Hannah Clampitt

9:20: Three firefighters, two EMTs, and two police officers roll in to assist someone in need. Everyone was okay, and we engaged in witty banter with men wearing sidearms. 

9:30: Three 'anomalies' later, my agent goes to bed. 

9:40: Marta reveals she's pitching my agent in the morning. We spend another glass of wine and half an hour workshopping her pitch. A key feature of her pitch is bringing my agent a Diet Coke. 

10:15: Hannah and I realize we've been awake since four something. Have another glass of wine, just to be sure.

11:45: Mr. Steve and the Husband return from Milwaukee, flush with a Cubs Victory.

And Scene. How did Marta's pitch go? Was I an example of author branding? Did my agent describe me as an 'anomaly' again? Tune in next Tuesday for the exciting Play-By-Play for the Saturday conclusion of Spring Fling!


10 comments:

Debra St. John said...

Hi Sarah,

It was nice meeting you in person over the weekend! Love those cowboy boots!!

Spring Fling was fabulous!

June said...

LOL! I loved this Sarah. You caught all the great moments. Even the paramedics. Now you know you will get questions about that!!

Hopefully we will be able to see you again before the next Spring Fling, but if not it just gives me something else to look forward to.

Best,
June

Blythe Gifford said...

Am I the ONLY person at Spring Fling who did not meet your agent????

Sarah M. Anderson said...

Possibly, Blythe. Possibly. But it's because you were in such high demand that you had no time to hobnob!

Debra, it was nice meeting you too, and June, I'll do my best to get up there again!

Morgan Mandel said...

It was great to meet you at Spring Fling, Sarah!

I was there when the agents got frantic when Kensington editor said she needed a book. Too funny!

Mogan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
http://facebook.com/morgan.mandel

Pamala Knight said...

Awesome post, Sarah! It was great to meet you in person and your agent is a seriously lovely woman. I hope you get to schlep to the city again soon, maybe for a chapter event.

*waves*

Pamala

Unknown said...

Sarah,

I knew I liked you the moment we first started talking, but now that you referred to me as 'lovely' you've got a friend for life. If you ever need a kidney...

I'll definitely tune in next week to check how high the anomaly count goes, and to find out how my pitch went!

Marta

Sarah M. Anderson said...

Marta, you're killing me. I'm good in the kidney department--for now!

Morgan, it was nice meeting you, too, and Pamela, she really is a lovely person!

Heather Snow said...

Ha! Reading your breakdown is almost as fun as being there.

It was lovely meeting you, and I completely adore the title of your blog (and the cowboy boots).

Sarah M. Anderson said...

Heather, you're definitely going to want to tune in next week!