Last Wednesday, I mentioned that I was waiting to hear from a regional press about a possible nonfiction book assignment. I heard Thursday that I didn’t get the assignment. I’m bummed, but their reasoning made sense.
I had been personally referred to the editor as a perfect fit for a book they had in mind. The editor and I?traded emails, ideas, writing/book samples, and it seemed like it was almost a done deal. She seemed really excited to work with me.
But then correspondence slowed.
Turned out, they decided to go an entirely different direction with this nature nonfiction picture book. At first, they were going to go poetic, but they ended up going with a more straightforward, database approach to this particular group of animals. And the writer they’re going to work with is a scientist specializing in those animals, a professor at the University of Minnesota who already does lots of educational outreach with kids about those animals.
So…I’m disappointed the project changed, but it sounds like the person they have is the perfect fit. Just goes to show that sometimes, personal referrals and projects that feel like’done deals…come undone.
But the editor and I were a good fit, so maybe it will lead to something in the future.
Writers never quit hoping.