The Ministry of Magic -- Tor Visit
(photo of Tor’s magical minions grabbed from editor Heather Osborn’s twitpic feed:
A couple of days ago my wonderful editor, Jim Frenkel, invited me to enter the inner sanctum, aka the offices of Tor Books located in the Flatiron building, for a visit.
The place is a tangled warren of offices filled with books, books everywhere, and cover art in various stages of completion. And did I mention books? :) Shelves of books, ARCs, and first editions line the walls everywhere. How could I not love this place?
This is where the hidden magic of book production happens. The books on the shelves in your local bookstore would not exist without the labors of these editors, cover artists, publicists, interns, and marketeers. I tried my best to stay calm and collected, but I had to resist the urge to thank everybody I met for everything they did, not just for my book but for BOOKS.
I know, I am so, so uncool. But I hope I never lose my childish love of everything to do with stories, books, and the people who also love such things.
It was a day filled with New York goodness (with a walk through the 6th avenue wholesale flower district as an unrelated plus). Thank you, everyone at Tor, for all the bibliophilic magic that you work!
vicky dreiling says:
Michelle, I’ve always wanted to tour a publishing house. I’ve got this vision of what it would like, but I imagine it’s quite different. What a wonderful treat for you.
admin says:
Thanks Vicky — it really was a treat. Despite the fact that everybody was working so hard on deadlines, every person I met on the “Tor tour” had a kind word of welcome for me. An entire company of kindred spirits :)
I hope you get a chance to visit a publishing house soon — a very heady, wonderful experience!
Tez Miller says:
Aha! I knew those winter coats were actually ceremonial robes! ;-)
So…does everyone have flatironed hair in the Flatiron Building? ;-)
admin says:
LOL, Tez! The hair was wild and free, not ironed down in any way. And the front of the building is so narrow, it’s like the prow of a ship. Very cool!