A Visit from Kim (with Apologies to Clement C. Moore)

I know it might seem a little early yet, but believe it or not, BookEnds is at our year-end. As of today we are officially closed for 2006, and what a year it’s been. We’ve seen many wonderful deals, bestseller lists, and a number of author successes in various ways—from first sales, to renewed contracts, to great ideas and so many books that we love (whether we’ve sold them yet or not).

And the blog is no exception. It’s hard to believe we’ve been at this since June. I really never thought I’d have enough content to fill all of those days. It’s been such a fabulous experience.

To wrap things up, I’ve composed a little year-end poem:

‘Twas the night before vacation when all through BookEnds
no one was working, not even to lift their pens.
Requests for fulls were piled by the mailbox with care
in hopes that the mailman soon would be there.

With I in my slippers and Jacky her socks
we had just settled down to a large Godiva box.

When out in the road there arose such a clatter
I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter.
Well what to my weary eyes should appear
But Kim in her car with boxes of gear

She pulled out the submissions one by one

An erotica, a romance
A mystery too
Nonfiction in business
And a picture book on the zoo

There are cozies
And thrillers
And even a memoir
There’s true crime
And something that I’m really not sure

Proposals, proposals, they continue to come
So get back to work, girls, stop having so much fun.

As I heaved a big sigh and started turning around
Kim flew up the stairs, she came with a bound
She was dressed warm and cozy from her head to her foot
She even wore bells on the rim of her boot

I know Jacky laughed in spite of herself
for it was 50 degrees and Kim looked like an elf.

A pile of submissions she held in her arms
With boxes and bags and something about farms
She looked like the mailman, opening his pack
I sighed when I saw it, the huge proposal stack

But then Jacky screamed, it was a box full of gifts
A present with a proposal, orthopedic lifts.

We laughed until we cried
I thought at first Jacky had lied
Did the writer really think
A present was the link?

Soon we settled in to read and do all of our work
We read the proposals until my head bobbed with a jerk
The day was over, our year is done
It’s time to leave and go have some fun

As we sprang to our cars,
Headed out to the
well you know

We looked forward to next year
Our jobs as agents are very dear
We love what we do in spite of ourselves
and yes, sometimes we feel like jolly Christmas elves

our cars loaded to the ceiling
with plenty of reading

All heard us exclaim as we drove out of sight
Happy Holidays to All and to all a good Write.

—Jessica