BookEnds #BucketList – Jessica A

Like Jessica F, I never really thought of doing a bucket list until Kim came up with the idea to have us all do posts. Even as I write this now, I’m not sure I’m really doing a proper bucket list so much as putting down some long-term and short-term goals. I’d like to think I’ll have to up some of these goals long before I kick the bucket.

1) Represent a New York Times bestseller – I’m lucky enough to have represented USA Today bestsellers (Yay, Stacey Kennedy and Sharon Cullen!) and while I edited New York Times bestsellers in my previous career, I’ve yet to represent one. I’m looking forward to the day one of my clients hits the NYT list. Really, this is something that’s out of my control, but I’m hoping it happens one day soon!

2) Take my son to Vietnam — Some of you might know that my son was adopted from Vietnam, and I got to spend almost two weeks there with him when he was first adopted. Being a brand new mother to an eighteen-month-old was too overwhelming for me to really take in the country. One day, when he’s a little older and I have the fortitude to endure another 30 hours on a plane with him, I want to take him back to Vietnam to experience his birth country.

3) Go to Cuba with my husband – Maybe I should just put “Visit Communist countries” as an item on here. It seems to be a trend. However, my husband was born in Cuba and came to the US at a young age. He was old enough to have a few memories of the island, and I’ve seen plenty of his family’s photos from when they lived there. Now that it’s becoming easier to travel there, I’d love to go back there with him to learn more about where he came from.

4) Close a six-figure deal — This is pretty self-explanatory. I’d love to represent a book that ends up selling for six figures. Okay, I’m not picky, I’ll take a multi-book deal that is six figures, though a single book for six figures would be better. Even better would be selling a debut writer for that amount.

5) Get eight hours of sleep without being sick — I can’t remember the last time I got eight continuous, uninterrupted hours of sleep. I dream of it in those less than eight hours a night I do sleep.