nancy mercado
Switching Editors Mid-Book
Nancy Mercado
Almost five years ago, when editor Nancy Mercado took on Birthmarked, she delivered the written offer to my agent in a box with an orange. Since an orange in the novel symbolized hope in dark places, her gesture resonated with me. I knew she would be the perfect editor to help me make the most of Gaia’s story, and it has been a delight to work with her through three and a half novels.
I’m going to miss her. Nan called a month… Continue reading
A Retreat, of Sorts
A Chair with a View
For the past three weeks, I lived on Long Island at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where my husband was running a course. It was a writing retreat of sorts for me, with none of the usual interruptions of life at home, and long, solitary hours with my computer.
Food was available three times a day in the dining hall, so I had no groceries or dishes to consider. No cleaning was needed. No chores piled up. I felt very spoiled.
Cold… Continue reading
Unexpected Gifts
You all know how much I love my editor Nancy Mercado since I babble on about her every chance I get. You may not know that these days, she’s on maternity leave with her sweet and miraculous babe. I couldn’t be happier for her. She gave me a thumbs up and an enormous amount of trust on her way out the door, and now, basically, I’m facing months of no editorial feedback on Book 1 of Project Next.
I have a complete draft, mind you. This novel… Continue reading
On Dedicating Prized to Nancy Mercado
This entry is cross-posted on MacTeenBooks and MacKids today.
Nancy Mercado and I talk to each other rarely. We’ve had fewer than a dozen phone calls over the past three years, and we’ve met in person three times total. In a way, I know my editor most vividly as a disembodied voice in the margin of my manuscripts, and yet, because of the focused nature of our relationship, Nan has surprised me countless times by how completely she gets how my mind works. It’s almost uncanny, really.… Continue reading
Chat with Nan
Nancy Mercado at Girls Write Now
Two weeks from now, when Prized is released, I’ll be having a live chat on Goodreads, and my editor Nancy Mercado will be there, too! I’m so pleased. Here’s a photo of Nan I swiped from a Girls Write Now mailing in February 2011 (she’s a mentor with the program) because it seems to capture a bit of who she is—focused, intense, and nice. Look: she’s all about the editing, but she also has her punch glass in hand. Rumor… Continue reading
Friends and Writers at the BBF
What most surprised me about the Brooklyn Book Festival was how big it was, and how many people were meandering around looking at books, reading on the steps, and filling up the chairs for the panels. At first, it was too much to take in, but once I had a map and saw where the Youth Stoop stage was, I had my landmark for the day.
Caragh M. O'Brien, Bill Willingham, Jewell Parker Rhodes, and moderator Susan Chang. Another World Panel, Youth Stoop, BBF.
I enjoyed being on the… Continue reading