Speed Dating for Authors

I was ecstatic when I saw the New York area code pop up on my phone. Instinctively, I knew it was a publisher or agent calling to inquire about In Search of Soul Food.

The publishing industry has a certain eHarmony quality to it. You start by sending a brief letter seeing if you can peak their interest. They often play hard to get. I assume based on the outlandish backlog caused by a million people, like me, who feel destined and qualified to write a book. It can take weeks or months to hear back. And, even if they do reply, the response is often short and sweet. So, let’s be honest - getting a phone call this early in the process was like speed dating without notice. I was excited and knew I had only a few minutes to explain the magic.

We ended up talking more about what the book wasn’t early in the conversation…it wasn’t about finding a job. It’s not a prescriptive how-to career guide or mid-career transition guide, per se. In fact, many of the women featured in this book have already taken that route and come up empty handed. No, In Search of Soul Food is different because it contains real-life stories of eleven women who learn the principles of authentic career satisfaction and take their happiness squarely into their own hands.

But it was hard for her to digest that this book wasn’t a traditional career book. Even the word soul awkwardly stumbled out of her mouth as she attempted to complement the book proposal. After all, it was apparent she a devote thinker - like many in my group – and this work is not meant to be intellectualized, but experienced if you want to understand it and allow it to change your life. Finding work that feeds the soul entails letting go of the rational, predictable, thinking mind – if only momentarily – so you can revel in the mystery of life and gather the clues to your life’s work. Even the term soul food or the cliché music that touches the soul attempts to convey an experience that warms or lifts us – in an intangible or sometimes indescribable way. That’s what this book is about; learning to listen and take heed of the soul’s musings so you can create a career, and a life, that warms you from the inside out.

I thanked her for her time, the valuable feedback, and said out loud she probably wasn't right for this project. I know this seems silly for a first-time author, but I need someone who gets it. And, the bell was ringing telling me it was time for another conversation…next!!