I’ve long heard that publishing in New York City “shuts down” between Christmas and the New Year. But what exactly does that mean, I wondered. Does it mean they don’t take calls? That they don’t read new manuscripts? That they keep unconventional hours?
Well, duh. Guess what. It means just what they say…literally.
On Friday I wound up here in New York City and across the street from HarperCollins.
I told my husband, “I’m going over there and I’m going to say, ‘Hi,’ to an editor I know.”
So I arranged my scarf around my coat in what I hoped was a fetching and fashionable manner, put on a fresh layer of lipstick and marched my freezing little body across the street to HarperCollins. Both the security guards rose to form a barricade as I walked in. I said, “I’m here to see Emily So-and-so.”
The men looked at me sadly. “Nobody’s here. We’re closed for the holidays.”
I mumbled, “oh.” (Lower case “o”, folks.) And I turned with a sigh and walked back out onto the cold, cold New York Street.
They really DO close up over the holidays.
Drat.