Make Me a Perfect Match by Diana

Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming! I often think this to myself as I stop what I am doing and smile – I am a Literary Agent working with the coolest authors and brushing shoulders with editors and other agents. Dear blog reader this is an answer to a prayer breathed a long time ago from under the bedcovers where I was covertly reading the latest Nancy Drew mystery by flashlight so as not to hear my parents yell up the stairs again, “turn off that light and get to sleep!” My heart breathed prayer was, “Lord can I please be paid to read someday?”

A lot of years later I am being paid to read, well for the most part, and I am involved in an industry that promotes and publishes books! I love my job and even though I have jumped into the turbulent waters of the economically stirred publishing pool, I am glad I am swimming around with the others.

I like to think of myself as a ‘Yenta’ or a Matchmaker. Think Fiddler on the Roof. The chorus of the famous song goes like this: “Matchmaker, Matchmaker, make me a match, find me a find, catch me a catch. Matchmaker, Matchmaker look through your book and make me a perfect match.” As a literary agent this is exactly what we do. We compile the names of editors and what they are looking for in our books, meet with them at conferences, email them and try to find a match with a particular author and publishing house that will make for a longstanding relationship. A Publishing house that will recognize an author’s gifts and push them to further excellence. An author that will make that house and their agent proud. This means meeting their deadlines and acting in a professional manner, being reasonable in your demands. All to make for a 'Great Marriage'.

All relationships take work. Marriage does and business relationships require no less work from all parties involved. Respect must be a 2 way street for all and we must all remember that we are different than the world, we desire most importantly to honor and glorify the giver of our gifts and talents and to someday hear those words I myself long for, “Well done Good and Faithful Servant”!

So if you see me and I am humming under my breath, you can be sure I am humming the refrains of Fiddler on the Roof’s, Matchmaker. I am always plotting and planning that perfect match and let’s face it, it takes a little more time for some than others, but as my husband likes to say, ‘There is a lid for every pot’ and all good ‘yenta’s’ keep trying to find that perfect match!

So I must get back to work now, filling my books with the information that just might be the right match for …. ?

Diana Flegel