Writers and Books
Most of my life I have spent studying books, writing about books, selling books and for the past 8 months researching and writing my own blog. Books and the culture of art, photography, music and writing are more than passions for me – they are indeed my way of life. Rather than do a summary of my resume I will give you some highlights of what I have done. I have had a variety of demanding positions in New York, New York in publishing sales and management as well as Baltimore, Maryland in museum store management and marketing. Marilynne Robinson said when she turned 70 years old she felt no fear of failing. She felt grateful to have made it to that point. I am not Marilynne Robinson and I am not 70, but I feel that same sense of boldness and positivism. I have survived over 35 years of learning and living in New York city and I feel confident of a good and solid opinion and also open to change. I do not hang onto things in any way. However I like to be successful and I am not afraid of the bottom line. I have always worked with books and numbers, so I understand how both must work together in order to produce an exciting program. Writers and books make a good marriage learning and action.
Four areas of expertise that I would bring to Writers and Books:
1. Scholarship: I studied English Literature and Theater at Wheaton College. Shakespeare, and all Literature courses as well as directing and teaching acting were my favorite subjects. I have maintained a friendship with my Shakespeare Professor and Department Chairman E. Beatrice Batson. She is 95 years old and going strong. From Wheaton I went to Brown where I was challenged in a new way. It was a bit of a leap for me as I was not fully prepared in research and foreign language translation, but I finished my M.A. and wrote my thesis under the guidance of Professor Spilka on “Spiritual Yearning in the Novels of Virginia Woolf.” I have great appreciation for those who persevere and achieve the doctorate and for writers who write with perseverance and conviction.
2. Sales: Now I have sold all manner of books for a wide variety of large and small publishing companies. They include Oxford University Press, Scribner & Athenaeum Press, Doubleday, Alfred A. Knopf, and Harper Collins Publishing. I have met with, dined with and talked about their work with a large amount of authors over many years. A few of them are Margaret Atwood, John Grisham, Michael Crichton, Reynolds Price, P.D. James, Louise Erdrich and many others. As a rule they are a pleasant group and we have always had stimulating and lively conversations. I not only have read their novels and non-fictions works, but I have sold them to some of the largest booksellers in the country. I have also sold books to independents and in college towns including Charlottesville, Chapel Hill, Durham, Oberlin and other wonderful places. This has been the passion and focus for most of my career – the art of selling and working with dynamic authors and independent and large chain accounts including Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon, Ingram and Baker & Taylor.
3.Fund-raising: I believe fund-raising can be the hardest task to accomplish today. There are many exciting ways to do it, but that means everyone is in it and it is very crowded and people are being asked in every social medeia. It simply is not simple. I think the best plan is to start with the community who is already supporting you and then to work outward. You need a positive group of people and they need to be tireless and they need to act as one organization. I have never done this as a full-time job, but I have done this as a labor of love and support for my own causes. I ran Lady Trout Fund-raising for over 10 years raising money for causes I believed in and working for non-profits at the same time. Writing and reading are essential to all work be it technical, medical, or the humanities. Search everyone for committed fans and they will help you though this. I have raised money for a concert series for almost 18 years. It is self-supporting and quite successful. I have raised money for an Episcopal Church and and am on a stewardship campaign right now. I have raised money for a writing and art foundation in Provincetown. I have raised money as Director of Sales and Marketing for Aperture Foundation from web sales and donor cultivation. I am open to raising money, but I believe a good organization will look to the Executive Director, the Board, and the staff to help shepherd this. I am familiar with the Rochester and Finger Lakes area as I have family up there. The city and the neighboring areas are rich with traditions in academic, medical and humanities excellence. I think with careful planning and execution the necessary programs and new directions could be supported and enhanced by local support.
4. My writing: www.lindastormes.com
This year I took a course in writing with a colleague of mine who went to Wheaton and then transferred to New York University. She is an accomplished writer in fiction and non- fiction. I enjoyed the class and began writing my own blog. I worked with a teacher to design a website and to learn Word Press and Mail Chimp. This week marks my 11th blog which happens to be on writing. It gives me great pleasure to write and I would love to lead an organization dedicated to the fine work of “Writers and Books” for I am a writer who loves books. I find whenever I am writing it takes me back to a book to learn more and to digest all of it. I believe that I could create programs and work with authors and teachers to design exciting programs.
V-Sackville-West’s Writing Desk, Sissinghurst House
