Moving forward

As we wait for this interminable winter to end -- yes, it's snowing again -- this week I've hit two benchmarks.

Today I sent off a proposal of a new non-fiction book to my agent. She liked the idea and I had done a sample chapter and then put it aside as I started my new job. Today I revised the chapter, put a packet of information together for prospective publishers, and sent it all off.

Then, this Thursday, I mark six months since I became editor of The Jewish Advocate. I'm still enjoying the job, dealing with the aggravations inevitable in any job, and really enjoying both the challenges and the people I'm working with. The paper allows me to indulge a variety of my interests: Judaism (of course), writing, film, politics, and even -- on occasion -- science fiction. I have commissioned a story that should run this spring that will be of great interest to SF fans.

I do miss teaching, but mentoring writers is proving another kind of satisfaction. The next issue will feature an article by a young writer who is a college senior and has been doing a lot of writing in pursuit of a journalism career. I am going to have the privilege of being the first person to actually pay him for his work. I wish it was more but I still remember the first time I got paid for my writing and it's a special kind of thrill to be on the other side of that transaction. (And in a bizarre coincidence, the paper has a relationship with a news service operated by the guy to whom I made my first sale some 35 years ago. Even more amazing, he remembered what the article was about.)

So while I join everyone in looking forward to warm weather and the mounds of snow disappearing, I'm also looking ahead to new professional opportunities and challenges. It's a nice place to be.