June 14th, 1989.
It was a Wednesday. Â I believe that it was a sunny day, but not too warm. Â I was probably sweating anyway. Â I got on the train to come into NYC from NJ, walked over from the PATH station on 34th street to 200 Madison Avenue, on the corner of 35th street, and took the elevator up to the… I don’t actually remember what floor.
I walked into the HR department, signed papers, and was escorted to another floor, to meet with my new boss (Neil Nyren, Editor-in-Chief and newly-minted publisher of G.P. Putnam’s Sons (the hardcover side of what was then Putnam-Berkley).
Officially today, I have been in the publishing biz (on one side of the desk or another) for twenty-five years.
Which is weird, because I’m pretty sure I’m still in my mid-30’s. Â Child prodigy, right?
(okay, I was 21. Â Close enough)
So yeah. Â Twenty-five years ago. Â If you’d told me the path I’d take to get to this point, I probably would have said… “oh, that’s AWESOME!”
.
then…..
Happy anniversary!
I remember that walk. I want to say I remember which floor, but once into the building all I remember is the elevator lobby–the one you described in Staying Dead.