Monday 7 February 2011

Six Degrees of Separation 07th February 2011

You are probably already aware of the modern myth that no one person is more than six casual links away from any other person. It’s an interesting theory which is difficult to prove either way. It just turned up an amazing circular connection though, that circumnavigated the globe in a totally casual manner.

My business partner down in Christchurch, New Zealand, was being interviewed on television about her books, one Monday late last year. Of course, as would we all, including us men, she wanted to look her best so booked a rush appointment with a hairdresser beforehand. The hairdresser, making conversation asked what the rush was about, and on finding out it was about her writing and publishing books bemoaned the fate of a friend of hers who hadn’t been able to find a publisher for her book.

Sensing this was at least worth looking at, the other half of the company handed her business card to the hairdresser to pass onto her friend. Lo and behold a couple of weeks later the author submitted her book to us – from England where she lives. So that’s half way round the world – and nothing much in this day and age. She read through the manuscript and didn’t reject it, so I had a good look too and we decided to offer a contract last month, which was duly accepted. (Ed: They both have to agree it’s worth publishing – one no is enough to reject).

The first step after the contract is to start work on the production of the artwork for the cover, and in this case, as in many others, this is the first direct contact the author has with me. I had paid no attention to her contact details until it came time to e-mail her, and noticed where she lived, a town some fifty odd miles from me, but importantly, a town where I used to work full time. Several conversations later, coincidence was stretched to the limit. Not only did she know the company, which is not particularly surprising seeing as they’d been there for over a hundred years, and their premises were the tallest in that part of town. (Ed- Don’t remind him about those endless flights of stairs!). In fact, going back some thirty years, a few years before my involvement with the company, she’d actually dated one of my bosses – and I shared an office with the woman he eventually married!

So someone who was literally only one degree of separation from me, is now being published by us, and the contact was made half way around the world by someone different.

If you put that kind of thing in the plot of a novel, it’d probably be rejected as being beyond suspension of disbelief.

Truth is truly stranger...

By the way, this same boss, and his brother, went to school with Tony Blair, who of course got on famously with a certain Mr Clinton. So, I suppose it would be fair to say, there’s only three degrees of separation, between me and a certain infamous cigar.

Ah, well. Good job I don’t smoke... Monica.

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