Good news, bad news

So say you’re a midlist writer. Your previous book was published with a small press, garnered nice notices, but never made it to paperback. A few years later you write a bigger novel, larger in scope, something that crosses genres and mixes things up. You’re bought by an editor who loves your work, and not just the current book, but the earlier one too. The result is a paperback deal for the previous book and a nice juicy pre-empt for the new one.

So only a few weeks ago, everything looks rosy, right?

But then your editor gets lured away by another house. By an offer he can’t possibly refuse. What’s a writer to do then?

The writer is Sara Gran. The editor is Dan Conaway, soon to be former executive editor of HarperCollins and about to begin a similar position on June 1 with the revamped Putnam line under new boss Ivan Held.

O Fortuna spins its mighty wheel once again.

UPDATE: Mary Root says in the comments that she “hopes all ends well.” It looks like (according to several birdies in the know) things are moving along so that there is, indeed, a happy ending in sight. And as usual, publishing presents more complexities and turbulence than even I can keep up with.