It’s the Little Things That Keep Agents Happy

By Neal 

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When Samara O’Shea (the author with the endorsement from her ex) celebrated the publication of her second book, Note to Self, last night, agent Adam Chromy was one of the first in line to toast her success—and she’s not shy about exactly how much he means to her. “When Samara’s first book came out, I busted her chops that she thanked the editor and god ahead of me in the acknowledgements,” Chromy told me recently. “I said I could understand god, but the editor?!” For Note to Self, O’Shea not only bumped Chromy ahead of her editor, she even dropped God down a notch to give the agent first billing: “I’m giving you the top spot this time around because you rock my world on a regular basis,” she wrote. “Not that you didn’t back then—you just do it more often now.”

“To her credit,” Chromy added, “she planted that joke months ago and patiently waited for me to get the finished books and egomaniacally go straight to the acknowledgements.” (Then, to her editor, Anne Cole, O’Shea wrote, “I know for sure that you have a sense of humor, and you completely understand why I had to put Adam and God first.”)