One friend of the administration already "killed himself," so it seems like a non-zero chance at least.

Please know, none of this is a reflection on your book or you as a person when an editor doesn't want to review your book when they are working at a conference bookstore. Our systems are in place for a reason, and we really appreciate it when people proactively learn about and use them.

Reason 4: Decisions about acquisitions are usually made by a team. A team will not be sharing the physical copy of your book, especially if the other typical information for making a decision isn't present.

Reason 3: Physical copies that come across our tables during a conference may go missing. They can get lost in transit or sometimes even be lifted from a table. This doesn't happen with electronic submissions that come in the formal pathway.

Reason 2: You have already invested time, energy, finances, and paper from trees into producing a book without editorial feedback from the company you're approaching. Right or wrong, it leaves the impression that you may not want more feedback or work on the manuscript to meet house standards.

Reason 1: We have guidelines for submissions that include the information we really need to consider your work. These are usually available on our websites. No real end-run around us needing that info, unless we really know you as an author. 2/

That's what I've always said about him. Except that I've met good used car salespeople.

Tail end, backside, bum. So many great options.

They couldn’t be more deserving.

This is a confession that he has never invented a thing. It takes empathy to innovate in ways people find paradigm shifting. His real designers and engineers have empathy.