“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

[...] All the details about the foreign rights fiasco are on file, so there’s no need to recount them here, except to say that Tam, serving as liaison for us with Ariston and Ankh-Hermes, has failed, as far as we know at this writing, to elicit any response from anyone at either place. [...]

[...] Tam visits next week, so we may learn more, but at the moment I don’t expect any miraculous results. [...]

[...] She remarked more than once about her failure to win the Yale prize for younger poets in years past, Tam’s attending Yale, and so forth. [...]

[...] (Long pause.) A very brief note in terms of significant but small connections with Framework 2: Ruburt’s attempts to get the Yale prize, Tam’s schooling at Yale, and your present experience with the papers—these simply hint at connecting clues involved with probabilities, an interesting subject that I will get into at some time.

(Tam Mossman and his fiancée Eve had been our guests over the past weekend, May 2—4; he had heartily approved the work Jane has completed on the Seth book and we thought that this belief might have something to do with Jane’s very relaxed state. [...] Tam is Jane’s editor at Prentice-Hall, Inc.

In the beginning it was you who mentioned the rest of the page to Tam—do you follow me?

—but when Ruburt merrily began to write you spoke to him quite sharply, reminding him that he was dropping other projects to embark on a new one at Tam’s enthusiasm. [...]

Nebene is quite jealous of Tam’s influence, such as it is, but again, Nebene let it be known he disapproved. [...]

(This afternoon Jane’s editor at Prentice-Hall, Tam Mossman, called her re the Seth book Jane is completing for P/H. Tam also had a couple of questions, which Seth begins to answer in this session.

[...] “Why was Tam so upset about “Unknown” Reality being too long?”)

[...] Tam likes to please, so often he runs into problems if he tries to please too many people at once.

(That topic ties in with my idea that I mentioned to her this afternoon, about it hardly being a coincidence that many events in our lives are coming to a head at the same time: Our deep upset about Jane’s condition; the trouble with the disclaimer idea for Mass Events; Prentice-Hall’s reorganization into the General Publishing Division, in which all of their narrative books will be phased out, thus eliminating any real need for Tam and his job; indeed, Tam is looking at other job offers even now. [It’s been my position for some time now that Tam will end up leaving Prentice-Hall, or will be let go.] If and when he does go, we will be without our friend there, and will have to make decisions based on that departure. [...] I doubt if we would follow Tam helter-skelter to another publishing house if he left Prentice-Hall tomorrow—especially in light of our decision to hold off on Dreams. [...]

[...] Today I mailed Jane’s letter to Meredith Wheeler of ABC News, declining MW’s second recent invitation to be on that show; and when Tam called this afternoon to tell Jane that a British journalist was at CBS in NYC, and wanted to interview her for a newspaper article, we decided to not call back and okay the interview. [...]

[...] She’d also been picking up from Seth through the day some quite amused comments on a variety of subjects we’d mentioned, ranging from “carpets and health” to the “nature of the law, the connection between the law and ideals and their actualization; the reactions of Tam Mossman to our feelings about Fate Magazine,” etc.

Do not think in terms of a generalized ideal situation, but in terms of better covers, better communication with Prentice in both friendly terms as per Ruburt’s calls to Tam, and in the definitive terms of clearly stating specific requests. [...]

(Today Jane called John Nelson and Tam, and learned where I am to sign the Seven contract, and that Prentice-Hall would be receptive to her third Seven novel. She was also reminded by Tam that Pocket Books has bought the paperback rights to the second Seven, which we had quite forgotten about. [...]

[...] On that day Tam Mossman of Prentice-Hall called Sue Watkins to ask her permission to publish Conversations With Seth in two volumes; Sue’s account of Jane’s ESP classes is now too long for a single book. [...] Tam plans to have the first volume in the stores this October, and is scheduling Volume 2 for publication in January 1981.

(The session was not held last night because of Tam Mossman’s visit.... [...] [Tam is Jane’s editor at Prentice-Hall.]

[...] In March, Tam signed her to a contract for Seth, Dreams … on behalf of Prentice-Hall. [...] Finally, in 1971 Tam converted her contract for Seth, Dreams … into one for Seth Speaks. Jane didn’t keep on trying to sell Seth, Dreams … Neither did I, and somehow that perfectly good book ended up packed away. Tam left Prentice-Hall for other employment in 1982; he became my agent after Jane’s death in 1984. [...]

[...] Last July my agent, Tam Mossman, phoned to ask that I search Jane’s papers for a manuscript he remembers her submitting to him some seventeen years ago, when he had been a young editor just beginning a career with Prentice-Hall. That manuscript is Seth, Dreams and Projection of Consciousness. As soon as he’d reviewed it back then, Tam had asked Jane to do a book on Seth himself. [...]

My own imperfect recollection following Tam’s request that I look for it was that Seth, Dreams … was an unfinished collection of records, ideas, and chapters that Jane had struggled with for several years, without selling it. [...]

[...] He felt as if Prentice had forgotten him, and that Tam was not interested in his dream book. [...]

(“Well, with Tam for example.”)

Tam, for example, is simply in a different position now, with more to do. [...]

[...] Last month we were informed through Tam and personal letter from Switzerland that a foreign translation of Seth Speaks may be in the works, but nothing concerning Spain that we know of. Tam wrote that Prentice-Hall wouldn’t notify us of such deals unless they go through, usually, so perhaps a Spanish publisher has expressed interest? [...]

(A note: Jane telephoned Tam Mossman, her editor, today — and learned that Tam already felt that Seth might have begun another book: he’d wondered about it several times in recent days.

[...] This in spite of Tam’s assurances some months ago that they’d be handled with care, etc. [...]

[...] Going over these two sets of material was routine; nothing had to be returned, and in each case Jane called Tam Mossman at Prentice-Hall to give her approval and to make a few suggestions for changes. [...]

[...] Our editor at Prentice-Hall, Tam Mossman, insisted that Ankh-Hermes publish another, full-length edition of Jane’s book in the Dutch language. Now Tam has just forwarded to us correspondence showing that Ankh-Hermes will do this—the new publishing date for Seth Spreekt is still uncertain, however.

(Before the session I’d asked Jane if Seth could comment upon the reported drop in sales of Seth Speaks recently as reported by Tam Mossman at Prentice-Hall. [...]

[...] Soon after Tam Mossman suggested in early October that she do a book on her dream about Emir,² Jane began work on that project with her usual enthusiasm. The dream became Chapter 1 of the book, and inspired the rest of it; she’s having great fun writing the story, and is sending it to Tam chapter by chapter as it comes out of her typewriter — a procedure she’s never followed before. [...]