Tuesday, July 18, 2006

LIFE LESSONS #256 — by Steve Nadis

I had so much to teach her, a junior editor, who could have profited greatly from the suggestions of a more experienced practitioner in the field. I had slaved away on my article for weeks, honing it to perfection (well, almost!) and got it in on time to boot (after a mere three extensions). She responded promptly by email (which is good), informing me that she had received the story (also good). She said she’d get back to me soon with her impressions (also good) and let me know whether or not they would accept it (BAD, VERY BAD!). I was enraged by that last remark after all my hard work–years, in fact, of first-rate (dare I say “world-class”?) stories for the magazine whose staff she’d joined just a year ago. I had a lot to say on the subject. Boy, did I ever. But I kept it to myself.

A few days later, I heard from her again: The story was “excellent,” she said, a “great read,” and they would issue payment within the week. I was all set to suggest better ways of handling things, explaining that she needn’t have treated a valued contributor like myself in such a callous fashion–especially a hypersensitive valued contributor like myself who has money woes and doesn’t like hypotheticals attached to pending payments. Yes, I was about to let her have it (in a good way), letting her know of all the things she might have said instead–things that would not have set me off and contributed to my already sleep-deprived state (what with the heat and all and lack of air conditioning, not even one lousy window unit). But then she told me, in the same “acceptance letter,” that she was leaving the job in a week to take on new challenges in the world of academia. So I held my tongue and kept it all to myself. It’s hard not to share, especially when you have so much advice to dispense, so much to wisdom to impart…

Posted by Snake in 15:26:02
Comments

6 Responses

  1. DrMax says:
    July 18, 2006 at 2:48 pm

    And before blogs you would have never got THAT much off your chest Snake. It’s like therapy. (P.S. Really? No air conditioning? You are one tough hombre my friend. I’ll enjoy my central air in your honor during the heat wave.)

  2. Snake says:
    July 18, 2006 at 3:00 pm

    Thanks for listening, Doc. You were right in surmising that I needed to get that one out there. Somewhere… Good, I feel better already. As for air conditioning, I’m not tough, just stupid. (Today in Boston, it’s hot and steamy, near 100 degrees. Public health officials have posted an official public health alert. Which reminds me, I gotta go play volleyball on the river now.)

  3. gatemouth says:
    July 19, 2006 at 8:36 am

    I didn’t think there were any new challenges in academia–other than coming to terms with reality.

  4. ZARDOZ says:
    July 20, 2006 at 1:18 pm

    personally i think
    articles like this one
    should be accompanied by pictures ,,

    =z=

  5. Snake says:
    July 20, 2006 at 1:29 pm

    Thanks for the thought, Z. We’re always looking to upgrade the services provided here at Call Me Snake, and, rest assured, your suggestion will receive the utmost consideration.

  6. Snake says:
    July 20, 2006 at 1:29 pm

    Thanks for the thought, Z. We’re always looking to upgrade the services provided here at Call Me Snake, and, rest assured, your suggestion will receive the utmost consideration.

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