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Ch-ch-ch-changes
The summer after my freshman year of college, I worked behind the counter of a bagel shop, part of the franchise of . . . well, in the interests of being nice, I won’t say which chain this particular shop was part of. But their motto was “Totally, completely obsessed.” As in, every day I worked there I had to wear a name tag pinned to my apron which read, “Hi, I’m Anna: totally, completely obsessed.”
And I really wish I knew just who the marketing genius was who thought up this particular motto/policy, so that I could thank him or her personally. Because it ensured that every single creepy skanky guy who came into the shop looked me up and down and then said, “Hi, Anna. So, are you totally, completely obsessed?” All summer long.
This company also had the particular gimmick of making small batches of bagels every 30 minutes throughout the day, and never toasting them or reheating them–because they were always fresh. So the store didn’t even own a microwave or toaster. Because they were so totally, completely obsessed and all, you know? Anyway, I would love to personally thank whoever it was who was responsible for that bit of company policy, too. Because let me tell you, there are a LOT of people out there who feel very, very strongly–passionately, even–that bagels should be toasted before they are spread with cream cheese. I might not feel quite that passionately about it, but I would tend to agree. I like a toasted bagel as much as the next girl. That didn’t help, though. I would explain that I was sorry, but the bagels could not be toasted. And these customers would all complain, protest, and argue the point with me. Loudly and angrily. Because you KNOW that the girl who spends her days spreading cream cheese while forced to wear a name tag that reads, Hi, I’m Anna: totally, completely obsessed has ALL the power to change company policy. Yes. Please lodge complaints here.
So, imagine me towards the end of that summer. The air conditioning in the shop had been broken for a week. Which, in August, when company policy dictates that the bagels be baked fresh on the premises every 30 minutes . . . it was hot. Really, really, hot. It was the height of the lunch hour rush. I was dripping with sweat under my uniform and apron. And this middle-aged businessman stepped up to my counter and asked–I would have sworn he asked–for a toasted bagel with cream cheese. I had pretty much had it. I looked him straight in the eye and said, in my most polite-but-firm voice, “I am sorry, sir. But we do not toast bagels. We do not microwave bagels. We do not reheat bagels in ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM.” And the poor guy gave me this totally bemused look and said, “Um, all I wanted was a turkey sandwich.” I had completely misheard him.
Oh, toe-curlingly embarrassing.
Anyway, let me be clear that despite the fact that this was not exactly the best summer of my life, I firmly believe that everyone, for the good of their immortal soul, should have to work a job like this at least once in their lifetime, if for no other reason than that you will never, ever be rude to anyone in the service industry afterwards. Not that I would have been rude before, but even now, 10 years later, I would eat my own shoes before I even hinted to some poor overworked behind-the-counter employee that a company policy was in any way their personal fault.
And looking back now is a really good reminder of just how lucky I am to be able to work my dream job these days: to write full-time, tell myself stories all day long and actually get paid for it. The college-age daughter of my writing partner Sarah (*waves* Hi, Brynne!) is searching for summer work now, which is what prompted this particular trip down memory lane. And it was a really good reminder this week especially, because there are times when even my dream job–the one I would do even if I never got paid another dime–is hard.
I’m going to be losing my beloved editor Danielle at the end of this month. She’s getting married and going to grad school, and I’m so happy for her, because those are great life-changes and she deserves every single happiness that life has to offer. But at the same time, I’m so sad she’s leaving editing, because I have loved, loved, loved putting my stories and my characters into her incredibly insightful, sensitive, and intelligent hands.
When my agent and I were going through submissions to publishing houses, she read my book, loved it, and called me on the phone to talk even before her house made an offer. And we connected right away. I just felt instantly that she was IT, the perfect person to help me tell Trystan and Isolde’s story the absolute best way I could. And she has been. At the back of each of my books I’ve thanked her for having ‘helped me uncover the book I meant to write all along.’ And that’s really what she’s done, every time. I always read her comments and feel as though I’ve been groping in the dark and she’s switched on the light and shown me exactly what direction I need to go. And that without ever giving me a single direct order–not once has she ever said, Do this. or Re-write it this way. She just asks questions, shows me opportunities in the manuscript where things can be improved or heightened.
And now she’s leaving. And it’s hard. She won’t be with me when Dark Moon of Avalon is released in September, or when Sunrise of Avalon comes out a year after that. Whoever buys my next project, it won’t be her. But I’m still so, so lucky to have gotten to finish out the whole of the trilogy under her direction. Even though the final 2 books aren’t published yet, they are edited and done, and Danielle and I both feel great about them, and that is such a good assurance to have. I’m so, so lucky that she picked my manuscript out of the pile of submissions in the first place and has made me stretch and grow as a writer over these last nearly three years.
Thank you, Danielle! And best of luck wherever life takes you. Trystan, Isolde, and I will always, always be grateful to you.
This entry was posted Friday, June 4th, 2010 at 2:01 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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June 4th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
What a lovely tribute to your editor Anna!
June 5th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
*waves* Hi, Anna!
Hopefully I can build up enough babysitting to make my money to pay for schoolbooks and *not* have to get that kind of job. Though I think I would prefer working in a bagel shop to, say, Wal-Mart!