Good job!
Nothing is more satisfying to me as a writer than to hear these two little words: “Nice job!” Because what I do is hard. Interviewing people, then telling their story in print is a very iffy proposition: What if I missed the mark; what if they hate it; what if something they said was not what they meant?
So I’m always a little nervous when I send off stories, especially personal profiles, for approval – first to the editor, then to the person I’ve interviewed. (For corporate newsletters, anybody who’s quoted gets to see the copy before it’s printed.) And I’m always a tad anxious until I get their responses back. So when I open an e-mail and the first thing I see is, “Great job, Keasha!” I let out a huge sigh of relief.
Sometimes I think about what it would be like if I were at the other end of an interview. If somebody were asking me a bunch of questions about my life or my work, then writing it up for all the world to see (well, a few interested folks anyway), would I be OK with everything they’ve said?
One time, I wrote a Home & Garden story for the Grand Rapids Press about my sister-in-law, an artist, who uses fabric in creative ways all through her house. In fact, her living room drapes are made from a beautiful antique bedspread that was her great aunt’s. Well, after the story appeared, somebody made a crack to my brother about how cheap he must be if his wife has to use leftover bedspreads to cover their windows! (Actually, he is cheap, but did they have to use my story to tell him that?)
Anyway, this week I got an e-mail from one of my editors on a story I’d re-written at his request using a different angle. His response to my revision was, “You rock, Keasha!” He’s young, so I guess this is his way of saying “Nice job” exuberantly. I don’t care how he says it, the bottom line was he was happy with it.
Because that’s what it’s all about: making people happy with my work so they hire me to do more. It’s like any product or service: If they like it, they’ll keep coming back.
So I’m always a little nervous when I send off stories, especially personal profiles, for approval – first to the editor, then to the person I’ve interviewed. (For corporate newsletters, anybody who’s quoted gets to see the copy before it’s printed.) And I’m always a tad anxious until I get their responses back. So when I open an e-mail and the first thing I see is, “Great job, Keasha!” I let out a huge sigh of relief.
Sometimes I think about what it would be like if I were at the other end of an interview. If somebody were asking me a bunch of questions about my life or my work, then writing it up for all the world to see (well, a few interested folks anyway), would I be OK with everything they’ve said?
One time, I wrote a Home & Garden story for the Grand Rapids Press about my sister-in-law, an artist, who uses fabric in creative ways all through her house. In fact, her living room drapes are made from a beautiful antique bedspread that was her great aunt’s. Well, after the story appeared, somebody made a crack to my brother about how cheap he must be if his wife has to use leftover bedspreads to cover their windows! (Actually, he is cheap, but did they have to use my story to tell him that?)
Anyway, this week I got an e-mail from one of my editors on a story I’d re-written at his request using a different angle. His response to my revision was, “You rock, Keasha!” He’s young, so I guess this is his way of saying “Nice job” exuberantly. I don’t care how he says it, the bottom line was he was happy with it.
Because that’s what it’s all about: making people happy with my work so they hire me to do more. It’s like any product or service: If they like it, they’ll keep coming back.
posted by Keash at 5:41 AM
1 Comments:
I just got through with a long meeting with my boss, part of it on the issue of 'good jobs.' While I know that I have done a good job on occasion, I've never once had any reason to think that anyone else noticed. I have no need for fawning praise, but simple affirmation and acknowledgement once in a while goes a long way toward grounding a person, offering some security and reassurance. As writers and as workers in any field we’re all vulnerable in some way or another. Also, far from distracting from focus on 'the bottom line,' doing things that enhance employee morale is a sound business practice. I learned this from you and your daughter: if you think something good about someone, say it!
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