I think every company nowadays has that bean-counter known as "the efficiency expert." The movies, Office Space and American Beauty both use the "EE" as a comic vehicle to drive home their satire. And last week at Le Day Job, I received the obligatory email that I would be expected to write my boss a detailed report of what I do on a day-to-day basis to earn my paycheck. Deadline for completing this little autobiography? Friday. Well, last week suffering from the flu, I opted to put off until tomorrow what I could've done then. And so, when the reminder email ("I need this information within the next two days, People!") came around this morning, I decided to bite the bullet and draft mine. Within minutes of hitting "Send" on what I thought was a really good description of why they should keep me and not train Bubbles the Chimp to take over my slot, I received a follow-up email from my boss.
Since the boss knows how much I love to write, would I mind going into more detail so that they could use my description to create a Policy and Procedure memo based on what I do? Ummm...yeah. I did mind. Because what the boss lady forgot is that I love to write FICTION. I write ROMANCE. I write about people who overcome insurmountable odds to not only achieve an improbable dream, but find love while doing it. Hardly the type of stuff one expects to read in a P & P manual!
What about you? Does your boss know what you do when you're not chained to a desk in his/her employ? And has (s)he ever made a bizarre writing request of you because of it? I'd love to know I'm not alone.
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About Us: Romance Writers Unlimited (or RWU as we call ourselves) was founded in August of 2000. We are a small, tight-knit group of friends and crit-partners who write romances in all different genres.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
posted by Gina Ardito aka Katherine Brandon at 7:40 PM