What’s New in Publishing: The Twitterjection
Two years ago, I got an e-mail from a famous author, asking me to write an essay for an upcoming book.
I was stunned and flattered. For weeks, I labored over my essay, pouring my heart and soul into my writing. And then I sent it in. And then I got an e-mail back saying how much the author liked it. And then? Nothing.
A year later, I wrote the author to ask about the status. As it turned out, it had just gone to the publishing company! Wee-hoo!
And so I waited some more. And then, the other day, I happened to notice that the book was finally coming out! Very, very soon!
Now, this is the part where every other blogger, with charming but false modesty, tells you where you can order his or her book, and how you can find out if he or she is coming to your town to sign the copy you obviously will be purchasing.
But this story has a twist. Because yesterday, the author very, very belatedly sent me a message saying my heartfelt, tear and sweat-stained essay wasn’t exactly in that book.
And that was bad, both for my ego and my wallet, since I had stupidly agreed to do the work without getting paid anything up front. But what really twisted the knife was that I received the news
via
TWITTER.
And that makes me, I’m pretty sure, the first almost-published author ever to be rejected by an editor
on
TWITTER.
I mean, it was a direct message, so at least I was the only one who could see it. But still!
TWITTER!
Was I not even worth a freaking e-mail? Did I not rank highly enough in the world of letters to receive a standard salutation? A ‘Best wishes’ at the end? And some kind of explanation somewhere in the body?
Seriously.
TWITTER?!
“Am I the worst editor ever in life?” the author DM’ed, after the news had (very briefly) been relayed.
And that’s when I got an inkling of why Twitter was the messenger of this ill-timed information.
Because try as I might, there was no way I could keep my reply under 140 characters. Which kept me from responding.
Which was probably a good thing.
>Wow – that is ridiculous. I know authors are creative types, but publishing is still a business and you were providing a service for them. At the very least an email would have been appropriate (if not a phone call!).
>Firstly, that was pathetic and rude. Secondly, it makes me glad that I can only (barely?) manage my basic cell phone, which does not Twitter. (that I know of.)
>Well, this will be one of those things I laugh about some day… “Hey, remember that time I got rejected on Twitter?!” Which is why I wrote about it.And I also wrote about it because I didn’t even tell my husband what had happened. Because I was afraid I might… um… cry a little? And that would lead him to believe that I cared. Bad. Bad.
>I kind of want to know who it was so I never EVER read anything they worked on (again?).
>dude – you can’t write and not care at the same time, unfortunately. the caring part is generally what prompts the writing part…that said, i would have probably done the same thing.
>I don’t know – I guess I think the answer to his/her question is only one word – “YES”. But you’re probably too kind to be that truthful.Keep it up, Lindsay, you’re doing great.
>Wow….that’s up there with breaking up with someone via a text message.
>That is just wrong. If I were you I think my “response” would have been published as a blog post… names and all.
>Your essay was obviously too good and would have made the entire book seem sub-par, banal, boring and ridiculously shoddy.
>But Twitter is pretty pathetic to tell anyone something important. Twitter should be reserved for silly, quippy, or sarcastic remarks.And in my previous post, I meant to say “the rest of the book”, not “the entire book”. Obviously, I was concentrating too hard on attempting to use big words. When one’s head is filled with Dora songs, one can only do so much.
>Damn that’s harsh…but I imagine it won’t be the last of the twitterjection.I foresee: What are you doing ?@my new girlfriend breaking up with you it’s not you it’s meand@my horrible boss Quitting. It just isn’t working out@husband want divorce been unhappy for a while. it was nice while it lastedNo longer will people draft letters or email or actually have a personal conversation about such thingsDamn this is a post in and of itself… I shall call it Things that should never be Tweeted.
>Ok just came back to add another:@boyfriend/girlfriend of 1 week:bad test results at std clinic.get testedHa, I think I’m on a roll.Oops sorry for hijacking your comments.
>That reminds me about when Carrie (Sex And The City) got a post-it breakup note. Only this is worse. Very unprofessional.
>You totally don’t need her. I’ve only been reading your blog for a short while, but I can tell you that you should have a book ALL YOUR OWN!
>Ooh, I feel your pain! After I did multiple online/conference call trainings so I could do a teacher training for Chicago Public Schools- whilst simultaneously consoling a screaming newborn (conference call mute) or nursing (conference call on) and pumping enough to be gone for two days- I had to push the company to tell me they overbooked trainers and I wouldn’t be needed! As in, “what hotel am I booked in…hotel, you know where I’ll sleep…during the training…is the training still on?..do you need me? GRRR!
>Ha! Jan I was thinking the same thing and about to post – reminds me of when my friend Carrie… but then I remembered, oops, that never happend. Silly me.
>Damn that is tacky! and rude! oh, and very cowardly of them as well.
>This reminds me of the SEX in the City episode when Carrie’s boyfriend broke up with her via a post it.Sorry about the rejection.
>I don’t use Twitter, read Twitter, give a rats’ bunghole about Twitter ;)I love how you’re solicited for something, you comply, and the requester doesn’t have the courtesy to give you timely, respectful notice that they changed their mind for whatever reason. Been there, had that done a couple times, and have not an iota of problem telling such lowlifes to pound sand, if I consider them worth the wasted energy to do so.
>I thought email Thank You Notes were bad, but a Twitterjection certainly tops that.
>Technology has made us cold and lacking decency. I wonder how many couples have broken up via Twitter?
>I’m with Carilyn R.!
>Wow…and I still remember when people would say that breaking up with someone on the phone was incredibly tacky…and this isn’t even a crappy boyfriend, but instead a supposed professional!
>I’m so glad I’m not in the dating scene. I’d declare technology-induced celibacy.Genuinely sorry that this happened to you. A DM lessens neither the insult nor the injury.
>that’s a little cold, no? But I think I would have just tweeted: What happened? I mean, aren’t you curious?
>No good deed goes unpunished, right?Too bad your essay didn’t get published, but hell. I’m just impressed you can twitter. It’s too daunting for me.
>I do believe that is worse than having someone break up with you over Twitter. Just barely, but still worse.
>So what was the book?! We need to know so we can make sure to not buy it. . .
>Wow. That’s just. Well, that’s just rude and tacky really. on Twitter? damn.
>That is way worse than getting dumped by post it not ala Sex in the City. Seriously? HOW RUDE.
>That’s really awful. So here’s a non-equally awful but called for Tweet:@above-mentioned Editor: yes, you ARE the worst Editor ever, you jackass. and more @above-mentioned Editor: U R lucky Lindsay didn’t publish your name, or u’d be skinned alive by a crowd of angry mommy bloggers.Was that 140 characters?