Jenna:LOLOLOL OOPS!!
Lisa:BAHAHAHA! I mean, to be fair, who the fuck would’ve known?? Both titles sounded like suspense novels!
Fern:Especially her original one!You’re Mine for Good?? WTF? How is that a romance novel title?? That sounds so toxic and creepy??
I’m actually grinning in real life, whisper-laughing to myself. From inside her office, Annette glances up, her mouth turning into a thin line when she sees my barely repressed smile. I quickly school my face into a serious I’m-editing-photos expression, but it’s too late. It’s obvious Annette has caught me slacking—ha! literally Slacking—off.
Lisa and Jenna are still laughing over the faux pas, their messages coming in at rapid-fire pace. I force myself to close the Slack window and go back to actually editing photos. When Annette barges out of her office, making her every move loud to attract my attention, I keep my eyes glued firmly to my computer screen. I hope I’m exuding model employee vibes as I furiously color-correct backgrounds and removeblemishes from smiling faces. It’s only when Annette goes back into her office with a huff that I allow myself to switch over from Photoshop to Slack. I check the #commiserations channel, and well, well. Guess who’s inserted herself into the conversation.
Haven:I thinkFor Better or Worseworks for a romance novel too. I can just imagine it in a beautiful typesetting, set against a cover with lots of flowers and colors on it. I think that would really pop. But I know what you mean, titles are stressful, not to mention a real pain to come up with. Have you talked to your agent about this? At the end of the day, if you’re not happy with it, then you should have the final say.
The familiar sickening feeling rises up inside me, souring my stomach. I’d thought that my reply had been a good one. My heart was in the right place. I really did think that, based on those two titles, Kristin’s book was suspense. I didn’t mean to make fun of it or anything. But now, it looks like I was a mean-girl bully making fun of her title, and worse still, Haven’s response really highlighted that. On the face of it, Haven’s message is innocuous. It doesn’t refer to me or Lisa and Jenna at all, but even without that, it makes us look awful, while of course Haven comes out of it smelling as fresh as flowers.
I quickly switch to the private channel.
Fern:UGH have you guys seen Haven’s reply??
Lisa:Yeah. Ugh is right.
Jenna:Is she always like this?
Fern:Yep. Now you see what I had to deal with all of middle and high school
Jenna:She is good. Very good.
Fern:Yup. When it comes to making herself look like the good guy and me like a villain, there is no one better than Haven
Jenna:It’s not just you, now I feel really bad as well!! We need to fix this
I release a frustrated breath through my teeth. My phone beeps with an email. I glance at the screen, and my breath catches in my throat. The sender is Lindsay Tillman. As in Lindsay, my editor. Finally! As I swipe at my phone to open the email, I notice the #commiserations channel name lighting up with a new message. I click on that.
Lisa:Sorry Kristin, we didn’t mean to make it sound like your titles were confusing or anything. Totally agree with Haven thatFor Better or Worseworks beautifully with a romance novel too!
“Totally agree with Haven”?? I feel physically sick, like I actually might throw up right now. The private chat lights up with a new message.
Lisa:There. Now you two need to say something along those lines too. We need to salvage this.
The vise around my chest loosens, just a little. Lisa isn’t turning her back on me like Dani did. She’s being smart. Strategic. And she’s asking me to be a part of her plan, because she and Jenna are my friends. Right.
With Lindsay’s email burning a hole in my mind, I quickly thank Lisa and tell her she’s right before typing out a message in the #commiserations channel.
Fern:Yes, agree with Lisa and Haven. I’m so sorry about the suspense novel comment! A romance novel titledFor Better or Worsesounds heartachingly beautiful and I can’t wait to read it!
It’s a kind of blessing to have Lindsay’s email coming in now, actually, because it means I don’t have the luxury of doing my usual habit of hemming and hawing and second-guessing myself and self-editing a million times before hitting send. Once my reply is posted, I switch to my phone and read Lindsay’s message.
Dear Fern,
Greetings and welcome to the Harvest family! I am so happy to be working with you on your beautiful book. This story moved me so much, and I can’t wait to be part of the process of releasing it to the world.
I’m sorry it took me a while to send you a welcome email. I am delighted to introduce myself to you now, and guess what? I was so excited to work on your book that I started early and I have my editorial letter ready for you! It’s attached to this email. I hope you find it helpful, and let’s set up a time to chat on the phone once you’ve read it and had time to digest it. I would love to be able to brainstorm ideas and answer any questions you might have.
Everyone here at Harvest is so delighted to have you on board!
Best,
Lindsay
With slightly trembling hands, I tap on the document to open it. When it does, my heart sinks. Without even reading it yet, I already know it’s going to be bad, because first of all, it’s twelve pages single spaced, and second of all, it starts with “What really grabbed me about this book is the beautiful writing, along with the really interesting concept.” Already, I know this isn’t going to be a quick and easy editing round. In fact, it sounds more like Lindsay is expecting a rewrite. I scan the rest of the document, my despair growing as certain sentences leap out at me.
