Friday, February 13, 2009

if u cn read this, u cn get a gd job!


Right after Bowen Press was closed down, folks started posting on my Facebook page. Words like "sorry" and "laid off" and "good luck" seem to have triggered a banner ad change on my profile page. I went from "Lose stomach flab! Follow this one rule!" to "You can earn up to $5000 a month -- from your home!"

Older readers among you might recognize the title of this blog from subway ads of yesteryear. Before there was texting, there was ersatz shorthand. I think the idea was that if you could learn to write very very fast, you could be an exec sec'y.

My first job -- at Harper, in 1981 -- required that I be able to take dictation. Having seen many of those ads (along with "Draw Sparky!") I knew I cld get a gd job. So I wrote really really fast, and my career in publishing began.

Today is the official last day of Bowen Press at HarperCollins -- I cease to be an employee of that august and important American publishing house as of this afternoon at 5PM. Harper gave Bowen Press a huge launch, for which I'm grateful. The books we published and signed up there will flourish.The authors and artists will find good advocates among my former colleagues.

Now I have a logo, a motto, and a blog -- in last year's economy, that would have given me a market cap of $2.5 million -- so let's see what to do with it.

More soon.

3 comments:

Deborah Beale said...

Wow - I came here to shed a few tears - and look what I find!!!!! Fabulous. I was 130 wpm shorthand. Cn I b r frnd?

Brenda Bowen said...

You bet! 130 words -- amazing! Don't cry for me, Deborah Beales. xB

Shelli (srjohannes) said...

*sniff* we will miss bowen - will you still do some sort of blog? hope so