Reaffirmation makes all the difference

Earlier this week, and quite out of the blue, I was laid off from one of my jobs. While it wasn’t a particularly high-paying or demanding job, it was one of the fun parts of my day. And, don’t get me wrong, in the grand scheme of things, I totally understand the decision to elimnate the role. I wasn’t doing as much writing as we’d originally thought I’d be doing, which, for a struggling e-publisher, doesn’t make much financial sense to pay a writer not to write.

That being said, being laid off sucks. It does a number on your self esteem and you wonder if, while it was probably a business decision, that it wasn’t, just a teeny tiny bit, about your talent and abilities or lack thereof.

The other thing about being laid off is you don’t get to say goodbye. And the people you left behind don’t know what to say, or whether they should say anything at all. If they send a ‘that sucks’ email, will it just rub salt on the wound? Is the laid-off-ee angry or bitter? And if you make contact with them, are you plotting revenge or just generally hoping to keep a friendship?

Needless to say, since leaving, I haven’t heard from any of the people I worked with. And, part of me, just a little, wonders if those left behind have hard feelings… (I don’t have any hard feelings, by the way. I really don’t.)

But today I heard from someone… One of the authors I worked with a fair bit (I’d edited her latest book and worked on a pile of cover blurbs for her) pinged me on IM. She let me know how bummed she was that I was gone because I’d done such a great job.

And that makes me feel just a little bit better about things. That maybe I really was doing a good job and someone noticed. And that’s pretty darn cool.

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