Spelling counts, dammit.

The other day I had the pleasure of wielding what little power I have in the entertainment industry.... and what may in fact be the only power I have in this industry for the next year or so. Although my last job was writing for a home makeover reality show (yes, reality shows have writers. surprise!), it was very desirable to fellow writers and up-and-comers alike. Primarily, because it was a job. Secondarily, because it was a writing job. So, when unemployed friends and friends of friends heard that I was leaving, a few jumped at the chance to get my job. (And no, not anyone can write reality. It takes years and years of training, a brilliant mind, and of course extreme talent. Extreme!). One such friend of a friend got my email address and wrote to inquire about a meeting. His letter began "Hey Jacklyn." For those of you who are aware, my name is spelled Jaclyn and more importantly, hardly anyone calls me by that name. I go by Jackie in these parts, and all other parts. What was even more absurd about the misspelling was that the correct spelling of Jaclyn is part of my email address. All this kid had to do was pay a little attention to detail.

Needless to say I did not forward this guy's info to my former employer or anyone else, for that matter. Instead I took delight in responding to his email. And this is what I wrote:

Hi [Douchebag],
While normally I would be happy to recommend one of [my friend's] friends, you misspelled my first name in your email (even though it's part of my email address), in addition to another spelling mistake. So, to be honest, I don't feel comfortable recommending you if that's the type of attention to detail you put into your emails.
Best of luck,
Jackie

Maybe that was bitchy of me, but chances are that guy is never going to send anyone else an email with a misspelling again. I must say, it gave me great pleasure sending that email. I'd love to have followed it up with something cliche like, "you'll never eat lunch in this town again," but honestly I don't have all that much power, which is lucky for him. And who says that, really?

What fun! Adios, television industry, I'll miss the false sense of power you give to those you employ.