I’ve heard a lot of stories of weird, hyper-demanding bosses with very specific rules before. (Hell, I’ve also worked for a boss like that.) But this sweet story from author Joanna Smith Rakoff, while about working for someone with a very specific demand, is also really heartwarming. When Rakoff was starting out as an assistant in the NYC publishing world, she was given a very unusual task: keeping Catcher in the Rye author (and notorious recluse) J.D. Salinger’s home address and phone number a closely guarded secret. You see, she worked for Salinger’s literary agent, and while they had direct contact with the author, people would often call the office under all kinds of pretenses trying to get Salinger’s contact information. Young Joanna was warned never, ever, for ANY reason, to let the information get out. Previous assistants had been fired for not hewing to this rule.
In addition to the boring admin work that is de rigeur for assistants, Joanna also got to have the pretty cool task of answering Salinger’s fan mail. I highly recommend checking out the whole article, which is as much a remembrance of Salinger and a celebration of his work as it is a personal reflection, here. Also, I’m biased, because I worked with Joanna on a coupleof pieces for the website where I used to work and found her to be lovely, smart, and a great writer. I wonder who would answer it if I sent her fan mail.
The Wayans Brothers - Shawn, Marlon, and Keenan Ivory - have also been longtime collaborators. Their latest project isn’t a movie but a book, 101 Ways You Know You’re a Golddigger. However, Jared Edwards, who worked as an assistant to the brothers for over a decade, claims that the book was originally his idea and that his famous bosses stole it. In a lawsuit, Edwards says he originally conceived the idea for a book called You Know You’re A Golddigger When… and told the Wayanses about it. He claims that the Wayanses liked the idea a lot and offered themselves up as cowriters. Edwards then quit his assistant job to work on the project full-time.
If Edwards is telling the truth, then the Wayanses did a shitty thing and should definitely face the music. However, there’s one thing that bugs me about all of this - why is a corny-sounding book full of one-liners about golddiggers considered such a brilliant, innovative idea? And furthermore, why is it an idea you’re so proud of that you’d go to court in order to stake your claim to it? Are golddiggers about to become the new vampires? Regardless, we’ll see how the lawsuit shakes out over the next few months. I’m going to bet it gets settled out of court.
Retired tennis star Andre Agassi has a new autobiography coming out, and it sounds like this book is going to be very interesting. In the book, Agassi admits to having used meth while playing competitively. He then failed a drug test, but managed not to be thrown out of tennis because he claimed that he hadn’t taken the meth on purpose… it was his assistant’s fault.
According to an excerpt of the autobiography “Open” published Wednesday in The Times of London, the eight-time Grand Slam champion writes that he sent a letter to the ATP tour to explain the positive test, saying he accidentally drank from a soda spiked with meth by his assistant “Slim.”
“Then I come to the central lie of the letter,” Agassi writes. “I say that recently I drank accidentally from one of Slim’s spiked sodas, unwittingly ingesting his drugs. I ask for understanding and leniency and hastily sign it: Sincerely.
I am guessing from the quotes that Slim wasn’t the assistant’s real name. Although… it would be even more awesome if Agassi didn’t even have an assistant and the whole story was made up. Regardless, maybe it’s time for “Slim” to write a tell-all? I’d read it.
Ivanka Trump, once dubbed the “world’s hottest boss,” has a new book out called The Trump Card, where she gives business advice to women. I have to admit that while I find most of the Trump family to be totally absurd, I kind of like Ivanka. She seems about as down-to-earth as someone with her pedigree can be, and the times I’ve watched her judge The Apprentice she seems to have actual business skills. (Plus there was that time she redecorated her assistant’s apartment, which was pretty nice.)
On Good Morning America this week, Ivanka was promoting her book and while doing so told a story about how, just before she graduated from college, Anna Wintour called Ivanka personally (”no assistant connected us”) to offer her a job at Vogue. Ivanka said a polite “no thanks,” as she was already planning to get involved in Dad’s world of real estate.
I know that Ivanka’s playing nice and that she’s too smart to publicly dis someone, but does anyone else get the feeling she said no not because her dream was to pursue other projects but because she’s way too smart to work for Anna Wintour? Just wondering.
Romance novelist Danielle Steel is one of those lucky, rare few who is able to make a living solely off of her writing income. Granted, she also rakes in cash from licensing deals and optioning her books to make TV movies, but she’s still doing pretty well in the book department. However, as a wise philosopher once said, with mo’ money comes mo’ problems. Kristy Watts, who worked as an assistant to Steel for fifteen years, reportedly embezzled $2.7 million from her employer:
In a lawsuit filed in San Francisco, where she lives, Steel alleges that Kristy Watts, her bookkeeper for 15 years, wrote herself cheques taken from the author’s fortune and lavished the author’s credit card rewards on her own family.
Last year’s investigation revealed that Watts, 47, had been using Steel’s credit card reward points to purchase gift cards and airline tickets and had abused her control over the payroll to pay herself more than what she was due. To cover her tracks, Watts allegedly made false accounting entries, including for cheques for “household expenses.”
Watts has reportedly confessed to the crime, as well as charges of fraud and tax evasion. We’ll have to wait and see what happens to her. And let’s hope Ms. Steel got herself a better assistant this time.
Laurie Graff, author of the novel The Shiksa Syndrome, held a reading and book signing at a Manhattan Barnes & Noble recently. Her assistant, an NYU student, was in tow. A spy tells STA:
A B&N employee offered to put those “autographed copy” stickers on a couple copies of the book while Laurie was signing. But Laurie made a big show about how it *had* to be her assistant putting the stickers on the book. “She needs to learn the value of hard work,” Laurie said about her sad, scared looking assistant.
Wow, I had no idea putting stickers on books was considered hard work! I guess this means that getting up, putting on clothes, and turning on my computer every morning counts as manual labor. I wish that were true, because I’d be in better shape.
Robert Rave’s book Spin, a not-so-thinly-veiled account of his tenure working as the assistant to PR doyenne and media target Lizzie Grubman, has a book trailer out. It depicts a scene from the book (where the male assistant has to hide in the ladies’ room trying to get dirt on celebrities) and brings up some very important issues. Enjoy:
First there was The Devil Wears Prada, based on the nighmarish machinations of Anna Wintour. Then there was Because She Can, inspired by the evilness of publisher Judith Regan. “Former assistant gets revenge via roman a clef” is now a genre in its own right. The latest addition? Spin, a book about an assistant (male, this time) who toils for a shrill, demanding diva of a publicist to the stars. The author, Robert Rave, used to work for Lizzie Grubman, so you can do the math.
Gawker has some juicy excerpts from the book, which include drug use, belittling coworkers, and casual racism. This is going to be fun. I’ll be first in line to get an autographed copy. The best revenge really is living well.
Remember last month’s interview with Ellen Gordon Reeves, author of the super useful career book Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview? Well, her publisher, Workman Books, has generously offered to give away three copies of the book to STA readers. To enter, simply send an email to contact@savetheassistants.com with “Can I Wear My Nose Ring?” as the subject line. Entries must be in by noon EST on Thursday, June 11, and winners will be notified later that day. Good luck!
I have heard a lot of euphemisms for “assistant,” but I have to say that “fixer” is one of the better ones. French first lady Carla Bruni (who is also a model, singer/songwriter, fashion icon, and overall badass) is now the subject of a tell-all book written by her former “fixer,” which is apparently French for assistant/chauffeur. Franck Demules’ book is not a typical expose, though. He seems to idolize Bruni and describes her as a veritable saint in the drug and alcohol soaked scene that she ran in. People who make cameos in the book include everyone from Mick Jagger to Karl Lagerfeld. There’s also an awesome mention of STA’s favorite evil boss, Naomi Campbell:
As for Bruni, Demules credits her for the help and support to overcome a crippling cocaine addiction. I think it’s pretty safe to say she’s a great boss, right?
I’ve heard a lot of stories of weird, hyper-demanding bosses with very specific rules before. (Hell, I’ve also worked for a boss like that.) But this sweet story from author Joanna Smith Rakoff, while about working for someone with a very specific demand, is also really heartwarming. When Rakoff was starting out as an assistant in the NYC publishing world, she was given a very unusual task: keeping Catcher in the Rye author (and notorious recluse) J.D. Salinger’s home address and phone number a closely guarded secret. You see, she worked for Salinger’s literary agent, and while they had direct contact with the author, people would often call the office under all kinds of pretenses trying to get Salinger’s contact information. Young Joanna was warned never, ever, for ANY reason, to let the information get out. Previous assistants had been fired for not hewing to this rule.
Retired tennis star Andre Agassi has a new autobiography coming out, and it sounds like this book is going to be very interesting. In the book, Agassi admits to having used meth while playing competitively. He then failed a drug test, but managed not to be thrown out of tennis because he claimed that he hadn’t taken the meth on purpose… 
Ivanka Trump, once dubbed the “
Romance novelist Danielle Steel is one of those lucky, rare few who is able to make a living solely off of her writing income. Granted, she also rakes in cash from licensing deals and optioning her books to make TV movies, but she’s still doing pretty well in the book department. However, as a wise philosopher once said, with mo’ money comes mo’ problems. Kristy Watts, who worked as an assistant to Steel for fifteen years, 
First there was The Devil Wears Prada, based on the nighmarish machinations of