ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am so grateful to my husband, Andy Alexander, for his support. Of course, it is wonderful to have a resident expert editor. Knowing that he has read every word of the book and given me a thumbs-up is great for my confidence level. More than that, the two of us always approach careers as a team effort, and I appreciate his years of patience and support for this project.

I’m also indebted to my friend and frequent brainstorming partner Kerry Hannon, who wrote the Foreword and shared “Love Your Job” tips. Kerry convinced me that writing a book can be fun and manageable, and then she taught me how to do it. Kerry also introduced me to freelance editor Debra Englander, who helped me find my agent and then did a preliminary edit of the book. As a first-time author, I needed a lot of guidance, and Kerry and Debby helped me stay on track.

I love the feeling of being supported by talented professionals. And it has been such a pleasure to work with an assured, straightforward, competent pro like my agent Cynthia Zigman at Second City Publishing Services. Thanks for sticking with me and getting the deal done, Cindy. I already have thoughts about the next project.

I might not have kept going on the book were it not for the years of encouragement—sometimes even the kindest possible nagging—from a long list of family, friends, and colleagues. Special thanks to Ira Chaleff, Bob Deans, Emily Emmett, and Merry Foresta, who were kind enough to read early versions of the proposal and encouraged me to keep going. Thanks, too, to Sherry Little, Andrea Wilkinson, Gayle Williams-Byers, Bruce Jones, and Libby Vick for being my faithful cheering squad.

Ohio University is my home town and a center of my still continuing education. I so appreciate the support and enthusiasm of many friends there, including: Jan and Tom Hodson and many of Tom’s colleagues and fellow alumni of the Scripps College of Communication; Mark Weinberg and his team at the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs; and JR Blackburn, Ann Brown, Sue Chiki, and the rest of the OHIOWomen crew.

Many of my clients have been part of this process. I won’t mention their names, and the book’s anecdotes have been substantially changed to hide personal details. But you know who you are. I’m very grateful for all the suggestions for e-zines, blog posts, and book chapters. Thanks for your interest through the years and for so much enthusiastic support for this and other writing projects.

Finally, thank you Career Press, for your confidence and professionalism.