I never intended a career in publishing. In 1983, I was in grad school, trying to redeem an M.A. in literature by getting a more socially responsible M.A. in Teaching ESL, when somehow there was a baby on the way. I decided it was really my job to find a real job, and I happened into one in publishing. In those days, I wasn’t much of a people person, so the post of acquisitions editor had plenty of appeal. Acquisitions editors are the ones, as Dogbert says, who can reject your life’s work with a gesture and a witty remark. I wasn’t the worst of them, either. I found letters from the guys before me: