Today, though, we're celebrating Rolo Tomassi/Andrew Friedman's wife, Caitlin, whose new book, The Girl's Guide to Kicking Your Career into Gear (co-authored with her business partner of seven years, Kimberly Yorio) will be published on the 15th. For all the worthless ink-stained wretches we have kicking around here, how many can claim to be part of a two-writer household, like Andrew and Cait can?
To fully appreciate the roll Cait is on with this third in a series of books targeting women in business, you need to know that Andrew and Cait met while they were both working at a Manhattan ad agency. They worked together on ad campaigns for Remy-Martin cognac and McCallan's scotch (as the bard hath said, 'tis winter, and a young (or old) man's thoughts turn to brown beverages). As Cait says, in rather blase fashion, "Yeah, we had a lot of good liquor in the house in those days. . ."
Anyway, the agency had weekly, Monday meetings, in which each account executive had to stand before his or her colleagues and tell what he or she accomplished for his clients the previous week. Cait used to be so nervous about speaking that she and Andrew actually used to rehearse her brief remarks on Sunday night! And to think that Cait will soon be making her sixth appearance on the Today show (it looks like it will be on Jan. 26th, if you want to tune in).
Andrew, most of you know, is a frequent contributor here, and co-author of numerous foodie books with well-known chefs as well as James Blake's co-author on Breaking Back. I talked with him and Cait about life in a two-author home. One thing I wondered is just how much editing they do of each other, as this can be as fruitful - or godawful - as spouses playing mixed doubles. Andrew said, "I show her more of my stuff than she shows me. I tend to be a little more insecure that way, where she's very independent and confident."
Don't you love seeing a dude so, ah, secure, that he can admit that? But then it helps, being head-over-heels and all that, right?
This latest Girl's Guide is, according to Cait, "a book that takes on certain confidence and career issues that women deal with. Kimberly and I found, in interviewing a hundred or so women, that when it comes to asking for more money, or a different title, women tend to think, and want to think: If I work hard, I will be noticed and appreciated. . . But that's not always the case. Facing the reality there is important. That's the kind of issue we address, along with some basic fears that we found many women have. They include anxiety over public speaking, fear of being told 'no', and the fear of taking on more than you can handle. This entire idea grew naturally out of Kimberly and my experience in growing our own business (the women are co-owners of YC Media, a Manhattan public relations firm, and the growing *Girl's Guide* brand)."
