Anita Talk

Recently, I've received some questions about the nuts and bolts of putting together my weekly Anita Answer column.

Questions like how I choose questions to answer, why I didn't answer certain questions, where I find my answers, how I've come to know so much stuff about the World, etc. These kinds of questions really lend themselves more to blogging than to the column format, so here I go!

I'll start with some background information that may help you to better understand the process.

I receive an average of 15 - 30 questions per day, every day. Sometimes I can receive as many as 60 in a day, depending on the time of year. That's a lot of questions, especially when you consider that I only have space to answer 6 questions per week. Sometimes I live dangerously and feature 7 if I need to address something else, although this drives my editor Ditto crazy. The average column takes me 6 - 10 hours or more per week to write. Research can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few weeks to get the information I need to complete an answer.

When readers send me questions I first have to carefully read them all and sort through them, and unfortunately, I also must cull the ones I can't or won't answer and file them in an archive.

The rest are re-titled so I know what they are and moved to a file of potential questions for future columns. Currently, there are over 500 questions in that file. Until recently, the number was closer to 1000, but I had to clean that file out in order to find things more easily. I try to clean the file every quarter, and as you can see, it's necessary, otherwise I'd be drowning in questions!

Reading and sorting questions can take 1 - 2 hours a day or more depending on the time of year. I tend to get more questions when people are planning for summer or holiday trips. I get more questions on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays than other days of the week. Tuesdays, because my new columns come out on Mondays; Wednesdays because the All Ears newsletter comes out on Tuesdays, and Sunday because...well, I don't really know why! It could be because readers have more free time on that day, or perhaps in hope of getting into the next day's column?

Only rarely do I answer questions that come in just before the column is published. Usually, it will be something that's newsworthy at that moment, and needs to be addressed as soon as possible. I'll talk more about that in part 2, when I reveal how I choose which questions to answer. See you next time!

When Bad Things Happen To Good Columnists

Last time, I promised to tell you how I choose questions to answer from the ever-growing file of potential questions, which is now close to 800 again. I apologize for the delay in getting to Part 2. I had a rather lengthy entry written and was ready to go with it. Then something happened a couple of weeks ago that made me rethink what I had written, so I went back and rewrote it. I was just about to submit the second version for publishing, when the same "something" happened yet again last week, so here I am rewriting this for the third time.

I beg for your indulgence as I try to be uncharacteristically serious for a minute. In the almost-five years that I've been writing the Anita Answer column, I have only gotten six unpleasant e-mails from people who were unhappy with me for not answering their questions. I received two of the six within two days of each other earlier this month, and then a third one arrived this week. Maybe it was the full moon, the weather, or maybe it's the time of year. April seems to make people restless, for some reason still unknown to me. There's probably a scientific or psychological explanation, but as I said, I don't know what that is.

Anyway, back on point. I guess when you think of how many thousands of e-mails I've received over the years, six unpleasant messages is a rather small percentage. Still, they threw me a bit off-balance, because I like to think I have a good relationship with the site's readers, for whom I try to perform a service, and particularly because I received those three complaints so close together after all this time. It made me stop and wonder if I really had been doing something wrong. The vast (and I do mean vast) majority of people who write to me are absolutely delightful, so why were these three e-mails bothering me so much? Once I had recovered my equilibrium again, I thought it might be helpful to me and to you readers to write about it, and to share the thoughts those e-mails provoked for me.

First, you should know that I don't get paid to do this. In fact, no one on the AllEars® team gets paid for what they do. The team puts a tremendous amount of work into this website, including a lot of love and pride, too. We strive to provide up-to-date information, and we don't deal in the Rumor Mill much. Well, I do, but I always make sure it's clear I'm talking about a rumor. We want our readers to be able to trust what they read here, so we take a lot of time and care before publishing information.

I wouldn't try to speak for anyone else on the team, but I love what I do here, and I suspect they do also, or we wouldn't do it. Some of us have been friends since dirt was new, and some are new friends, but we all have this in common: We all love the Disney parks and resorts, and we all love bringing a small piece of that into your world each week. I suspect that not many people know what a gargantuan task this actually is. It requires hours and hours to research, write and maintain this site, its newsletter and the Ears To Ears forum. It doesn't all happen by magic, much as we sometimes wish it did.

Keep in mind that all of us have other full time jobs, families, pets and homes that need our time and attention too. Perhaps knowing all of this is why receiving those impatient and unpleasant e-mails so close together threw me.

The last of the three emails I received was the one that bothered me the most. It accused me of constantly writing about myself and of publishing irrelevant questions and answers. I personally invest a great deal of my spare time in researching and writing my column. I write from my own experiences and frame of reference. How else could I write the column? Short answer: I couldn't. Readers ask my advice and I give it, based on what I know. That's what the column is all about.

This is what I do, and there is no way I could do it without talking about my own experiences. This is what gives my column a personal touch, isn't it?

Other people don't want advice, but they want to know something about Disney history, something they remember from childhood, or a rumor they heard. I like to write about those things too, because they interest me. If they didn't interest me, why would I want to spend time researching and writing about them?

That leads me directly to the question, "Do I write about irrelevant subjects?" Well...What's irrelevant to Reader A is quite relevant to Reader B, and may spark even more questions or tips from Readers C and D. If every question I answered was about refillable mugs, the dining plan and what time the 3:00 parade was, how very dull would that column be? I wouldn't want to read it let alone write it. I can only hope that the majority of my readers agree, or else I'm just spinning my wheels here.

After reaching that conclusion, it led me to this thought. Before he died, my dad used to tell me all the time, "If it isn't fun anymore, don't do it. Life's too short." I've always tried to take that simple advice, and so those three e-mails had me wondering if writing this column was still a fun and fulfilling for me to do. It took me all of about 30 seconds of pondering to answer, "Yep. Definitely still fun!" For this reason, I'll continue writing my column just as I've written it for the last five years, and I'll do it until it's no longer fun. I write my column because it makes me happy to write about my favorite subjects, and if it helps somebody have a better vacation or experience, that's icing on the Mystical Cake. [Sorry, inside joke, too hard to explain. Just go with it...]

Well, as usual, I've digressed and used far too many words to convey a simple sentiment, which is this: Dear readers, try to take a little advice from me and my dad when you're planning your Disney vacation. If it isn't fun, don't do it. Take a step back, take a deep breath, examine what the problem is, and then take another route.

Always remember that we're talking about going to a fun place--A place where adults and kids alike can have a great time, but not if it becomes a stressful experience. It's a vacation, after all, not a death march. Don't fret and obsess over your planning to the point it makes you irritable and unhappy. Be flexible, be patient, and by all means, when you come to this site for help with your planning, please be respectful and polite when you ask. Behind the screen sits a team of truly great people, and we really do like to help you have a better time on your trip, or to bring you the latest Disney news and advice when that next trip seems to be too far away to bear.

OK, enough of this serious stuff. Next time I promise I'll really tell you about how I choose my questions--Really!

Anita

Anatomy of an Anita Answer Column, Part 1

Last week, in Part 1.5, I went on a little sidetrip and talked a bit about what it's like to write for this amazing website.

I unintentionally opened up the proverbial Floodgates Of Feedback. I was sure you'd all say "Put on your big girl pants and get over it, lady!" But, as of this writing, 100% of the feedback was positive, supportive and heartfelt. I have passed on your thanks and praise to everyone who helps AllEars to be what it is. So often, the feedback we receive is to point out some error we made, rather than to praise us for all of the things we do right. This fact makes what you all wrote all the more appreciated! We are all very grateful to you readers who took the time out of your own lives to express how much you like and appreciate what we do. If I can borrowy from what one of you wrote to us, "You all ROCK!!" and you do rock! Thanks, everyone!

Ok, time to get back on track, and continue sharing with you, as promised, the nuts and bolts of how I put my weekly column together.

Pt 2: How Does Anita Choose Which Questions To Answer?

Well, to begin with, it's neither art nor science; more like a little of both with a glance into Madame Leota's crystal ball and a random handful of pixie dust thrown in. I don't exactly have a set of firm rules to go by, but it's a bit like the Pirates' Code: a set of guidelines--A very loose and flexible set of guidelines, actually. There are exceptions to every rule, of course, and I reserve the right to make those exceptions. After all, it's my column, and I write what I want to, write what I want to, write what I want to...(Readers of a certain age will now be singing that song for the rest of the day, hee hee.) Flexibility is my middle name--Anita Flexibility Answer. It just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? Um, let's move on, shall we?

So, What Are The Guidelines?

I hesitate to start off with something negative, but this is how it works. I'll begin with "Stage One: How Not To Get An Answer." These types of questions usually won't make it past the reading stage, and go right into an archive file:

-First and foremost, if the reader writes in asking me how to cheat Disney, get around policy or break rules, you won't see it in my column unless it's to explicitly tell readers not to attempt it and why it's not a good idea to try. I will never, ever, (did I mention never?) tell an AllEars reader how to cheat or break rules, even if I know full well how it can be done.

-Another good way to not get an answer is to be rude, demanding or impatient. I have a teenager. I've seen it all. Stamping your feet, shouting and slamming doors does not get my attention--In fact, it has exactly the opposite effect. Just ask Minnie Answer how well this method works for her.

-Sending in the same question multiple times probably won't work either. If your question made it past Stage One, I'm aware that it's there in the queue with 800 - 1000 of its closest friends waiting to potentially be answered. As a mom, I have developed a special Nagging Filter that automatically kicks into Ignore Mode when I'm nagged. While you're asking Minnie Answer about being impatient, ask her how well nagging works for her.

-Is the question a "hot button" topic or potentially controversial? There are certain subjects I won't address. I won't list them here, but I'm sure you can guess what some of them might be. I want to talk about the Walt Disney Company, not my political leanings, opinions on smoking or other such topics.

OK, enough of this negativity. Let's move on to Stage Two.

Stage Two is when I've moved your question to the file of potential questions to answer in my column. Getting to Stage Two unfortunately does not guarantee an answer, however. It's just not humanly possible to answer everything in that file. Today it stands at approximately 800, yet I can only answer 6 and sometimes 7 questions per week. As you may have noticed, I'm not a math genius, but I can calculate that it's impossible to answer every question I receive.

Phase 3 starts when I begin to plan a column. When I'm searching for questions to answer, here's what I take into consideration:

-Has the question been answered before? If so, is it still an important and viable question? How much time has elapsed since it was last answered? Has anything changed since then that could be updated? Pool Hopping, Refillable Mugs, the Dining Plan or Using Others' Tickets might fall into this category.

-How easy is it to find the answer by using the Search function or just looking around the AllEars site? Am I doing someone's vacation planning homework for them when the answer is easily found on AllEars?

-Is Disney about to announce something to the public that would answer the question? Will the answer be announced in the AllEars Newsletter or on the website soon? I try not to scoop the newsletter or the website with an announcement if at all possible, though I'll happily share rumors I've heard, with the understanding that they are rumors and nothing more.

-Have many readers been asking the same question? Does this signal that something may require clarification?

-Would the answer be interesting and useful to most readers or just to the one who wrote it? Keep in mind that this won't necessarily preclude my answering a question that only helps the reader who sent it in, it's just one criterion I look at when deciding whether the question might be used in a future column. On rare occasions, I'll even send the reader a personal answer directly and it doesn't go into the column.

-Is the question itself interesting? Is it interesting enough to spend several hours or even days and weeks researching the answer, or enlisting my friends' help in the process? (Hint: My favorite questions involve the history of the company, WDW and the attractions in all of the Disney parks, worldwide. My least favorite questions are about the dreaded Dining Plan, and those questions asking me how to do an end run around an existing policy.)

-Has a story just broken or are certain rumors suddenly circulating? Is it newsworthy?
The recent "Night Kingdom" rumor would fall under this guideline.

-Is the question actually a combination of two or more questions? Can I answer them all? I do prefer single questions, I must admit, because if I can't answer all of the questions, I usually don't do a partial answer, although I might take part of the question and put it with a similar question.

-Is the reader asking me something that is subjective, such as, "Will we like this resort/restaurant/ride?" I'm sorry, but it's impossible to tell readers what they'll like or not like because I don't know what their particular tastes, budgets or experiences are. If you ask my opinion of something such as, "Which Moderate resort is Anita's favorite?" I can answer this type of question because you're asking for my advice based on my experiences. If you ask, "Which Moderate Will My Family Like?" it's harder to answer, because I don't know you well enough to determine that.

-Is there enough information in the question to enable me to give an educated answer? Don't be afraid to send in as many details as you can. If it's too much, it can always be edited down to the essential information, but if it's too little, I may not be able to answer from the information given. Some questions can't be answered properly unless I know things like when you're going, where you plan on staying, how long you'll be there, if you'll have your own transportation, ages of the guests, etc. More information is better.

-And last, but not least, have you given me enough time to answer the question? If you're leaving for your vacation in the next couple of days, It's unlikely I can answer you in time. My columns can be in various stages of preparation weeks before they're published. Please allow enough time (generally no less than three weeks before your departure) for an answer. On the other hand, if you ask your questions too early, you may not get an answer for several weeks or even months. For instance, I can't tell you who will be the Candlelight Processional narrators yet, because no one knows who they are until the fall.

Now that I've shared my question selection process with you, I hope I haven't scared you off from ever writing to me again. I know this will sound counter-intuitive, but please ignore about 95% of what I just told you. The truth is, I break my own set of selection guidelines all the time, especially when a particular question strikes a chord with me. As I like to tell Minnie Answer about a hundred times a week, "If you don't try, you'll never know!" So, please continue to send me whatever your questions may be. I read each and every one of them myself, and you just never know what might strike that chord on any given day.

Next time, I'll attempt to explain where my answers come from, how I research them, and when I have to call in the cavalry for assistance. Until then, I'll see you online!

Anita