This weekend I went with my sister to pick her new Lexus. Getting a new car is always a big deal and the Lexus dealership made it into a bigger deal. They had her car in its own showroom with a giant big bow on top. So fun! Who knew those big bows existed outside of TV commercials?
This is stellar customer service. Lexus realized that getting a new car is worth celebrating and made it into an event.
What does this have to do with writing life? A lot! As a writer, you don't just have to tell great stories, you have to sell them. Go the extra mile to make your customers (your buyers) happy and treat them like the stars that they are.
Let's breakdown how you turn readers into fans.
For Screenwriters:
Make your executives love you by going above and beyond. Show up to every meeting over prepared and over deliver.
Come to the kickoff meeting full of ideas about how to make your project better, fit into their company culture, and get that elusive green light.
Practice the improv habit of saying “yes and” to every suggestion. While your gut response may be to say no when your execs throw out a bad idea, instead smile and build on it with your own insightful killer ideas.
Be a better development executive then your own executive. After every meeting, send an e-mail that recaps what you discussed and the notes you agreed on. A great executive should do this for you, but sadly most don't. This e-mail will save you months of headaches by making sure the story team is all on the same page (no pun intended) before you start writing.
Develop a personal relationship with your executive. Find out the names of their spouse and children. Send them a happy birthday text.* Ask them out to dinner.
For Novelists:
Deliver on the promise of your story! Understand what genre you're writing, what the tropes are, and give your audience everything they're wanting from your book.
Have a cover that matches your genre and your concept so that your reader knows exactly what they're getting when they hit that buy button.
Develop a personal relationship with your readers! Send your newsletter regularly, at least once a month. When people e-mail you, write them back. Have online events for your readers where you answer their questions and build rapport. Meet people in person at conventions, signing events, and bookstores.
Celebrate your readers! Thank people for supporting you by offering special sale prices and free reader magnets to your newsletter audience. Have a birthday club* where you send readers a free book (not necessarily one of yours) for their birthday. Give a holiday gift like a bonus epilogue or deleted scenes to your readers. Get creative! I know one mystery writer who sends a murder mystery role-playing game every year to her newsletter list.
*More on Birthdays
Wishing people happy birthday is a wonderful habit. It makes them feel special and connected to you. You never know what people are going through and a happy birthday from you might make their day. In Never Eat Lunch Alone, Keith Ferrazzi shares a powerful anecdote. He asks everyone he meets their birthday, makes a note of it and calls them. One time, he made a birthday call to a work acquaintance and the man shared with him how much it meant. Keith was the only person who acknowledged his birthday all day.
So share birthday magic and wish your contacts, your work colleagues, and acquaintances happy birthday. It's a simple thing that can have a huge impact on someone.
AI Hack
Google NotebookLM is a great tool for getting synopses and takeaways from podcasts. As you know, I do a lot of my learning and research with podcasts. (You can find my list of favorite writing podcasts here.) The only negative is I'm usually in the car so I can't take notes. Google NotebookLM has made my life so much easier. If I hear something I want to remember, use, or research in a podcast, I can upload the YouTube or audio link and ask it for takeaways and quotes. This saves me hours that I used to spend re-listening to find the information I wanted.
It's a great research partner. You can upload a bunch of sources and ask it to synthesize the material, organize information, even make a study guide.
Please note, NotebookLM does not use your personal data, including your source uploads, queries, and the responses from the model for training.
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