Month: February 2016

Anything you praise,
you usually get more of.

Mike Michalowicz
shares

“When you praise an employee
for trying something new
—even if it failed—
you can send the message
that you reward innovation.
You want your staff
to understand that
trying new things is low risk
and potentially high reward.”

When I talk about
how I love reviews,
I receive more reviews.
When I mention
how some wonderful people
have helped me promo,
I get more promo help.

This is true
for partners, loved ones,
customers, and suppliers.

Anything you praise,
you receive more of.

I was participating in some character play
(when a writer pretends she’s a character)
on an online group.
I was having a great time.
Readers were having a great time.

Then a writer came on
and droned on and on
about how he hated that type of character.

Yes, he was being an a$$hat
but he was an a$$hat with a purpose.
He saw me as competition
and tried to shut me down.

And he was almost successful.

After his rant,
I considered stopping.
I certainly didn’t enjoy the event as much.
I found myself thinking about his reaction
before posting.
I was editing myself.

But I didn’t stop
because I knew that’s what he wanted.
There’s someone like him
at every event,
someone who is unhappy
when other people are successful
and happy.

You’ll face someone like him too.
Don’t let him/her shut you down.

I believe in giving credit
to everyone who has helped me
along the way.
I don’t, however, believe
in TAKING credit
for other people’s success.

For example,
years ago,
I got a well-deserved promotion
after working my a$$ off
and taking some risks.
A coworker
told everyone
that he helped me get that promotion,
giving the impression
that I wouldn’t have achieved that promotion
if he hadn’t plucked me out of obscurity.

Every successful woman
has at least one of these stories.
(I have several.)

Taylor Swift had a similar problem.
A fellow artist was boasting
that HE made her famous.

This was Taylor Swift’s response

“As the first woman
to win album of the year
at the Grammys twice,
I want to say
to all the young women out there:
there are going to be people
along the way
who will try to undercut your success
or take credit for your accomplishments
or your fame.

But if you just focus on the work
and you don’t let those people sidetrack you,
someday when you get where you’re going.

You’ll look around
and you’ll know it was you
and the people who love you
who put you there
and that will be the greatest feeling in the world.”

Don’t take credit
for other people’s hard work.
That’s an a$$hole move.

I privately contacted
a writing buddy
when I saw a typo on her marketing material.
I told her
I wanted to let her know about it
because I cared about her.

This is true.
If I didn’t care about her,
I would have winced at the typo
and then moved on.
Contacting her took effort,
especially contacting her in a way
that wouldn’t embarrass her
or emphasize her mistake.

You need people like that,
people who care.

Glen Stansberry
shares

“Leaders should be questioned.
You should have people “below you”
ensuring that the company’s decisions
(see: your decisions)
are the best decisions.

When employees do this,
they’re probably not being disrespectful.
Rather, they actually care about
the success of your company.”

Most private criticism
comes from a place of caring.
These people should be cherished.

Today is Valentine’s Day.
I write romance novels.
You would think that
today would be a great sales day.

It isn’t.
It is one of the worst sales days
for romance novels.

Why?

Because readers
who are in a happy relationship
spend the day with their other halves,
not reading.

Readers
who are NOT in a happy relationship
don’t want any additional reminders
of their not-so-lovey-dovey status.
They avoid romance novels today.

This is one of the many reasons
why we need to associate with
peers in our industry.
Experienced romance writers
know this fact
about Valentine’s Day.
Others don’t.

If your industry has an association,
consider joining it.
If it doesn’t,
seek out peers in the industry.

Since I’ve hit the USA Today best seller lists,
readers assume that
I have a personal assistant
handling all of my correspondence.

This has been an eye-opener.
I offered an eBook for free
to newsletter subscribers.
Some readers wanted a copy
but didn’t want to sign up
for my newsletter.
I have no problem with this
but when they ask for this,
they ARE asking for a favor.

Some readers are very curt
and borderline rude
with the ‘assistant’
they assume is answering my emails.
When I answer
(I don’t have an assistant),
they become super polite
and express much more appreciation.

Remember this
when you,
as the owner of the company,
deal with customers.
They’re likely MUCH more polite
to you.

Don’t assume customers are as nice
to your employees
as they are to you.

Bestselling writer Sherrilyn Kenyon
is suing Cassandra Clare,
an equally successful writer,
over copyright infringement.

Both series,
the lawsuit claims,
“are about an elite band of warriors
that must protect the human world
from the unseen paranormal threat
that seeks to destroy humans
as they go about their daily lives.”

Which is basically the plot
of every paranormal series
that has ever been written.

In contrast,
Stephenie Meyer
never sued E.L. James,
even though everyone knew
Fifty Shades Of Grey
was Twilight Fan Fiction.

Why?
I suspect because Stephenie Meyer
realized that Twilight
borrowed from other books also.

We ALL borrow ideas from others.

Yes, word by word lifting of paragraphs
and plots and character descriptions
is bad
but ideas,
especially ideas that weren’t
completely original in the first place,
should be free.
Being stingy and lawsuit happy with them
merely makes you
look like a jacka$$.

Before you become upset
that someone has stolen your idea,
make damn certain
you didn’t (subconsciously) steal your idea
from someone else.

I’m 43 years old.
Many of my customers
(my readers)
in one of my niches
(one of my product lines)
are in their 20’s.

I have to design my product (books)
to appeal to this age group.

How do I do this?

I listen to today’s hit music.
I watch the hottest shows on TV
(at least a couple episodes).
I watch the most popular movies.
I take courses or do research
on hot trends and emerging technology.

For our products to remain relevant,
WE have to remain current.
That requires work and research.
Put in the effort.