I pitched a story to a big publisher
and it was rejected.
It is a good story
but it doesn’t fit within
any of my established pen names
(i.e. brands).
Some of my writer buddies
tell me I should choose
one of the pen names
and have it published under that one.
“No one will care,”
they tell me.
I will.
I’ll care.
And readers might not vocalize
what they’re buying
when they buy that pen name
but I know.
Seth Godin has a great post
on this lack of feedback.
“Caring,
it turns out,
is a competitive advantage,
and one that takes effort,
not money.
Like most things that are worth doing,
it’s not easy at first
and the one who cares
isn’t going to get a standing ovation
from those that are merely phoning it in.
I think it’s this lack
of early positive feedback
that makes caring
in service businesses
so rare.
Which is precisely
what makes it valuable.”
Just because
you don’t receive feedback
doesn’t mean
it is unimportant to your customers.
Caring comes first.