Most Romance Novels
are purchased through a bookseller.
Booksellers are operated
(mostly) by humans.
Humans f*ck up
from time to time.
When booksellers f*ck up,
customers (readers) don’t usually
blame them.
They blame the writers
of the books
they’re trying to read.
They contact the writers,
hoping the writers
will ‘make it right.’
Of course, we could merely tell
these readers
we’re not responsible
and direct them to the bookseller.
That’s the truth.
But it doesn’t make
our readers feel happier
about our books, about us.
What I do is listen to them,
sympathize with them
(I’m a reader too
and have usually had
the same experience),
give them an action plan
(contacting the bookseller, etc),
and then I ask them
if there is any other book of mine
they’d like to read
while the bookseller is fixing the mistake.
I give them that book for free.
And I usually gain a reader
for life.
“Organizations that refuse
to see the pain
they’re causing
because they’re afraid
of being held responsible
have missed the point.
You’re already being held responsible.
The question is
what to do about it?
You can stonewall, bureaucratize
and delay,
and hope that the system will suffice…
The alternative is
to choose to contribute to connection
by actually apologizing.
Apologizing not to make the person go away,
but because they have feelings,
and you can do something for them.
Apologizing with time and direct contact,
and following it up
by actually changing
the defective systems
that caused the problem.”
If you’re hearing the complaint,
you’re partially responsible
for making the situation better.