A New York Times Bestselling Writer
once advised me
to respond
to every message from readers.
She said it was the surest way
to build a readership.
I’ve done that
and yes, she’s correct.
Not only do I form
a connection
with that reader
but I am handed
an opportunity
to sell (gently)
more of my books to her.
Unfortunately, not that many readers
contact writers.
If I sell 1,000 books,
I’ll receive 20 messages from readers.
It IS time consuming, however.
“If a children’s book author
commits to answering the mail
she gets from classrooms,
each book sold
(and each book written)
increases the interaction debt,
until there’s no time
to continue writing.
Interaction is a privilege.
But it doesn’t often scale.”
There ARE ways
to make it easier.
I have a list of replies
to common questions.
I have templates for responding.
I then tweak each reply
for the individual.
If I have a ‘chatty’ reader
and I don’t believe
the interaction will ever pause,
I’ll gradually lengthen the duration
between each response
until it is a manageable speed.
Consider replying back
to every customer message.
Tackle the problem
of having too many messages
later,
when you have the fortunate problem
of having quite a few customers.