General – client k

Go Where Your Prospective Customers Are

A writer buddy asked a group of us
if she should
use
a popular
patron-matching platform
or a less popular yet less expensive
patron-matching platform.

I told her
to go where her prospective patrons (customers)
already are.

If she does that,
all she has to focus on
is finding patrons.
That is a super challenging
task
on its own.

Her patrons will already be
accustomed to
or ‘sold’ on
the platform.

If she aligns
with the less popular platform,
all the money she saves
and likely more
will be spent
trying to convince
prospective patrons
to try the platform.

Then she will still
have to convince them
to be her patrons (customers).

Save yourself
work
and frustration.

Go where
your prospective customers
already are.

How Most Women Hating People TRULY Act

There is a male ‘expert’
in the Romance Industry.
It is clear to me
he hates women.
Absolutely hates them.

But many female writers
don’t realize that
because
he’s not obvious about it.

He doesn’t go around
beating his chest,
telling women they should
go back to the kitchen.

He, instead,
quietly and constantly undermines
women.

A hugely successful female writer’s website
was hij@cked,
for example.

It was clear
the site was h@cked.

That has also been happening
to many high traffic sites
(and low traffic sites
like mine).

This male expert
posted that
she likely didn’t renew
her domain
in time.

What the f*ck?

Not renewing a domain
in time
is a junior jammer mistake
and it is quite difficult to do
unintentionally now.
Domain registries send out
plenty of warnings.
Renewals can be for decades.

I gave him
the benefit of the doubt
and told him it was likely a h@ck.

He didn’t delete or modify
his post.

Because he wanted to undermine
this female writer.
He wanted her to look foolish.

THAT is the move
of the average woman-hating a$$hole.
And it is d@mn difficult
to counter.

Because it is sneaky
and they leave themselves an out.
This a$$hat could tell folks
it COULD have been a domain renewal issue.
He was trying to be ‘nice’
and warn writers about it.

If the writer confronts him,
he’ll spin it
so it looks like she isn’t ‘grateful.’

The best tactic
I find
is to erase these people
from my life
as much as possible.

Because, if they have access to me,
they WILL undermine me.

You Are Not Your Business

I now publish
exclusively under pen names.

Why?

Because it is MUCH easier
to take criticism
(and hate mail)
calmly, rationally
when it is directed
at my pen name
and not directly
at me.

I tell myself that
the criticism doesn’t have
anything to do
with me.
It refers to X,
that dang writer of Y romance.
X is an entirely different personality.

I would do something similar
when I was working
the business gigs.
That kick a$$ business gal
was Business Me.
She wasn’t Me.

Seth Godin
shares

“When I say
I don’t like your idea,
I’m not saying that
I don’t like you.
And if we’ve been persuaded
by marketers and politicians
that everything we do
and say
is our identity,
then it gets very difficult
to learn,
to accept useful feedback
and
to change.”

You are not your business.
Criticism of your business
isn’t criticism of you.

And you are not
the role you were ‘playing’
when you were criticized.
That’s merely one facet of you.
Work you isn’t the full you.

Quitting Creates Opportunities

As kids,
we were often told
not to quit anything.
The phrase
“I ain’t no quitter.”
was thrown around
like that was a good thing.

It CAN be a good thing.

It can also be
a very bad thing.

If we never quit
diapers as toddlers,
we’d still be wearing them
today.

If we never quit
our first job,
we’d likely be making
minimum wage right now
and have a very limited skill set.

If we never quit
that doomed to fail
business,
we wouldn’t be building
the business we are now.

Quitting is necessary.

It creates time
and space
and frees up
other resources
to try new things,
to grow as people,
to give us more experiences
in our often too short lives.

Quitting too early
can be a bad thing.

Quitting when it is time
to quit
is a VERY good thing.

Don’t ever be ashamed
of quitting.
It is necessary for success.

Help Your Neighbor

One of my neighbors
is extremely skilled
with yard work.
He, by far,
has the best yard
in the neighborhood.

If he sees someone
working on their yard,
he often wanders over,
expresses an interest
in what they’re doing,
and answers any questions
they might have.

Yes, this means
he could have competition
for the best yard
in the neighborhood
but,
as he explained to me,
if the yards around his
are well tended,
it makes tending
to his own yard easier.

There are fewer weeds
and pests
and garbage
and other issues.

Seth Godin
shares

“When people deprive others
of education and opportunity,
they’re not helping themselves,
they’re depriving themselves
of the benefits
that would come from
what others would end up
contributing.

We don’t benefit
from treating others poorly,
we pay for it.”

Help your neighbor
when you can
– whether that neighbor
is physically close to you
or virtually close to you.

That generosity
is likely to benefit
you
in the long run.

Why The Witcher Works

The most popular show
right now
is The Witcher.

Some people believe
its popularity
is due to its similarities
to Game Of Thrones.

Some people believe
it is due
to women
thirsty after Henry Cavill.

I believe it is due
mostly
to Henry Cavill,
yes,
but not merely because
he’s a good looking actor.

I believe it is
because he cares
very much
about this production.

He is a big fan
of the games.
He knew the story,
was passionate about the story,
and did everything he could
to land the role.

Now, he’s doing everything
he can
to make it a success.
He’s ensuring it stays
relatively true
to the books and games.
He’s being
the best d@mn Geralt
he can be.
He brings passion
to the production.

And all that shows.

Never discount
the power of passion.

The Freedom To Start A Business

I’ve been pushing it,
writing my March release
(developing product).
I’ve also been busy
with marketing
and sales.

It is easy to forget
that the ability
to build a business
is a privilege.

Naa-Sakle Akuete,
Founder of
Eu’Genia Shea,
shares

“They [her parents] couldn’t find
the same socioeconomic level
of jobs here
that they had there,
so [they] were starting from scratch.

They did everything that they could
to make sure
that we all went to good schools,
so I could have the ability to say,
‘I don’t want to work [here].
I want to start my own business.'”

Having the ability
to start a business
is a gift
not everyone is given.
Don’t squander it.

Asking For An Honest Opinion

Yesterday, a writing buddy
asked me for my “brutally honest opinion”
about her cover.

My brutally honest opinion was…
the cover isn’t as good
as the story is.
It won’t help sell books
(the main purpose of a cover).
I gave her suggestions for improvements,
including examples of covers
from bestselling books in her niche.

My writing buddy replied with
a long list of reasons
why the cover was good enough
for that series.

She was irritated
because I didn’t love her cover.

I was irritated
because I spent time and effort
evaluating her cover
and giving her suggestions.

She likely won’t ask again.
If she does ask,
I certainly won’t give her
my honest opinion.

Honest opinions take
time, effort,
and trust.

Don’t ask for an honest opinion
unless you truly want one
and are prepared to incorporate
the feedback.

Failing Faster

I’ve published over 100 stories.
Do I still have stories
that don’t work?

Yes, definitely.
However, it used to take me
a month’s worth of writing
to figure out a story didn’t work.
Now, it takes me
a day’s worth of writing.

I fail faster
and that makes a huge difference
to my success rate.

You’ll continue to fail also.
That’s part of trying new things.

Learn how to fail faster.

Levels Of Customer Relationships

I recently took a mini-seminar
on the different levels
of customer/salesperson relationships.

The first level is
when the salesperson is considered a vendor.
This is when you find out about
a new RFP (request for proposal)
on the day
the general public is informed.
Basically you don’t have any special relationship.
If you deal only with procurement,
this is likely the relationship
you have with your customer.

The second level is supplier/provider.
You know the RFP is coming,
and can prepare a bit for it in advance,
but you’re not involved in the process.
You may be asked questions.

The third and final level
is a value creating partner.
You not only know the RFP is coming,
but you helped draft it up.
You provide information
without being asked.
You deal with the end users,
and many departments within the organization.

It is much easier to replace
a vendor than a value creating partner,
and if a value creating partner
continues to create value,
that action wouldn’t ever be considered.