product development

Inspired By Irritations

Did something irritate
the f*ck out of you
today?

Are you not alone
regarding that irritation?

If the answer to
both these questions is
yes,
that’s AWESOME news.

Eliminating that irritation
could be
a great idea
for a business.

My most successful
and bestselling stories
have been the stories
that fill a gap
that bothers me.

Maybe a certain type
of character’s story
is missing.
Or a concept isn’t explained.

I ‘solve’ that problem
for myself
and others.
And I get paid
to do that.

Use the things
that irritate you
as inspiration
for your next product or service.

Shipping Shock

After I’ve transplanted
a tomato seedling
from the grow station
to the backyard garden,
there’s a week following
where I’m not certain
the seedling will survive.

The leaves look stressed.
It doesn’t grow.

This is called transplant shock.
And it is a very stressful time
for the plant
and for me, the gardener.

When we ship our products
for the first time,
there’s a duration
that has a similar feel
to transplant shock.

We haven’t yet received
any customer feedback
on our product
and we’re not certain
it will be a success.

This is a stressful time
for many entrepreneurs.

Plan something
to keep your mind off
your ‘transplanted’ product.

And know this is normal.

Shipping shock
is a thing.
It happens to many of us
and is part of
the new business development process.

Sales And Product Development

Yesterday,
I talked about
how I pitch story ideas
to my agent.

I do this
BEFORE I start writing the story.

It makes no sense
to spend months
on a story idea
my agent (salesperson) can’t sell.

It also makes no sense
to not include
my agent’s inputs.
Those inputs
should help her
sell the story.

Sales should
ALWAYS
be included
in new product development.

They are on
the front lines.
They talk with customers.
They know what customers like.

Involve salespeople
in the product development
process.

Can You Sell This?

I pitched a story idea
to my agent.

An agent,
in the publishing industry,
is a salesperson

She sells stories
or ideas for stories
to publishers,
movie studios,
other interested parties.

And that is
the feedback
I truly want from her.

I don’t need to know
if the idea is ‘good.’
I have an editor
for that purpose.

I want to know
if she can sell my idea,
if there is an interest
or a market
for that type of story.

If the answer is…
maybe,
I then want to know
how I can turn
the maybe into a yes.

What do I have to change
in the pitch to do that?

If the answer is no,
I discard the idea
and I work on another one.

Great salespeople are the experts
on what sells or doesn’t sell.

Business builders need their advice.
And we should listen to it.

The Buffer YOU Need

I like to be
1 story ahead of my release schedule.

When I have that buffer,
I don’t worry as much
about meeting deadlines.

This frees up my brain
to create.

One of my writing buddies
needs to have an entire YEAR
of releases written
in advance
or she becomes too worried
to create new stories.

Another writing buddy
releases stories as soon
as they are written.
Having an unreleased story
causes her stress.

Figure out the buffer
YOU need
and try your best to obtain it.

Note: If you are a
no buffer at all type of person,
consider creating artificial deadlines
to ensure you don’t miss
real deadlines.

The Urge To Tweak

I love to tweak projects.
I constantly want
to make small changes.

That f*cks up
product development.
It is a way
to guarantee
the product
will NEVER ship.

I know that
so I give myself
deadlines.
If I pass them,
I can no longer
change the product.

I also tend
to delegate tasks
and then walk away
from them.
I don’t want to be involved
with the delegated tasks
because I know
I’ll change the specs
and that will
f*ck up the process.

If you constantly make changes
or you work with someone
who constantly makes changes,
put in systems to deal with that issue.

Because it IS an issue.

Focus On One Target Customer

In the Romance Novel business,
we often talk about
the ‘ideal reader.’

They are the sole person
we’re creating our stories for
and they are the only person
we try to make happy.

This is essential
because no product,
no business,
heck, no person
can be everything to everyone.

As
Seth Godin
shares

“You can’t build a luxury car
that’s also inexpensive,
AND drives well off-road,
AND is very fast
AND super safe.
You can’t create an event
that’s intimate,
open to all comers,
proven,
resilient for any weather,
held outdoors
and unique.”

We have to choose
what we’ll offer,
what we’ll focus on.

I find that much easier
to do
when I have
a target customer
in mind.

There WILL Be Spoilers

I warn readers
there WILL be spoilers
posted
about my newly released stories.

If they want to avoid
the spoilers,
they should pre-order the story.

I know there will be spoilers posted
because I design my stories
to be talked about.

Spoilers are a side effect
of a product launch
product designers should want.

We WANT customers
to rave to others
about our products and services.

During those raves,
too much information
will be shared.
That’s human nature.

So I account for that.
I offer a way
for spoiler-haters
to avoid spoilers
(pre-ordering the story).

And I ensure
the stories provide happiness
even if they are spoiled.
The magic isn’t
in the surprises.

We WANT spoilers
to be posted
about our products/services.

Design those products/services
to prompt spoilers
and to provide satisfaction
if…when those spoilers happen.

Are You Proud Of Your Products?

I’ve written stories
I wasn’t proud to claim as mine.
I did that
because my publisher requested the stories
or
because I thought
those stories were what readers wanted.

The stories sold terribly.

Why?

Because I didn’t promote them
with enthusiasm.
I held back.
I didn’t care as much.

And it showed.
Readers (targets) felt
my misgivings.
Plus one less promotion push a day
adds up.
It makes a difference
over time.

Craft products and services
you are proud
of producing.
It will greatly increase
your chances of success.

Simplify

I’m working on a second draft
of a story.
The biggest and the most important
task
of my second drafts
is to simplify the story,
to prune away scenes and characters
that don’t add to the main plot.
This allows the reader
to focus on the main characters,
the main plot.

There is a myth
that complex is better.
It isn’t.
Simple is key.
Many moving parts
means more parts that can break
and
it means more parts
that the prospect doesn’t understand.

In this bizarre world
we’re currently living it,
it also means
more parts conspiracy theorists
can investigate and use
to spread lies
about our products/services.

Simple is challenging to do
but it often leads to
a better product/service.
Don’t add complexity
if you don’t have to.