Today’s post comes courtesy of writer Jennifer Farwell. Thanks, Jennifer!
It has been said that the most valuable thing any of us has, which we can never get back, is time.
As an author, one of the most valuable things that literary agents and your readers can give you is the time they spend reading your work. If you’re really lucky, you may also receive feedback, ratings, and reviews about this work.
Now stop for a moment and ask yourself the following question: How do I respond to someone who has taken the time to read my work?
Your response probably varies depending upon the feedback received. In the case of a positive response from a literary agent that gives you hope of finding yourself as the agent’s client, it’s likely that you’ll go out of your way to show your appreciation for their time and encouragement, and put forth your most appreciative and gracious author self.
If you’ve released a book, and someone who has read the book leaves a great rating or review, what’s your usual response? Chances are good that it’s smiling and taking a moment to bask in the afterglow that follows a warm reception of your work. You might tweet about receiving a good review, but ultimately, you’ll move on with your day.
Now what if you’ve received the dreaded rejection letter from an agent, and it includes an actionable sentence or two about what didn’t work for them? Or how about when someone who has read your book leaves a mediocre rating or a bad book review?
Believe it or not, every one of these scenarios deserves expressed appreciation for the person who read your work, whether it was a book, a query letter, or a partial manuscript. Each of these is also an opportunity to set yourself apart as an author with the use of just two words:
Thank you.
Saying ‘Thank You’ to Readers and Agents
When it’s possible to get in touch with the person who has read your work (on Goodreads, for example, you can send a message to the reader), I strongly advocate taking the time to send a thank you note. Here are just two reasons why:
- Showing your appreciation can bring value to the person who gave you their valuable time.
- Responding with appreciation to feedback about your work can help you establish a positive professional reputation and public image, two things that an author needs to be conscious of.
It’s easy to see why you’d want to thank a reader who has left a great review. What may not be so apparent is why you’d want to thank a literary agent who has passed on your work, or a reader who wasn’t thrilled by what they read. In both of these cases, though, it’s important to remember that the reader has given you time from their life that they can never re-claim. This time could easily have been spent doing other things, including choosing to read other books.
When an agent goes out of their way to provide even a sentence of personalized feedback, that’s time out of their day. It’s also above and beyond what 99% of other agents who decide to pass on your work will take the time to do. Not to mention, this type of response from an agent allows you to take a closer look at what isn’t working, so you can make the changes that may help you succeed.
When a reader leaves a negative rating or review, there’s often a reason for it. If he or she chooses to state this reason, it will at times be something you can act upon, such as formatting or other errors. If it’s something like inauthentic dialogue, you can learn from their critique and keep the issue in mind to help improve your writing.
All too often, authors fail to see the value this type of feedback offers when it comes packaged in a form that isn’t a rave review. They also miss the opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate their readers for taking the time to provide them with valuable advice. And when the opportunity to appreciate a reader isn’t acted upon, other professional opportunities are also missed. For example:
- When you thank a reader, this simple act can help encourage him or her to recommend your work to friends and social networks. In turn, this increases the number of potential readers for your work.
- When you thank an agent for their feedback, even when they’ve passed on your work, you are setting yourself apart from a good number of authors who react defensively and potentially close the door on working with the agent in future. Don’t believe me? Follow a few literary agents on Twitter or read their blogs, and you’re sure to hear the horror stories about authors responding to rejection letters and constructive feedback with arguments and anger.
So set yourself apart, and remember to say thank you. This act is probably one of the very first things you were taught in life, and there were good reasons for it.
All of that said, thank you for reading. Your time is valued and appreciated, and always will be.
Jennifer Farwell recently released her first novel, Rock Star’s Girl, under the pen name of J.F. Kristin. By day, she heads up the Yahoo! Store Blog, where she writes about ecommerce for online retailers. You can keep up with Jennifer by visiting her web site, and by following her on Twitter.
I’m so with you on this post, Jennifer. I’ve been on the receiving end (or perhaps I should say the ‘not-receiving end’) of some writers neglecting to say thank you for certain things, and it can be frustrating. Certainly, any time someone goes out of their way to give you feedback or answer a question you have, a quick thank you goes a long way. Thanks again for such a wonderful, thought-provoking article!
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to write this article, Suzannah!
I love this article. I have tried my best over the past several months, to thank people who respond to my blog, critique my work, or just comment in general on my writing. I know how much I appreciate being thanked, so I definitely try to do the same for other writers.
Thank you for a wonderful post, Jennifer. 🙂
Thank you for the comment, Ashley! (I saw your tweet first. :)) I am positive that everyone you’ve made the effort to thank appreciates it very much. Also, congratulations on your Versatile Blogger Award!
I have the habit of writing a short thank you when I get a query rejection and always wondered if that was proper. Thank you for the insight and the helpful post 🙂
Thanks for reading and commenting, Florence! I’m sure receiving a thank you note following a query rejection is very refreshing to many agents. 🙂 (Also, I saw on your blog that you finished six novels and a novella in four years? Wow. Way to go, and congratulations.)
I am always so grateful that an agent has taken the time to read and to think about my work that I thank them. The comments spur me to reconsider my work, which causes me to either change something, or believe more strongly in what I have written.
If three people come back with the same comment, say in a reading group, then I always come to the conclusion that something must not be working. One of the most frustrating kinds of comments is when someone says, “You haven’t told us how old the character is,” or where the story is taking place, when it is RIGHT THERE in the text. If it’s RIGHT THERE, and many readers missed it, then maybe I have to say it a different way, or repeat the information in a different form.
A thoughtful, experienced reader who is willing to lay herself on the line and risk telling you how she truly reacted is a great gift.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Ann. 🙂 Setting a standard for the number of people sharing an opinion that indicates a need for tweaks and revisions is a great idea! I also write interface content for various online tools and know that feeling of when something is “RIGHT THERE” but it’s missed. It’s definitely helpful feedback to be grateful for when someone takes the time to tell you they’re confused and can’t find something.
Thank you, Jennifer, for writing about something that is “get ahead advice” for every profession, including writing. I went out to your website, as well. The structure makes it easy to navigate and find the information I wanted. I noticed you published your novel under a pen name. I would be interested to read a post about how that worked in reality. While there is information about pen names, I haven’t read anything about the details of it from someone who has one (that I know of). Thank you, again. And thanks to you, Suzanna, for this guest post.
Thank you, Cindi! And thank you for the blog post idea. In my case, the choice of using a pen name was because the book I’m now working on is of a completely different genre, so my hope is that a pen name makes it easy for readers to differentiate the types of writing I do. Definitely look for a post in the near future about using a pen name. 🙂
Thanks for the post. This is so true for anything you do in life. You will be so much more successful if you can learn to show gratitude to people that take the time to listen to you or teach you how to do something or anything else. People forget the power that such a simple statement has. It’s so important to show our gratitude and express it to those around us, because when we do it gives them a reason to keep giving us their time and energy–they know it’s appreciated.
Thanks again for the post! 🙂
Thank you for your comment, Tiffany! And congratulations on getting the role in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Your messages of “don’t give up” and “believe in yourself” are very valuable! 🙂
Thank you, Jennifer. (Easy words to say & they feel good too!)
Thank you for the comment, Ruth. I love the gratitude list on your site! 🙂
I have to say that this article really give us more info and I learned a lot from this. Yeah! You will gain success if you can learn to show gratitude to people that take the time to listen to you or teach you how to do something or anything else.
Thank you for the comment, John, and I’m so happy to hear that you found the article helpful. I appreciate this! 🙂
What a great reminder that a thank you note goes a long way!
Thanks for reading and for the comment, Stephanie. Best wishes for your YA novel! 🙂
Thanks for posting this article, but I wanted to warn folks to tread lightly when commenting on their own Goodreads reviews or privately contacting the reviewers there.
I’ve seen quite a few discussions about this crop up on Goodreads over the years, and some folks definitely enjoy responses from the authors they read. But others have said that knowing an author is paying attention makes them nervous or uncomfortable, especially if their review includes some constructive criticism. Goodreads is a great site and it’s wonderful to see so many authors participating there, I just wanted to mention that some of its users like to keep a little distance between themselves and the authors they’re reading.
That absolutely make sense, Donna. I make it a policy to never pry as to the reason for someone’s review if the review or rating didn’t state this. When it does state it, anything sent their way is simply a thank you and statement of appreciation that they took the time to read and leave a review. 🙂