What has happened to
communication between authors and publishers? I love the feeling of a brand new house, when everyone feels like family and the exchange of information flows as freely as a mountain stream. Now, it seems we're expected to be mind readers or seers and know what goes on behind the scenes. Guessing usually doesn't provide a good outcome, so it's best to hear right from the horse's mouth...or that person risks becoming known as the other end. *grin*
Communication isn't just verbal as you can see by the handy-dandy chart I've borrowed. In this industry, email becomes our main source of knowledge, so how it's delivered says a lot about personalities and how much you care about someone and their needs. Tone is absent from our worded missives, so if you've left someone in the dark, let their impatience fester, and generally given them a "who gives a crap" impression, then you can bet, they aren't going to read your list of excuses for not responding with any sort of understanding and compassion. A few little lines can help calm the stormy seas and maintain peace and tranquility.
Remember that new family feel I described above? Yeah, well advance a year or so, and the house has signed so many new authors, the pressure becomes unbearable, and the publisher sinks into the background, perhaps buried by stacks we authors can't see or fathom.
Communication lags, people complain on the loops, tempers flare and people grow more impatient by the moment. The family you enjoyed earlier on now becomes dysfunctional. What could have resolved this problem? A simple attempt to
communicate the issues the publisher faces. I'd rather get an email that says something like this:
I hope you'll all understand if I haven't responded to your needs in the past few weeks, but I'm overwhelmed by _______(insert excuse here), and as soon as I unbury my desk, I'll get to my backlog of author requests. Please know that you are very important to me and I'm not ignoring you, just trying to keep my head above water.
But instead, we are usually the recipients of a scathing email from a fed-up, burned out, pissed-off person who aims her anger at everyone on the loop. Or in the case of one publisher...she took down the loop entirely because she didn't like the group discussing things amongst themselves. Didn't she know we have access to email each other privately? Again, a simple
communication effort could have avoided the problem and speculation that comes with silence. People aren't mind readers. They don't know what's going on in your world unless you let them in.
So, I guess the goal of this post is to encourage people to try two things....patience and
communication. Where one is absent, the other will work for a time, but even the Good Lord expects results within a certain time-frame. I'm a patient person if I know why I'm being patient, but more than anything, I hate having my requests go ignored and speculating 'why me.' I think
communication is key. How about you?
