Give ’em…

Charlie Bear here.

Ever hear the expression…let them eat cake? Where the heck did that come from?

Or how about this one…Give ’em what they want.

That one pertains to Mom Peep. She learned this little lesson (maybe not such a little lesson) a long, long time ago. Here’s what happened to her.

John Gray had just released Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus and was looking for ordinary people to tell him how his book had made a difference in their lives as a couple. Unpublished, full of hope, but not optimistic, Mom sent in her five pages of manuscript, single-spaced.

When a letter arrived from his editing staff asking for permission to publish her work, she was on cloud nine.

She couldn’t believe it! How did she make it past all those who submitted? She knew the answer. She used the terminology from the first book John Gray wrote and she made references to his techniques.

She gave him what he wanted.

Her happiness soared even higher when the galley of her work arrived by Federal Express. This was the stuff she’d read about that happened to other writers. Not to her!

Mars and Venus in Love was soon released. She still can’t believe she’s in that book. Her. Little ‘ole her. He didn’t pay her a dime. He didn’t give her a byline. But hey, she knows she’s in there, and that’s what matters.

It’s been a long time since that first “sale,” and she’s been published numerous times since then (some of them have even paid her…good thing, so she can buy me more treats). Sometimes, she said, it’s been hard to keep going. But she knew that if John Gray liked her writing, then maybe she could make it out there. She didn’t get paid in cold hard cash, but she got something even more valuable. A boost to her ego. A lift to her self-esteem. Those things were worth more to her than a fistful of green dollars that she would have blown in a fast food restaurant or the nearest grocery store.

That first sale was priceless.

* * * * * *

So there you have it. How Mom Peep learned to “Give ‘Em What They Want.”

Have you learned this? Maybe in writing, maybe in your job in sales, maybe as an employee, or in your work in public relations? Tell us how this has worked for you.

Wiggles and Woofs,
Charlie Bear

http://www.bjtayloronline.com