Please, and (fill in blank)

 I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. 

                  ~G.K. Chesterton

The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.                       ~Oscar Wilde

 

HANK: Your Mom always told you to do it. Forced you to do it. Ahhh...you'd wail, as ten year old. Do I HAFTA? Yes, she'd say, you do.

 

 And now that we're all grown ups, we write thank you notes all the time. Don't we? 

 Don't we?

 And now, the extremely polite (and extremely successful) Nancy Martin shares a secret: Mom was so right.

 

(Thanks, Nancy!)

NANCY MARTIN:

Here’s what I know about the publishing industry: Thank-you notes make a difference.  

  Here’s the story of my first inkling:

 My first book was a 725-page historical romance which I wrote while I was pregnant with my second child. (Did my hormones have something to do with how long it was? Maybe.) I finished the book on a Friday, and my daughter Sarah was born the following week.

(Talk about a deadline!) The book sold to a publisher a couple of months later, and I managed to get through the editing process without too much angst. (My editor’s first request? Cut 200 pages. Ack! But I did it!) I had been an English teacher before I decided to take a stab at a career writing books, so my manuscript was pretty “clean,” as they say—not too many grammatical mistakes or typos. (Quite an accomplishment, if I do say so myself, because it was written—and re-written—on a portable typewriter. I should have bought stock in White-Out.) My editor even complimented me on my “clean” manuscript.

So I wasn’t prepared for all the appalling red marks on my pristine pages when I first opened the copy-edited version of my book. The copy editor had made hundreds—perhaps thousands!—of corrections to my work. That first reading of the copy-edited ms was incredibly educational . . . and humbling. What a lot to learn!

Having been brought up by a mother who’s a stickler for good manners, I dutifully wrote a thank-you note to that hard-working copy editor. A month later, my phone rang. It was Joan, my copy editor. “I’ve never received a thank-you note before,” she said with amazement in her voice. “And I’m now an acquiring editor. Would you be interested in writing books for me?” You bet!

We agreed that I would write six category romances for her, and my writing career took off. Since then, I’ve written nearly fifty books, and I’ve worked with many, many copy editors. Most have been wonderful. (Only one was a stinker who insisted on changing something in every paragraph for no apparent reason except she just didn’t like my style, I guess.)

 Even now, I still learn something about our language when I open a copy-edited manuscript.

This week, I spent two days reviewing the pages of my next Roxy Abruzzo mystery—called STICKY FINGERS, which will be published next April. While reading the copy editor’s notes, I was reminded of the rules concerning serial commas and interjections, plus the spelling of such words as “jerkwad,” which is one word, not two. (Isn’t the English language wonderfully capricious?) And I was thankful that she caught my mistake sending a full coal barge down the Monongahela River, not up. And how come it was raining on one page, then dry on another. And what happened to the dog that was in a truck one minute and invisible the next? Copy editors save writers from looking like dingalings. So they deserve thank-you notes.

 As do booksellers. I drop a note to booksellers after I’ve visited their stores. Do you? It’s a way of buying goodwill, yes, but also just being nice to nice people. I send my agent a fun gift at Christmas. To my editor and publicist, too. I try to do favors for people who ask because . . . well, it banking good karma, I guess. (Just don’t ask me for a blurb. I’m terrible at blurbing.)

I thank readers who email me, too, if they don’t block their email address. Writing is a lonely profession, so it’s important to create a network of supportive friends.

 A note can make a big difference. Have you written a thank-you note lately? To whom? For what? I gathering thank-you note stories, so tell me yours.

 ********************************************

Nancy Martin is the author of nearly fifty popular fiction novels including the Blackbird Sisters mystery series and the Roxy Abruzzo series. In 2009, she was awarded the Romantic Times lifetime achievement award for mystery writing. She serves on the board of Sisters in Crime and is a founding member of Pennwriters. She teaches writing workshops and blogs at The Lipstick Chronicles.

Comments

[Karen in Ohio]

When I was in my early 20's one of my all-time favorite employers gave me the best advice I've ever had: You cannot say "thank you" too many times.

I've tried to pass that one on to my girls, and so far, so good.

Recently, I had Jonas Brothers concert tickets no one in our family wanted, so I passed them onto a friend for her 8-year old granddaughter. Imagine our surprise and delight when we got an adorable "thank you" note.

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

yes, it's such a treat! Our next door neighbors, very well brought up, taught their little girls from day one (or so) that thank you notes are a necessity.

SO from before the time they could even write, they've dictated their notes to their Mom. And now, as they years go by, we watch their signatures change. And soon, they'll be able to write them on their own. SO CUTE! And so wise.

[Vickie B]

Sadly, thank you notes, like really well-behaved children, are the exception and not the norm. I say thank you to the parents of the well-behaved children and I say thank you for the thank you notes. As well as send them out.