Gleeful enthusiasm

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Love it more than anybody else could, and that passion will seep into other people.

The world is an endless cesspool of nihilism. If you bring some positive energy into the world, people will notice.

Even better: Be authentically excited for everybody else doing cool things. Comment on everything. Be a cheerleader. Buy other people’s stuff, read it, and gush about it.

Write reviews. Tag them on social media. Encourage them. Be in their corner, and they will be more likely to be in your corner.

Even if you don’t love the book, love the person, and tell them how proud you are of them.

If you DO love the book, or the project, then go bananas for it. Over the top enthusiasm. Not stalker crazy, but fanboy/girl out about it.

I’m telling you, NOBODY does this. I hear from so few people about my work even though I ship thousands of books a year, that I absolutely remember the people who reach out, and the ones who do it regularly.

We have a monkey brain that can only remember 150 people at a time, and the more you cheerlead and help people with enthusiasm and with no expectation they will do ANYTHING for you, the more you penetrate that monkey sphere.

The more enthusiastic you are about their stuff, the more they remember you.

Then, if you put out your OWN awesome stuff, they are more likely to help you out, though again, there is no guarantee.

Yes, there are limits, and you can go over the top and scare people off, but you’re more likely to brighten some creator’s day, and it’s a really easy way to be memorable.

I have a friend who is probably the best at this of anybody I know, and specifically worked his way into my life by being wildly enthusiastic about my work, saying nice things, and rarely asking for anything in return.

Sometimes he asked me questions, but usually he just hyped me up, and still does it to this day. Now, he’s been in three of my anthologies, and he’s going to be at my table at SDCC this year.

Yes, it took him making cool stuff for me to start backing him and shouting him out, but it started with him enthusiastically commenting on my work, and saying nice things. Now, he’s a trusted friend and collaborator, all from just gleeful enthusiasm that was undeniable.