How do you deal with surprises?
It’s hard enough to write regularly, be productive and meet deadlines. It’s even worse when an unexpected event happens.
I recently dealt with my own series of unexpected events when my car almost overheated. Fortunately, I was less than a mile away from a mechanic shop.
The other good news: My car could be repaired.
The bad news: It would take a few days to do so.
I used Uber’s smartphone app for the next few days. The app allows you to request a ride for a fee. An Uber driver is then sent out to pick you up and take you to your destination.
As I talked with Uber drivers and watched them at work, Uber taught me three lessons about writing and working with readers and writing clients.
1. A.B.H. – Always Be Helpful
My first Uber driver was a guy named Peter. During the drive, I told Peter about my car being in the shop for the next few days.
Peter said he works on cars.
“Oh no,” I thought. “Here we go. This guy’s going to say that I should let him fix my car.”
Instead, Peter mentioned some of the mechanic shops he likes. He also pointed out two of his favorite mechanics that were located along our driving route.
I was impressed.
The lesson?
It’s always good to tell people about your writing expertise. But if a person is looking for writing or marketing help that’s not in your area of knowledge, be helpful. Don’t be afraid to refer a person to someone else you know who is an expert in that area.
It’s a great way to network. Also, the other writer is now much more likely to return the favor and send potential clients your way in the future.
2. Build Relationships
My second Uber driver, Frederick, lives in my neighborhood. We also had a good conversation during the ride as he drove me to my job.
Frederick said his wife works about 15 minutes away from where I work and her workday starts around the same time as my workday.
At the end of the drive, Frederick told me to let him know if I needed another ride to work in the future. He offered to give me a ride to work, as a favor and not as an Uber driver, where he could drop me off first and then take his wife to work.
The Lesson?
You never know who you’re going to meet and really connect with while doing your job.
As writers, we also never know who we’re going to meet while writing and sharing our work.
I have great friendships with people who are in my local writers group. I also taught a writing class at my local community college a few years ago and I’m still friends with a few people who were students.
3. Helping Isn’t Always Easy.
My third Uber driver, Nicole, picked me up after what had been a long day at work for me.
I got into the car with my purse and laid my phone and work badge beside me.
We had a nice conversation on topics ranging from traffic to Panera Bread.
After the trip, I was home for about 5 minutes when I realized I left my phone and my work badge in Nicole’s car.
I was freaking out, especially since I don’t have a landline phone.
I managed to calm down enough to remember Frederick, the Uber driver who lives in my neighborhood. I walked over to Frederick’s home and told him and his wife, Karen, what happened.
It took a few tries using Uber’s website to connect with Nicole, but I finally got in touch with her. She offered to drop off my phone and my badge at my home the next morning. I had already planned to take that morning off from work, so I agreed.
The Lesson?
Helping people is usually inconvenient. Be patient and help anyway.
Writing is often seen as a solitary profession, which is true, to an extent. You will probably spend a lot of quality time with a laptop working on blog posts, magazine articles, story plots, and other writing pieces.
But you must talk to other people eventually. For example, you might do interviews over the phone and in-person for research. It’s also a good idea to network with other writers and other professionals at local social and professional events.
Also, people aren’t perfect.
Sometimes the person you’re interviewing is running late. Or someone tries to leave at the end of a conference or event you’re also attending, only to find out that his/her car won’t start.
Be patient, be understanding and do whatever you can to help.
If an interview runs late, offer to reschedule if you’re not on a tight deadline.
And do whatever you can, to help the person with car trouble, even if it’s calling roadside assistance while the person calls their family or a friend to let them know what’s going on.
Is it inconvenient to do these things? Sure.
But it creates a lot of goodwill.
For example, being able to adapt to interruptions helps you to become a writer that editors and clients can depend on.
And people talking about how you helped the person with car trouble at a networking event, might boost your reputation as well as the event’s reputation.
Final Thoughts
These are the three lessons I learned during the few days I spent Uber riding around town:
- Always be helpful
- Build relationships with others
- Helping others is often inconvenient, but worth it.
I hope these lessons will help you as well.
And I hope my car doesn’t need another major repair for a really long time.
What lessons have you learned about writing? Please share with us in the comments below any tips or questions you have about writing.