A Bookish Business

One principle you’ll see come up in business is the question of “why?”

Why is what you’re doing important? Why do your customers need the service you are providing? Why are you trying to provide this service in the first place? (I’d recommend Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why” to explore this in depth. It’s short and sweet and it brings up some great points).

As an author (or author-to-be) you may think you shouldn’t care about this whole “business” crap but in a very real sense your book is your business (and product).

Regardless of whether you’re finished with your third draft or have yet to put words to paper, it’s important to take stock of what you are trying to achieve with this little venture of yours.

Take It Easy There George RR Martin

Why are you writing this book? It may seem like an easy question but I have seen people struggle with this like I’d just asked them to name their non-existent first child out of the blue.

My advice? Be honest with yourself. Some people are going to write for passion, others for glory.

Are you the type of person that’s just writing to try to make some quick cash (in which case HAHAHAHA good luck, bro) or are you trying to send a message? If your answer is that you’re trying to make a quick buck, how do you plan on doing it? Are you capitalizing on popular trends? Are you imitating popular works or styles? Lord help you if you’re banking on a movie deal (if you want your writing to be made into a movie try writing a script not a novel). If you’re trying to send a message how are you delivering said message? Are you being preachy? Coy? Are you delivering this message up front to your reader or in a gradual reveal? Do yourself a favor and level with yourself and accept the reason you write, whatever it may be.

Ignoring the question of why or, worse, lying to yourself about the answer will achieve nothing more than letting your ego take a metaphorical dookie on your psyche and that will translate to your productivity. If you’re lucky that ding to your writing output may not be significant (though for some people it certainly will be) but I think we can all agree that writing a book is hard enough without mentally stepping on a Lego every time you put pen to paper.

The reality is that you should have the same plan of attack to succeed regardless of what you’re trying to achieve, because if you don’t write something entertaining then no one is going to want to read your work. Entertainment sells. Entertainment with a message endures. Enduring in people’s minds means more profit in the long run and that means more desire to read more of your books.

So, in conclusion:

Step 1: Decide on what you’re trying to achieve with your writing.

Step 2: Write something

Step 3: ?

Step 4: “Profit”