Derek Sivers, an American writer, entrepreneur, and founder of the CD Baby, an online CD store for independent musicians tell the story of two candlemakers. One candlemaker claims that he only uses the finest wax with the best quality wick in his candles. And he sells few dozen candles.
The other candlemaker claims that he only makes prayer candles — the type that you light while praying. And even though his candle quality is not as good as the first candlemaker he ends up selling thousands of candles.
Why?
Because purpose beats product.
Something we all creators needs to learn. In our quest to write the best article, best story, and best book, we forget that it won't get read if it doesn’t serve a purpose.
This is the single reason 95% of people don’t finish the book they are writing, whether it is fiction or non-fiction. They get consumed by the whirlwind of creating the best book.
If they concentrate on solving a problem with their book or entertaining their reader, they will not only become bestselling writers, but they will also be forgiven for their mediocre writing.
Because language is just a medium to put your thoughts across, some of the best-selling books are not literary masterpieces - Rich Dad Poor Dad, Fifty Shades of Grey, and the Harry Potter series are prime examples. But they all serve a purpose.
People buy books to fulfill a specific purpose. Either to be informed or persuaded or entertained and preferably all three.
Make sure whatever you are writing serves a purpose.
Authorpreneur Journey Step 9
Last week, we looked at creating lead magnets (free gifts for your readers) to build your email list. This week we are going to look at how to create purposeful content.
Building an author empire is a long-term thing. Your fans will stay with you for years to come and possibly will read and eventually will buy everything you write. But they will only stay if your work will continue to fulfill their needs.
Keep it in mind when you are writing something for publication, you are fulfilling readers’ needs. Not your own needs. You have your diary and journals for that. Everything else you write is for the benefit of your readers.
How to zero in on what your readers want.
Use the three-piece framework.
When ____, I want it to _____, so that I can _____.
“When ____” refers to the situation, the problem
“I want it to ____” refers to the solution.
“So that I can ____” refers to the outcome.
This framework allows to write with clarity and create a book that serves a purpose.
For example:
The Harry Potter series was directed at middle school readers who were not reading books before because nothing was directed at that age group. This is how the framework captures what the reader wants:
When I read the book, I want it to be interesting and easy to read so that I can am fully engrossed and finish the book.
Rich Dad Poor Dad book was written to give financial knowledge to an average person in the least intimidating way. What the average person wanted was:
When I am told about wealth building, I want it to be told in an easy-to-understand so that I can use it without feeling anxious or stupid.
When I started this newsletter, I wanted it to serve a specific purpose. I was a new writer who wanted to build a business based on my writing, but there was no clear path to follow. I could imagine many other writers facing the same challenge, whose want was captured using the framework:
When I subscribe to the newsletter, I want it to give me clear step-by-step instructions so that I can start my authorpreneur journey in an anxiety-free manner, saving me time and effort.
Your homework this week:
Figure out the purpose of your offering - whether it is a free giveaway, an article, an ebook, or a novel. What specific audience is it for? What need is it fulfilling? Use the three-piece framework to capture that.
When ____, I want it to _____, so that I can _____.
This simple exercise will save you countless hours of work down the line, and you will see much better results.
Writing Industry News
As we are well into the second month of 2021, but the euphoria hasn’t died down, I thought it is a good time to review the Top 10 Trends that every author needs to know for 2021 by Written Word Media, a community of authors who are marketers and technology professionals by the day and readers and writers by night. The top ten trends they are picking are:
More traditional authors will move to the indie model.
More indie authors will collaborate or consolidate in collectives.
Authors will benefit from competition in the eBook marketplace between Amazon, Apple, and Google.
More platforms fighting for Audio supremacy will benefit savvy authors.
Covid-19 will impact book sales in different ways at different times.
The overall ebook market will continue to grow.
Authors will see more success with international sales.
It will be a volatile year for paid advertising.
Email delivery and engagement will become a focus for authors.
Authors who write into series and with big backlists will win larger pieces of the pie.
Read the whole article for full insight. It will be worth your time.
What Am I Up to?
It has been a weird week for me. I experienced several high and lows in a single week. First, I submitted two chapters from my novel for work-shopping and received positive feedback. The full manuscript is due on 11 April. I have to edit 50,000 words and write another 30,000 to fill in the gaps.
I got stuck with article writing this week. Not that I was short of ideas, or I didn’t write anything. I wrote a lot, but for some reason, I was not finishing them or could bring myself to publish them. Then, by the end of the week, I had an epiphany about how to write five articles a week. It was weird - a complete 180 in one week.
This week’s published article Create Before You Consume. Another one is submitted to Ascent, a Medium magazine. Still waiting to hear from the editors.
What Intrigued Me This Week?
Michael Thompson, a Medium writer, talks about having a conversation with one new person per week.
That intrigued me.
Last year I did video calls with my followers on Medium following Cody McGraw’s article 15 Radical Minutes, which were fruitful and memorable. I am going to start that practice again. If you are interested in a 15 minute hook up with me, leave me a note below or email me, and I will set up a call at a mutually convenient time.
You will never know how enriching this experience could be unless you get out of the comfort zone and talk to a total stranger. Read Cody McGraw’s article 15 Radical Minutes, where he tells about making 42 such calls.
That’s it from me this week.
Take care.
Neera Mahajan (www.neeramahajan.com)
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Yes I would certainly be wanting to have 15 minutes’ conversation with you. But thinking of that i kind of get totally blank on how i will make the best of thst opportunity. Will therefore need to prepare for it to make the best of every second talking to you.. really.
Wow.. Neeraji.. today i more realised that i was not wasting my time hoping to enrich myself from you (excuse me for being candid)
Yes.. your letter spells it all out. I truly had a new realisation and outlook on writing -‘purpose beats product’ and much much more.
You were earlier good enough to convey some great critical observations on my story ‘Big Tech..’ https://link.medium.com/QNZOZ7mm2db
My confidence and hope in learning from great writers surely got one more shot tonight.
Wishing you all d v best
Take care
Mahesh Shroff
Looking forward