Summary

The text emphasizes the importance of treating writing as a business by identifying a target audience, setting goals, and understanding market demands.

Abstract

The article "The Business Of Writing" delves into the intricate relationship between writing as a passion and as a business. It underscores the necessity of recognizing that not all readers will be interested in one's work, akin to not everyone in a market seeking to buy the same product. The author advocates for setting clear writing goals to maintain direction and purpose, drawing from personal experience where a friend's honest critique led to a self-assessment of past writing failures. These included wordy sentences, overuse of complex language, lack of story conflict, and underdeveloped characters. The author contrasts this with successful writers who have a defined niche, consistent output, and relatable content, which engages their audience. The text concludes that to succeed in writing, one must step outside personal biases, understand the audience's needs, and market content effectively, aligning passion with business acumen to create value and stand out in the market.

Opinions

The author believes that writing without a specific market in mind is akin to creating a product for personal satisfaction rather than for sale.
Setting writing goals is crucial to avoid being sidetracked and to understand the purpose and audience of one's writing.
Self-reflection and accepting constructive criticism are vital for growth and improving one's writing.
Successful writers often have a well-defined niche, maintain consistency in their work, and produce content that resonates with their audience.
Marketing one's writing is as important as the creation process, with the author asserting that one must be a good marketer as well as a manufacturer of content.
Personal experiences and unique perspectives are valuable in a saturated market, as they provide a distinct voice and can offer fresh insights on seemingly exhausted topics.
The author suggests that aligning one's passion for writing with business strategies is essential for financial success and personal fulfillment.

The Business Of Writing

Understanding the relationship between business and passion

Where there is a market, there is buying and selling. And to make money in the market, you have to offer what people are willing to buy.

Think of your writing as a product you are selling.

Do you have a group of customers (specific readers you are targeting)? Because not everyone is going to read your work. I mean, not everyone going to the market is going there to buy black shoes.

Creating content because you think everyone is going to like it is similar to making a product because you like it.

You are not making for any market; you are making for yourself. And that is fine.

You can make it and put it up in your house. However, if you make it on the premise that you like it, intending to sell to ‘everyone’ who comes to your shop, then you are going to end up with a lot of inventories.

How do you make it in the market? Set a goal.

Goal Setting

It is vital that before creating any content, you start with a goal.

I say this in almost all my articles because I have experienced working without a goal, and found out that it is the worst thing one can do in their writing career. The reason is that when you are not moving in a set direction, it is so easy to be sidelined.

When you set a writing goal, you know why you are writing and who you are writing for.

With a personal story, I will walk you through how I came to my conclusion for the Business of Writing.

My friend, Vanessa, said she would not buy my book.

It was not out of spite, it was her sincere opinion, and I appreciated her for being honest with me.

I went through my old writings to analyze it the same way I would if it was the writings of a person I was reading for the first time.

Written below are what I observed:

My Past writing

My sentences were wordy. I hardly re-wrote because I thought they were a product of inspiration and should remain untouched.

The beginning paragraphs were mostly epistles. Imagine the choke.

I used unnecessary big words. I liked to read the dictionary and show that I did.

My stories rambled without conflict. I was more vested in delivering a surprise ending than guiding the readers along the journey of the story.

My characters were not properly developed and were cheesy smart. I wanted people to marvel at my quick wit.

All the reasons I did what I did was for me, and me alone. Yet, I was writing in a public domain and wondering why other people’s stories which were not half as impressive as mine (yes, I was proud) were doing much better.

I was not only a selfish writer; I was also deluded. I thought every piece I wrote was brilliant, and I would rush off to publish them as soon as I had hit full-stop (later on, the grammatical and typographical errors would humble me piece by piece).

Who was I writing for? Everybody who cared to read (I was so clueless).

My friend’s comment gave me perspective, and I began to observe writers who I felt were doing well and had good enough engagement.

What I noticed:

1. They had a niche

The writers who did well, stuck to a particular niche and continued to grow their reader-base.

Me on the other hand? I wrote animal fiction when I felt like it. I wrote children’s stories when I felt like. I wrote cheesy romance when I felt like it. I wrote fantasy when I felt like, and I wrote non-fiction when I felt like.

2. They were consistent

I saw that these writers updated regularly –mostly day-to-day.

Me on the other hand? I wrote creative pieces on a whiff and with pure inspiration.

3. They were relatable

In their comment sections, I would see people arguing with characters and their motives and I would laugh in egotism. I wondered if they were so dumb not to realize that it was not real. It was just a story, why on earth were they taking it personally?

Story Conclusion

Sometimes, we get too emotional and overprotective of our work, and maybe if we could step outside of ourselves for a minute, we would see the way the world sees us.

To be a step ahead, you have to see the big picture and to see the big picture, you have to step out of the picture frame.

And that was what I did.

Stepping outside of my work made me realize what I was missing. And as much as my friend’s comment hurt me initially, I am very glad she told it to me. Because I would have kept on thinking that the problem was from the people and not me.

I was a bad marketer as much as I was a terrible manufacturer.

“Creating content is half the work, the rest lies in marketing.”

To make your writing into a business, you have to be willing to look into what the customers want.

Just like a business, you have to identify your target audience and you have to tailor your content to solve their problems.

If you are confused as to where to start, start from inside. What are you good at? What experience do you have?

There is something in everyone which makes everyone different. And by learning to use that differentiating factor, you can stand out and add value to others by teaching what you know. This would become your value offering.

If you are thinking everything has already been said, then ask yourself: ‘By who?’

If the whole world has access to that particular information given out by that person you answered in the previous question, then don’t bother writing. But if you can not call a particular name, then know you still have something to add to the market.

Conclusion

Passion is a personal project, hence, it does not pay the bills. Selling to the market does.

You can still pursue your passion, but imagine how great it would be if it is in line with your business.