How to solve the biggest mistake that aspiring authors make?
There are three steps to master when you are planning to write a book. If we master these three things before we even start writing then we will overcome a lot of challenges that writers have. The first step is Master your Mind and the second one is Master your Reader.
You have an idea of what you want your book to be about, it is a little hazy and you can see the rainbow ahead but you just don’t know where to start. Everything is blurry and you can’t see immediately in front of you. You have so many ideas. You start a new word document on your computer and then….. you have no idea what to write.
This is a common problem that we see at Forward Thinking Publishing and even when we see a fully written manuscript we can guarantee you that the author has not thought about their reader. Why?
Writers tend to write for themselves and not for the reader. This is a massive mistake if you want to write a compelling non-fiction book.
Knowing who your reader is important
Because:-
- It saves time and stops you from writing irrelevant material
- Keeps you out of overwhelm and writer’s block
- Helps you stay motivated
- The reader will love you for it
The first question we ask any aspiring authors is, “Who is the reader?” They sigh and take the time to answer this and the reply is normally “I think”, or “I presume”. We know with these answers that they have not thought about the reader at all!
This is a great shame because by then they have slogged away writing 50,000 (which is a lot of words) and some of which is not relevant to the reader. If they had considered who their reader is before starting writing, then they would not have wasted their time and words.
If you are an aspiring author then before you put pen to paper consider these questions:-
- Who is your reader?
- What is their problem?
- How do you solve it?
By answering these questions first the whole writing process becomes that much easier. When Ann Hobbs, the founder of Forward Thinking Publishing wrote her first book, Kick Ass Your Life she felt unmotivated and even her first draft went up in smoke! She had failed to write for the reader. When she nailed down her reader and created an avatar the writing process was easy and she wrote Kick Ass Your Life in 4 weeks!
Therefore, consider who your reader is, create an avatar of them and put that in the forefront of your mind.
If you would like further information please download the free PDF workbook How to Master your Writing, here.
Happy writing!