Before you write another word…

(Prefer audio? Click here to listen to the podcast episode.)

In over a decade of mentoring authors, this is one of the biggest areas I’ve seen authors fail - or conversely, soar to fantastic heights.

• Authors who have clarity in this area can make the best decisions for themselves and their book.

• They can ignore wads and wads of advice they don’t need and zero in on that one piece of advice that makes sense for them

• They can persevere in the trenches of writing their next book, solid in their convictions and purposes for that book.

Because friends, there will always be trenches. What I’m going to share in this post isn’t a miracle cure that’s going to make your book write like a dream, your edits effortless, and your marketing guaranteed to work. No one can promise that.

I can’t even promise you a dragon. I know, that alone might make you go “what? Seriously Janeen, why am I even here?”

But stick with me, because while this information won’t be the perfect answer to every problem, it will give your author life definition and help you make those hard, awesome choices that will save you time, money, and stress.

And we’re all about helping you find more time, money, and breathing space here at Author Margins, so let’s do this!

You need to decide whether you’re writing your current book for profit, message, or self-expression. Period. End of story. Once you figure that out, it helps with the rest of the decisions you make.

Because unlike chasing trendy genre categories or testing out the latest software, these categories are timeless. They help you put blinders on like nothing else and make the choices that are important for you, not the person next to you. I review them with every 1:1 client, I’ve discussed them at many online and in-person classes, and I consult them when I’m making decisions about my own books.

So in this occasional series, we’re going to dive into each of these areas. I’ll discuss what they mean for your own author life, how you can use this information to save time with your story, and what to do when your goals clash. Yup, I see you amazing people who say, “But I want to make a profit with this book and write exactly what I want, when I feel like it.” It’s a mood, and we’ll get there.

Here’s just a quick overview of these three sections and what they mean for your book.

Profit - Your book needs to make money. Specifically, the money your book makes must exceed the money you invest in it. In fact, this might even be an absolute need for you. There are no other alternatives. You might be business-minded, or you might just be in a place where your budget demands a profit margin from your book.

You’re in the right place because I’m a fan of this too.

Message - Your book’s message is primary. You’re willing to invest what you need in order for this book to reach as many people as possible. It might not even be necessary for this book to make any money. You might give it away for free and never, ever charge money for it. Connecting with readership is more important than anything else.

I get this, and there is a huge need for these books in the world.

Self-Expression - You’re writing your book to express something important to you and connect with readers who will appreciate that self-expression. You might sail right by those tropes, trends, and oh-so-now genre elements if they don’t fit what you want to say. This book is first and foremost your act of processing a deep theme or fun moment, shaping it around a story, and then hoping readers will connect with that story.

Friend, this is a vibe. There is nothing wrong with embracing the self-expression in your story.

Now, you might be saying, “Wait, Janeen, how can you be a fan of ALL of these categories? Aren’t they at odds?”

We’ll get into that in the future, but the short answer is: nope!

Then, because you’re a smart author, you might say, “Then what’s the point of the categories if there’s overlap anyway?”

The categories aren’t about hard barriers, but about defined starting places. Red, blue, and yellow could all be considered categories of color. Yet we all know that you can blend them to varying degrees and get a host of new shades. That doesn’t invalidate the original three shades—and in the end, you’re still working with variations of those three primary colors.

In the same way, these are three primary starting categories. We’ll discuss mix and matching in future episodes, but everything comes back to these three angles. And the more that you’re sure of your primary reason (and secondary reason) for each of your books, the easier it will be to make the right decisions for you. This gives you the confidence to plan, act, do the thing, and get the data to review.

And I’m here to help you make those next best steps.

Go forth and be awesome!

So, what’s your primary reason for writing your current WIP: profit, message, or self-expression?