Writing The Book You Want To Read
And finding the readers you want to write for
"If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." - Toni Morrison
I want to read a book about using your words to change the world. Similar books exist, and I’ve read them. Books like Writing To Change The World by Mary Pipher, Writing for Impact by Bill Birchard, and Write a Must-Read: Craft a Book That Changes Lives-Including Your Own by A J Harper, all cover varied but related ground.
These books are excellent reads. I recommend them. But they don’t say everything I want to say on the topic. I still feel I have something to add, from my own experience and from my extensive research on change-making in general, and writing for change in particular.
One of the main reasons I’m on Substack is to try and build a community of like-minded writers and readers. I am (I’m hoping) finding the readers I want to write for. I’m hoping that when I finish writing the book I want to read, you guys will want to read it too.
If that’s your aim too, then Substack is a great place to be. If you have a non-fiction book in mind, here’s what I suggest you do.
Create a Substack with the name of the book you want to write.
Use that Substack to post about your topic (many of your posts can be used in your book, or you can even plan the whole book out, chapter-by-chapter, and post them as you go)
Monitor engagement on your posts to see which resonate most with people (pillar chapters in your book) and which fall flat (cutting room floor)
Build a community of subscribers and followers who are interested in what you have to say
Ask them for feedback
Lemon Tree Mindset by
is a great example of how this can be done (here’s the Substack, and here’s the book).And you can, of course, use your own blog or any other newsletter platform in the same way. I just feel the community element at Substack allows this strategy to work particularly well.
The only stage I’m still missing from the above, is asking for feedback. And I’m rectifying that today. Please take a second to cast a vote.
At least one person who answers this poll will be randomly selected to get a free copy of the book when it’s finished. Unless they answer yes to the last question. Then I’ll send them an Amazon voucher to get a book they actually want to read. (I don’t want to discourage honest feedback!)
Thanks for participating.
Some thoughts from others I’ve been enjoying this week
4 Proven Strategies to Become a Substack Bestseller in 2024 by
, , &Some Thoughts If You're Struggling On Both Medium and Substack by
2 Simple Questions to Create Better Content And Make More Money by
From Beginner to First Book Deal | How Evelyn Skye Became a 6-Figure NYT Bestselling Author from
&The Joy & Connection Marketing Plan by
20 Quick Hitting Pieces of Writing, Marketing, and Audience Building Advice by
What else I’ve been up to this week
Reading: Girl A by Abigail Dean
Listening to: How to Fix Your Sh*t: A Straightforward Guide to a Better Life (on Audible)
Enjoying: Upping my daily steps (over 5,000 a day average this week)
Also enjoying: The back-to-school vibe
This week’s Medium posts
(Friend links, as always, so you can read for free.)
That’s all for this week. If you’re reading this online, feel free to subscribe to get future posts straight to your inbox.
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Thanks for the kind mention!
Thanks for the mention!