Selling Your Writing

The field of marketing tells us that you will only sell your product or service if it addresses a buyer's needs. For example, a person may have a need for an effective way to express love. As a result, Valentine's Day cards are produced and sold. A person may have a need to feel special or impress others. Hence, high-end restaurants provide this service. The point is that you cannot create a person's needs; you can only create products or services that address those needs. If you want to sell what you make or provide, you must address buyers' needs. The same is true in writing.

People read because they are seeking to address a particular need. Some people need information about a topic. Others may need entertainment to let their minds relax from stressful daily affairs. Even others may need sympathy for or understanding about a current personal problem. With a little thought, you can probably come up with other examples.

Publishers generally have a good understanding of what their readers need, and they accept manuscripts that they feel meet those needs. We assume that you want to publish your writing, meaning you want to sell it. As such, you need to do what publishers do: think about the needs of your intended readers. Before you write the first word, think carefully about your intended readers and ask yourself: what do these readers need?

The answer to this question will help you do two things. First, you will have a better idea about content, meaning what you write about. Second, you will have guidance on the style and structure of the writing, meaning paragraph length, chapter length, manuscript size, vocabulary usage, tone, grammatical complexity, and format. Likewise, when professional editors work with authors, they should always ask about the intended readers so that they may help the authors address the readers' needs.

We recommend that you create a list of readers' needs with a brief description of strategies for addressing each need. For example, if you determine that one need is quick access to facts, you might decide to include a bulleted list of facts at the beginning of each chapter. Whether you use this technique or another, the process of thinking about readers' needs will help you sell your writing.