Once and awhile the idea for a book will arrive whole and complete. You know
the audience you’re writing for, the market and exactly what you want to
say. It’s much more usual, however, to start with an idea that's much
larger or general than works for a single book.
The trick is to hone your original thought so you know exactly who you
are writing for and what you want to say to them. I call this a Purpose
Statement.
How Writing a Purpose Statement Helps
A purpose statement acts as the birds eye view of your book and, helps
keep you on track. It helps you identify your ideal reader - the one
you're really writing for. This also pinpoints your market.
Ideally, a purpose statement should have no more than 10 words. It looks like this:
The purpose of this (article/book/etc) is:
your 10 words here
For example, the purpose of this article is: to show the value of a
10 word purpose statement. Exactly 10 words.
Sound impossible? I’ll go so far as to say if you can’t boil your idea
into 10 words or less, you’re not ready to write.
Sure, sometimes you have to do a bit of writing to discover the
purpose, but until you’re clear on what you’re writing for whom, you’re
still working with the idea itself. Purpose statements also work well when
you’re developing queries and proposals.
Let’s take travel writing as an example. Like most ideas, writing about
travel can take many forms. A travel book could be a personal
diary, tips on saving money while traveling, the joys and problems of
traveling single, or as a couple, or as a group. It might by about
Eco-travel or Geo-travel, or who knows what. M
Each of these could be the focus
of writing a book about travel. But each has a different reader and a
different purpose. And each needs it's own purpose statement.
Tips for Writing a Purpose Statement
Start developing your purpose by asking yourself some questions. Using
travel writing as an example, might questions you might ask yourself
include:
How old is your target reader?
Is she a solo traveler or does she prefer groups or have a partner
or children?
Does he want to travel luxury or is he willing to get dirty?
Roughly how much money does she have to spend on a trip?
Does he want to experience something unusual and maybe dangerous?
Would she rather be surrounded by people like herself or is she
delighted with foreigners?
How long will the trip last?
These are, of course, just example questions. You’ll have your own
versions. When you have the answer to the questions you can come up with a
purpose statement for your work. These questions could result in a purpose
statement like:
10 Ways to Save Money While Camping with Your Kids, or
How To Be Truly Pampered This Weekend or,
Get Away Locally on the Cheap, or,
Doing Good While Traveling
Note that only the first takes up the full 10 words. As it happens,
each these purposes might also make a good title; that isn't always true;
sometimes the title comes later. The point here is the purpose statement
which simply sums up exactly the focus your writing will take.
Put your purpose statement at the top of your draft manuscript
in big bold letters or put it on the wall where you can see it easily. Read your purpose statement as you begin your
writing, rewriting and editing. Let it guide and inform you as you create
your book You'll find
both the writing and the marketing much easier.
