Indie Author Biz Tips
Short episodes (5 minutes or less) with quick tips for your author business, really any business.
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Show Notes
Biz Tip #05: Write a Mission Statement
In almost every book and course on business principles and starting your business, they talk about the importance of writing a mission statement. Almost every big business has one for good reason. You need one for your author business. This tip tells you why.
Resources
To learn more about how to treat your writing as a business, get my book, Business and Accounting for Authors. It’s available in e-book, print, or audiobook formats. It includes a section on writing a mission statement.
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Transcript
Hey, fellow Indie Authors. I’m Tora Moon, and I’m your Indie Author Biz Guide. And today I have biz tip number five. Write a mission statement.
In almost every book and course on business principles and starting your business, they talk about the importance of writing a mission statement. Almost every big business has one for good reason, and you, as an indie author with your business, should have one too.
What a mission statement does is distill into one short document, usually only a paragraph or too long, usually under 200 words, the driving force behind your author business. It includes your why. Why are you writing? What are your motivations for writing? What do you want to accomplish with your writing and your core values?
Our mission statement can help us when we’re in a writing slump. Looking at it can reinvigorate and re motivate us, reminding us of why we’re doing this hard work. Because writing books is extremely hard.
An example I have for a mission statement, and this is for my nonfiction, and I have a separate one for my fiction is: “I use my expertise and experience in business and publishing to assist other writers to succeed in their author business. I inspire and guide women entrepreneurs to write and publish their stories. I want my readers to find the information accessible and practical. I try to make complex subjects like accounting and business principles easy to understand. The tone for my books is friendly and encouraging.”
ACTION STEP:
The action step for this tip is write your mission statement. Start by examining your why, your motivations, and what you want to accomplish in your writing. Dive deep into your core values and what is deeply important to you. Then write your mission statement.
If you already have one, pull it out. Does it still fit or do you need to rewrite it to better reflect what you’re doing now?
To learn more about how to treat your writing as a business, get my book Business and Accounting for Authors it’s available in e-book, print, or audio formats on my website. Or you can ask your local library to order for you, or it’s available on all of the retailers. It does include a section on writing your mission statement.
If you need help, I have micro coaching that you can use to help with writing and refining your mission statement.
I hope this tip helps you in your business. We will see you on the next tip.
