Business Strategy for Writers


by Philip Martin
Director, Great Lakes Literary, LLC

I’m convinced that aspiring or emerging writers don’t think enough about their business strategy. Having a solid strategy is absolutely crucial for any small independent business . . . including being a writer.

But how do you develop a strategic plan that suits you and provides your best chance for success?

As a consultant to programs in the arts, culture, business, I’ve often had to explain the difference between tactics (or operations) and strategy. What’s the difference?

In a nutshell, an operational plan gives specifics of what you plan to do. Operations are activities: tasks and objectives on a checklist, things to do and pursue.

In contrast, a strategic plan is more about how and why you’re going to do a certain set of things (and not others).

For instance, if you’re taking a trip, your itinerary or budget is an operational plan. Here you can lay out details of your route, how long it should take, where you’ll stay, how much money you plan to spend on travel, lodging, meals, etc.

A strategy, on the other hand, is more like your attitude or approach to traveling. Will you be in a hurry, on a fixed schedule, or leisurely? Will you have preplanned stops or are you open to exploring and being spontaneous? Do you wish to travel alone or in a group? Do you prefer a low-budget approach or one that spends more money for upscale accommodations?

And most of all, why are you going? What do you hope to achieve? Why have you chosen to go in one direction and not another?

To continue this quick example, think about TV’s “reality” game show The Amazing Race. In this, and all the other drawn-out contests so popular these days on the tube, the operations (specific activities the contestants need to do) are fairly fixed (and usually determined by the show’s producers).

But what separates the contestants is strategy. How will each choose to play the game?

On The Amazing Race, will a team choose to be aggressive and push out front, going to the head of the pack? Or be more cautious, playing a waiting game, seeing what others do, tagging along, lurking, waiting for the right time to make a move? Will they be cooperative or aloof or antagonistic to the other teams? Will they enlist local help or try to figure out things for themselves?

On Survivor or Big Brother, will a contestant choose to be trustworthy or opportunistic or conniving? Happy-go-lucky or abrasive in character? A solitary player or seeking alliances? On American Idol, how will the contestants present themselves – in dress, demeanor, dialogue with judges and audience, choices of song?

As an attitude or approach, a good strategy is always current. It is there to suggest how to play a hand, regardless of what’s dealt. A good strategy is purposeful, fits your nature, and is flexible, ready for any new occurrence, obstacle, opportunity.

This is why is having a strategy important for writers. There are so many options of things to do, people to contact, work to write, ways to market it. A good strategy helps you see beyond the trees . . . to understand the forest and plan the best path through it.

So here are some core elements of a writer’s strategic plan. These represent fundamental strategy decisions to make:

1. Will you pursue what you want to write or tailor your work to the marketplace?

Approaches range from those who write whatever what they want, no matter how idiosyncratic or hard to sell . . . to those who write whatever someone will pay them for. Most of us fall in between. But where on the spectrum? Those who aren’t getting published probably aren’t listening enough to the marketplace. You are ignoring or resisting advice from other successful professionals.

Strategic Solution

Find a good agent, editor, writing coach, or well-qualified first reader. And listen to their advice. Think about how to produce work that the marketplace is likely to want; consider how to shape what you like to write into what others will want to read.

2. What is your strategic horizon?

Most aspiring writers tend to keep a fairly short-term viewpoint – reasonable enough, as they may not have the tools to develop a long-term strategy. But such writers may experience a lack of progress. It’s hard to find your way out of the dark woods of unpublished author-dom if you’re distracted by the bark on each tree or confused about which way to go, pursuing a circular path that never moves forward.

For instance, too many want to publish a novel first, rather than undertaking an apprenticeship by publishing shorter pieces, developing credits, honing craft, making contacts. As a strategy, that is fairly risky and prone to failure.

Or new writers abandon networking contacts too soon. They go to a conference, meet an editor or agent, submit something, then walk away if the answer isn’t yes. Instead, experienced writers know to develop and nurture contacts. They stay in touch and create a two-way street, maybe yielding nothing tangible . . . at first. Until one day, a contact pays off in a crucial way.

Strategic Solution

Develop a directed, stepping-stone strategy that builds success over time. Build a lasting network by getting out there, helping others, and staying in touch. One great way to develop great contacts is to help. Help with your area writer’s conference. Join a writer’s organization and help with the behind-the-scenes work. Develop a reading or workshop series for your local library. Publicly recommend people’s work to others. Contribute to online discussions in positive ways. It doesn’t require a ton of time. But it’s part of the strategy of the savvy writer.

3. Will you specialize or tackle a little bit of anything?

How will you create a storytelling voice or a field of special knowledge that sets you apart? How will you create a personal brand? How will you learn what your audience wants? How will you build your knowledge, experience, and skills, and develop a network of contacts who can help with content, getting published, and marketing?

Strategic Solution

Start with a wider range of writing interests, but look to build a core expertise over time, narrowing more work into channels that produce the best results, and steering clear of what doesn’t work as well. Developing a specialty or a distinct focus for your work is one of the most powerful strategies available to a writer.

Good strategy leads to clear operational details.

An intentional (yet simple) strategy will suggest specific activities (part of your “operational plan”) to do. Key elements include increasing visibility, building a network, starting on personal branding techniques, developing related skills, developing a specialty or focus, and being opportunistic . . . while working persistently on your best targets: those most likely to support your work.

Why is strategy so important? Because being a successful writer isn’t predictable or straight-forward. And it’s a very competitive field.

Develop a market-savvy, forward-looking, and focused strategy, and the operational plan will follow. What you should do – and why – will become more clear. Best of all, your efforts will become easier . . . and more successful.

As a writer’s coach and consultant, that’s my focus: finding out who you are as a writer today and how you want to grow, and then helping you build the core strategies of visibility, networks, personal branding, focus, and audience development. I encourage you to visit me at GreatLakesLit.com or LitWave.org (start-up blogs and brands). As always, let me know how I can help.


Copyright 2008 by Philip Martin, director of Great Lakes Literary, LLC, and series editor of The New Writer’s Handbook, an annual anthology. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint, contact the author at www.GreatLakesLit.com.

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