Know Thy Self, Know Thy Audience: Your Vision & Mission

By Sage Cohen

When intending to write a book, as with any goal, having a clearly defined target can help you hit the mark. In each issue this year, I'll be asking three questions designed to help you get a handle on what kind of book you're writing, for whom and why. Once you clearly articulate your topic and its value for your audience, you will have the keystone for building your platform.  

Businesses have vision and mission statements that guide them toward success, and so should your book. Answer these questions to help set your sights and chart your course forward.

1. What is the mission of your book? (What is it striving to accomplish, how, and for whom?)
2. Write a 30-second elevator speech describing what your book does, for whom, and why it's valuable.
3. What is your vision for the book? (What are your big dreams and ambitions, in terms of sales, longevity, impact on audience, etc.)

Once written, try these out on people and see how they sound. Notice which concepts roll off of your tongue and which feel tricky to explain. Ask your listeners to repeat back to you what they've heard. This will help you get a sense of how clear your mission and vision are and how well you're able to communicate them. Don't be afraid to revise and refine these a few times based on the feedback you get. You're going to spend years building (and writing) on this foundation. You may as well start with a solid one!

Sage Cohen is the author of Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry, forthcoming from Writer's Digest Books, and the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World. Her poetry and essays appear in journals and anthologies including Cup of Comfort for Writers, Oregon Literary Review, Greater Good and VoiceCatcher. Sage holds an MA in creative writing from New York University and teaches the email class Poetry for the People. For more than a decade, she has run the marketing communications firm Sage Communications.