A sweet spot exists between writing for love and writing for money. You don’t have to do one or the other. It’s not a binary decision. 

You may not have realized it before now, but chances are, you’re already writing somewhere in this sweet spot. 

SURPRISE! 

When you spend time thinking about what genre you’re writing in, developing characters, the world your story takes place in, what will appeal to an agent or a reader, and all the other questions about what your book is going to be like when it’s finished, who will receive it, and how it will be received--you’re writing in the sweet spot.

Instead of asking, “What do I want?” or “What are the results I want?” when you’re writing in the Sweet Spot you’re shifting your thinking to, “What do my readers want and how do I give it to them?”  

The stories you love, and the stories that make you money overlap. 

There is an audience out there for whatever it is you’re writing. The trick is finding them. 

So why should you write in the sweet spot? 

Because you get the best of both worlds -- Love and money. Self-fulfillment and results.

Reasons to write in the sweet spot

#1 Love is fuel.

You need a lot of love to fuel your stories to survive in this industry. No matter what method you’re using to publish, writing and selling books is difficult. Loving your stories is the jet pack rocket fuel that gets you through a dozen rewrites, bad reviews, agent rejections, and long dark nights of your soul filled with imposter syndrome and pints of Chunky Monkey.

#2 Emotional Distance 

It can feel very antiseptic, creating for a result and not only for passion. When you’re in the sweet spot, you have the beneficial perspective of seeing what you love as also having a place external to you and out in the world. Writing for an audience requires sending a certain amount of your ego on vacation. It’s no longer only about what you want, it’s also about incorporating what your audience wants. 

#3 Audience Awareness

If you’re publishing because you want thousands of people reading your books, and if you’re not thinking about those readers and what they like, then you’re risking your book never being read. When you can give people what they want that makes them happy and satisfied, they’re more willing to give you money, reviews, recommendations, etc.

#4  Result Oriented
You’re writing with the intention of results. This requires asking yourself WHY you want to publish. Your answer might be to change minds, to educate, to share your story with the world, to win awards. For many writers, their reason is about money. Maybe you want to have a side hustle, or replace your day job, or start building your retirement. Whatever your reason, you’re writing because you have a specific goal you want to achieve.

#5 Be smarter
We live at a time where there are many paths to getting our stories into the world. All of those paths involve getting your books into your readers’ hands. Above I mentioned that there’s an audience out there for every story, but the trick is finding them. When you know who you’re writing for, what you’re writing, and how you’re getting it to them, you’re smarter about how to bring all these pieces together to find your audience. 

Writing in the sweet spot is about writing what you’re passionate about, and positioning yourself to understand your market and audience so that ultimately you can achieve your goals. 

This may not be what drew you to writing. You may still be thinking of writing as an expression of your passion for storytelling, and it can be. You may also be focused on writing whatever you need to to make enough money to pay your rent or go spend the weekend at that snazzy spa in Sedona. But it doesn’t have to be a binary decision. 

You can write in this intersection of love and money.

Hello!
My name is Jocelyn.

Story warrior, book lover, day dreamer, gardener, and creative. I help serious writers roll up their sleeves, get their novel ready for publishing, and reach readers. When I’m not elbow-deep in the story trenches, I’m outside world-building in my garden and battling weeds with my three criminal mastermind cats.