“You don’t write because you want to say something. You write because you have something to say,” said F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby. What will your book be about? Why is it important to share?

Every story has an angle… something that draws the reader in. All the ideas are already out there… there are no “new ideas”, but you can write an original book with the way you present your idea. This often coincides with how you see the world. How do you see the world? Consider how Elizabeth Gilbert wrote about her mid life crisis in Eat, Pray, Love, or how Martha Beck writes about self help. Everything’s been done before, but you haven’t done it before. That’s the difference. That’s your angle. What’s yours? What will your book be about? Why is it important to share?

One of the “golden rules” of writing is that you must know your audience. You must know a lot about them and their needs so that when you write, they know you understand where they’re coming from. If you can do that, if you meet them where they are, you can lift them up to where you want them to be. Who are your people?