Day 15 - Serve

Today is the last day of Jeff Goins' Great Writers series.  I have thoroughly enjoyed this series.  What about you?

If anyone is still interested in downloading Jeff's book, it will be available through today FREE on Amazon.  If you don't have a kindle, you could download the Kindle for PC program and read it on your computer if you are still interested.  You can get it here

Today's topic is Serving Your Reader.

Jeff reminds us that a great writer is selfless. He doesn’t look to his own needs, but finds a way to serve others.

A great writer is a servant. If you’re going to take your writing to the next level — to be truly great — you’re going to have to learn to serve other people.

The big question

One of the biggest questions writers ask is, “What do I write about?”

Every writer needs to write first for herself; that’s where your writing begins. But it’s not where it ends.

As Stephen King says,

Write the first draft with the door closed and the second draft with the door open.

But how do you tackle that second draft? How do you do the work that other people will see?

Serve your audience

Here are three ways to serve your audience with writing:
Solve problems. Not just any problems. But the ones that people don’t know they have. If you have to ask, “What can I do for you?” you’re asking the wrong question. You need to know what your audience needs before they do — whether it means creating a new sub-genre, addressing issues in a way nobody else has, or simply telling your story.
Answer questions. If you don’t know where to begin, look at the questions you want answered. Be observant. This applies to writing fiction and nonfiction alike. Put yourself in the seat of the reader, and guide them where they don’t know they need to go.
Help people. Do favors without being asked. Be generous (think over-the-top here). Do something remarkable, something truly outstanding that will get noticed. And do it for someone else.

Jeff's challenge - find a way to serve your audience

Do a giveaway of a product or service. Find authors or organizations wanting to partner with people like you, and ask them for donations. Do this to build trust with your readers, and make sure whatever you give away clearly adds value to their lives.
Conduct a survey. Find out what readers (or perfect strangers) want, what they struggle with, and create something for them. This can be a blog series or an eBook or a whatever. Just make sure there’s a need for it before you make it.
Write something important and give it away. Publish an eBook to Amazon and distribute it through the KDP Select Program. Or offer it in exchange for people subscribing to your blog.
Answer all correspondence. Respond to every single email, phone call, tweet, etc. until you can’t possibly keep up. Be accessible

Why we do this

Because art, at its core, is about generosity. Not profits — passion. We serve our way into an audience’s affections, because this is the only way influence is earned: gradually, over time, little by little.

We don’t give because we get, but if we do this enough we’ll find that what goes around comes around. Which isn’t the point, but a nice byproduct.

Don’t begin with a “get” mentality; put the giving first. Because if you’re going to leave a legacy, your work will need to be more about others than yourself.

This, by the way, is where most people quit. They stop finding ways to address the needs of others, especially when it gets hard. They fail at realizing their potential: to push back despair and bring hope with words the world needs to hear.

They fail to be writers.

I'm so sad that this series is over but I have learned so much in these past few weeks.  The most important thing I have learned is that I have a lot of work to do, but at least now I feel like I have a direction to work in. 
Thank you to everyone who has been keeping up.  What did you think of the series?