(I must say this post was a struggle to write! It's difficult to explain how to find your own personal reason behind something. It's something YOU have to put a lot of thought into. Hopefully these tips will help in that process.)
1. Imagine you will not get paid for this book.
If you didn't gain a single cent from the results of your hard work, would you still want to do it? If not, stop here. Unsubscribe. But if so, what keeps you excited about it? You clearly WANT to do it! You're clearly passionate about it! That's awesome!
2. Your "why" should center around other people.
I find personally the best way to keep myself truly motivated is focusing on what others will gain from my work. All those editing hours will mean something when you see the first reader add a picture to their project page. All the photography work will pay off when someone else mentions how lovely the pictures are. Your why should be thought of through other's eyes. Think of the type of person who will read your book, and get super specific. Maybe the young knitter? The old knitter? The beginner? The advanced? The hip knitter?
3. What is unique to your book and what does it offer people?
What makes your book different? The market doesn't need yet another fair isle book! But it may need a summer fair isle book. No one does summer fair isle simply because fair isle is geared towards cold climates. Boom--that makes it different.
Now, distill what exactly it is that makes your book unique? In my previous example, I could say that very few books cover SUMMER fair isle. This targets the fair isle lovers who enjoy knitting year round. Your book would give those people an opportunity to do so.
How to put together your "why"
Let's smash all these things together and create your true why. I want you to put this up on your fridge or bathroom mirror or just SOMEWHERE where you'll see it all the time. This will really keep you motivated.
I'll use my previous summer fair isle example.
Start with: I want to...
+ a verb: Provide
+ your target audience: year-round knitters who love fair isle
+ your book: summer fair isle patterns.
There you go! Now it's connected to a specific person. Everytime you feel like giving up you can think of those people who really want your book! This will keep you motivated better than the idea of money or fame ever could.
I hope this post was helpful to you! See you next time!
