Anna Daugherty, author of the upcoming novel Reaching for Grace, and I have a couple of things in common. (You can read more about her in my upcoming newsletter. Subscribe to be among the first to read it.) First, we’re published by the same press, Black Rose Writing. Second, we both believe in writing from our values.
Writers don’t feel comfortable sharing their values, especially with how polarized the political landscape is today. (I talk about authors sharing their political views in this TikTok video.) There are several reasons I believe it is important and beneficial for you as a writer to write from your values.
They give you the passion you need to finish your work.
Writing takes time, especially as you edit and edit again, submit your manuscript, go through multiple rejections, edit again, find a publishing route, and edit again and again, until you complete your work. Unless you have passion for what you’re writing, you’re not going to endure all the effort and frustration it takes to bring your writing to readers.
But if you write from your values, you find the passion to create. Your story isn’t just one you want to write. It’s something you must write. It expresses your deepest beliefs and has a message you need to share with the world. You’ll endure any difficulty to finish your writing, and you’ll be relentless in getting it published.
Your values give you a framework for your stories.
Most writers struggle to decide what to write about. If you write from your values, you’re halfway there. You decide who are going to be your heroes and villains, the things they fight over, and the values that prevail. From there, you can pick your genre. Do these characters and values play out best in horror, epic fantasy, or romance?
Anna is a Christian author, so her stories must fit certain expectations. The protagonists must be virtuous or have the potential for virtue as they overcome their shortcomings and past traumas. They must overcome dark forces that seek to corrupt or destroy them. If there is romance, it doesn’t go beyond a kiss. And don’t expect profanity. Working with these parameters helps Anna and other Christian authors focus on the types of stories they want to create.
I come from a different worldview, but my values also help me focus on the characters and stories I want to write about. They also help me filter out elements I don’t want in my writing. I don’t like gore. I don’t like morally ambiguous endings. I want to see good-hearted and compassionate people win, and hypocritical, selfish, and cruel people get what’s coming to them. Writing from my values helps me as well.
Your values provide a useful filter to help you choose the stories you want to write about and guide you to develop those stories.
Your values contribute to your marketing.
When you write from your values, readers know what to expect. They know what genres you write in, what your characters are like, and what they can experience from reading your books. This helps you build your audience. People who share your values are your target audience. As you express your values in your marketing and social media, you can find those readers and connect with them.
Finding a label that aligns with your values can build that connection further. Although we don’t like being pigeonholed, these labels are helpful with marketing. Calling yourself a Christian author like Anna gives you an audience. It helps you find bookstores, review sites, podcasters, and other resources for promoting yourself. So does calling yourself an LGBTQ+ author, a military author, a Jewish author, or a futurist author. Once readers have an idea who you are, they can look closer at the types of books you write and if they are ones they would enjoy.
Your book offers readers something more.
There’s nothing wrong with books that just entertain. Sometimes, readers just want a laugh or a few chills. When you write from your values, those laughs and chills come with something more. They can provide lessons and encourage readers to look at their world differently.
A question writers don’t ask themselves enough is, “What do I want to leave my readers with when they finish my book?” This includes the emotions you want your readers to have. Do you want them to be happy? Sad? Hopeful? And how do you want readers to respond based on those emotions? Be more compassionate to outcasts? Appreciate their families more?
Your values not only help you answer those questions, they get woven into the fabric of your story. Readers understand where you’re coming from. They know who and what to root for. Your readers become more invested in your story, because what’s important to you becomes important to them.
This is why writing from your values is essential to gaining the passion to write, focusing on your story, marketing your work, and connecting with your audience by giving them something more. You’re not just giving people a book to read. You’re giving a piece of yourself and sharing your values with the world.
