Minimally viable products for authors are a great way to begin, sustain, and build your writing business. Several years ago, I listened to a podcast episode from the founder of a popular Facebook community for writers. He explained his theory on the minimally viable product as it relates to fiction. As I mentioned in my previous post, Fear and Perfectionism are Killing Your Projects, I’ve struggled with perfectionism my entire life. It has crippled both my productivity and my publication schedule. So, the idea of a minimally viable product both terrified and intrigued me.
WHAT IS A MINIMALLY VIABLE PRODUCT FOR AUTHORS?
Before I explain what a minimally viable product (MVP) is, I feel it’s necessary to explain what it is not. A minimally viable product does not mean low quality. The MVP is not an excuse for sloppy work. I know you know that if you’re reading this.
A MVP allows authors to:
– stifle perfectionism
– publish more often
– keep moving, learning, growing, and failing forward
A good MVP is a tool to gauge, as it relates to authors, readers’ interests. The market then decides whether the author should continue to devote loads of time, money, and advertisement toward a story or series.
IDEAS FOR MINIMALLY VIABLE PRODUCT FOR AUTHORS
A MVP for fiction writers could be a short story, a novella, or even an entire book. If the audience you’ve built is not reading your short story, novella, or the first book in your series, then chances are they won’t be interested in anything else you continue to write in that same world/story. MVPs test the waters with your audience.
Many authors already implement something like this by giving away a MVP in exchange for signing up for their newsletter. In this instance, it serves as a loss leader. I do this with my short story, Grim Revenge.
Another idea I’ve been looking into is using Kindle Vella to test stories in new genres. I’m planning to release a serial next month to experiment. Since the first three episodes of every book in Kindle Vella are free, it may be a great way to gauge an audience to see how many of them are willing to pay to read the rest.
What would this look like if it was easy?
— Tim Ferris
ESSENTIALISM AND EFFORTLESS FOR AUTHORS
The most appealing part of a MVP is that it’s easier and quicker to publish. Not too long ago, I read Essentialism and Effortless by Greg McKeown, which reminded me again of this concept. I highly recommend these books for anyone looking to simplify their lives, and let’s be honest, that’s pretty much everyone, right?
These books can be summed up with this: pursue less and make it easier.
This vibes well with the idea of the MVP. Every piece of creative content we write doesn’t have to be edited seven times, have a minimum of five revisions, have the ideal cover art, and have flawless copy. Everything we do doesn’t have to be perfect or meet our ideal fantasy product.
Some questions to ask when you’re thinking of creating a MVP:
- What are my goals for the project?
It’s important to ask what our goals are with every MVP. I believe MVPs work best when their primary focus is to gauge and/or expand an audience. They should be free or nearly free, and our goal should be to place them in front of as many eyeballs as possible.
- Can I create a system that makes my work good?
Create a system that helps you produce a product that’s 80% perfect. Put it out there if it’s at 80% at your deadline. If you meet 80% before the deadline, great! You have time to polish it more. Either way, it’d be great to get some feedback before you put more money and effort into it.
- What are the bare minimum of steps needed to complete a project?
List all the steps you would typically take to complete the task and eliminate as many as possible.
- What can be done to make the process even easier?
Can you automate anything? Would it be possible to hire someone for part of the process? Could you reach out for help?
Asking these questions will open up a floodgate of opportunities to overcome perfectionism, delete unnecessary tasks, and proceed with your goals.
One of my favorite points in Effortless is that we don’t need to work harder. We just need to work smarter. With every MVP, we should have:
– a reasonable but quick deadline
– a goal for how it will gauge/build our audience
– a system to create the product and replicate it in the future
– a plan to publish the project quickly
Your body of work is only as good as the projects you finish.
– Campbell Walker
QUANTITY CREATES QUALITY
We are building a body of work. To do that, we need more parts. Many of us have internalized the notion of “quality over quantity.” I mean, think about it, how many times have we heard that phrase in our lives? While I feel it has a place, it also creates a barrier. The reality of it is — quantity creates quality.
Allow me to explain… In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear shares a true storyabout how a professor of a photography class at the University of Florida divided his students into two categories — the quantity group and the quality group. The quantity group would be graded by how much work they produced. The quality group would be graded on a singular photo that they felt was their best work. At the end of the semester, all the best work produced was by the quantity group.
You see, the quantity photographers took hundreds of photographs. They spent more time composing and working in the lightroom. They became better photographers with every photograph.
For this reason, I believe authors should publish and put out as much work as possible. Take every lesson and move forward, making every project better and better over time. By doing this, we are honing our craft, receiving feedback, and getting closer and closer to the career we’ve envisioned.
Every time you finish a project, you get better. You’ll get better faster because you complete more often.
At the end of a project, we should ask ourselves:
Is this the best I can do with the skills that I have within the reasonable time frame I’ve allowed for the project?
If the answer is yes, then hit publish.
I plan to publish more of my work to flex this muscle and escape my perfectionism. I hope to get comfortable with creating MVPs and see where it goes. It honestly seems like more of an adventure than a goal.
Remember, sweet friend, your work does not define you, but your work is part of your legacy. So, pursue it with passion, have fun, and stop scrutinizing yourself. We’re all building something great. Don’t let the pursuit of a perfect project get in the way of your dreams.
