By Holland Webb, @WebbHollandLyle

Once upon a time a man named Writer lived in the Valley of Unpublished with his wife and 14 hungry children. One spring morning, a herald arrived in the valley with a message.

“Flee this valley! It is soon to be destroyed.”

“Where shall we go?” Writer asked.

The herald rolled his eyes. “To the Celestial City of Bestselling Authors, of course.”

“How will I get there? For the way is long and rough, and I do not have a map.”

“Take heart, my friend,” the herald said. “You will have more than adequate advice along the way. There are conferences, books, courses, blogs, writers’ groups, other authors, well-meaning friends, articles, Facebook groups, Twitter accounts, and mentors of all kinds to guide you.”

Writer shook his head sadly (because he was a young writer and did not know that good characters forbear to do anything with an “ly” adverb attached). “All those things I have done since my youth. Yet I remain here in the Valley of Unpublished.”

The herald smacked his forehead. “Egads! I’ll go with you then. But hurry.”

Writer darted home, kissed his wife, grabbed his staff, ran from his kids, and headed out with the herald on the journey from the Valley of Unpublished to the Celestial City of Bestselling Authors.

The fields and roads flooded with hawkers selling every conceivable kind of map, device, and magic potion to transport Writer from the Valley of Unpublished to the City of Bestselling. “Guard your silver carefully,” the herald told him. “Most of this stuff is expensive but worthless.”

Writer already knew that, having been duped into buying a number of crazy widgets over the years that his wife still didn’t let him forget about.

Signs pointed at roads that twisted and turned in all directions.

“Which road will we take,” Writer asked the herald. “Spy novels? Kids’ books? Magazine articles? A big blog? A bestselling devotional? Those roads look wide and spacious.”

The herald kept walking.

“I know! Women’s fiction. I could rock a romance from the male point of view. That’s supposed to be popular.”

“Only if it were published as humor could you write romance,” the herald replied. Writer wondered if the herald were simply his wife in disguise.

“So what’s the road we take from the Valley of Unpublished to the Celestial City of Bestselling Authors, then?”

The herald stopped. “There is only one road out of the Valley of Unpublished. It’s …”

***

(Reality) Now, if this were my story. I’d have the herald drop dead from an arrow between his shoulder blades and make poor ol’ Writer find the way all on his own. But I won’t do that to you.

Instead, I’ll finish the herald’s sentence. “There is only one road out of the Valley of Unpublished. It’s called Writing with Your Reader in Mind.“

Strange name for a road, I know, but it’s the only certain path I know of. I can’t promise it’ll get you all the way to the Celestial City of Bestselling Authors because I’m not there, either. I do, however, earn 100% of my income as a freelance writer, and from that experience, I believe there is nothing more important than starting with your reader in mind.

How do you write reader-centered prose?

Start by asking yourself:

• Who is my ideal reader?
• Why would he or she choose to read this piece?
• When will he or she read it? Is it before-bed reading or clear-the-decks for a day reading?
• What does the reader want to learn from this piece?
• Where did I put the most important information? In an easy to find spot?
• How simple is this piece for my reader to understand?

Getting down to brass tacks, most of us want to write for ourselves. But that’s the attitude that’s keeping us in the Valley of Unpublished. If someone is going to pay us to put our work in front of others, it’s because we have something to say that other people are willing to shell out money to hear.

What do most people want to hear about? Themselves. (I know I’m my favorite topic.) So start there.

Think hard about your reader before you write a word. It’s not as much fun at first as writing whatever flits across your brain, but it’s a great discipline.

Begin writing with your reader in mind. Those are my directions. Send me a postcard from wherever they take you.

Holland Webb is a full-time freelance copywriter and digital marketing strategist living near Greenville, SC. His clients are leaders in the online retail, higher education, and faith-based sectors. Holland has written for brands such as U.S. News & World Report, iLendX, Radisson, Country Inn & Suites, MediaFusion, Modkat, Great Bay Home, IMPACT Water, and BioNetwork. He is a featured writer on Compose.ly, and his monthly copywriting column appears on Almost An Author. You can reach him at www.hollandwebb.com or at hollandlylewebb@gmail.com.