Mission Statement - is it a Mission Impossible?

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief, Southern Writers Magazine

For an author the mission statement for himself or herself as a writer may feel like a “Mission Impossible” some days.

Anytime we have to commit to a formal summary of our aims and values it becomes a tad daunting. After all this is putting to paper our very existence as an author. This becomes a responsibility, a commitment. We’re defining who we are as an author.

With that said, an author needs a mission statement to keep them on track. This statement spells out your goals; how you will make decisions. You will be stating what you will write, what it does for your readers and what it does for you.

I consider this a tool for authors to communicate and develop their objective as a writer. It helps us understand what we are doing.

It should be short and to the point. You could start with defining what genre you write, what it does for your reader and what it does for you.

An example of a first sentence in a mission statement would be the first sentence for Southern Writers Magazine’s mission statement:We promote and showcase authors and their books. Yours might be:  I create historical fiction novels for readers of the American Revolutionary period.

Don’t try to make it flowery, the fewer words the better.

Here are some sights you may want to visit that give information for authors and their mission statements.

Joanna Penn:  http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2013/08/03/mission-statement/

Joanne G Phillips: https://joannegphillips.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/author-mission-statements/

Allen Watson: https://authorallenwatson.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/your-indie-author-mission-statement/

Beth Morrow: http://www.writer2writer.com/writers-mission-statement.htm

There are obviously more sites but I think you can get the gist from these four.

Take the time to put in writing what your career as an author is and it will set you on the “write”  

footing.  When you first start out trying to put it to paper, it may seem like a Mission Impossible but you will succeed. Should you choose to accept this “Mission” we would like to hear what you come up with.