The first step to becoming a published author is to decide what your expectations are and to make personal observations about yourself and your ultimate goals. Are you ready to become a published author? Is there a story behind why you want to do this? If you answered yes to one of these questions, you need to find the answer to the other questions before you get started. If you answered yes to both questions, it’s time to create your mission statement.
Our mission statement:
We could not have put together a publishing firm without having a very clear idea of what we expect from it. What do we do? Why are we doing what we do? What is our end goal? A mission statement is something no organization can do without. We feel writers should also have a mission statement because writers, like organizations, are on a mission.
In a nutshell, our mission at Secular Press is to help untapped talent to publish their secular works, becoming self-sustaining while making the world a better place. We are a publisher because we are activists who believe that there is far more untapped talent than anyone realizes. We refuse to sit by idly when we can help these budding artists and writers to build careers out of doing what they love and having their voices heard.
Most budding artists and writers are struggling to get their work completed while also struggling to pay the bills. They have limited funds and feel they can never quite take it to the mainstream. Secular press was founded in an effort to help new talent take their secular works to the mainstream on a budget. We do this by educating and facilitating teams of secular talent who work together to achieve a common goal of turning good ideas into published works with the intention of gaining the widest possible readership while also generating a positive revenue stream. Our mission as a secular community should be to help each other to succeed so we can more effectively share our ideas and ultimately change the way people see themselves and their world.
The reason religion has such a pervasive grip on society is not because their ideas are necessarily the best ideas. It is because they have mastered the art of organizing and generating revenues which in turn gives them the means to flood the market with their messages. Now it’s our turn. We need good ideas on how to organize and how to build secular communities and to create awareness of our cause. It is our hope that by helping to bring secularists together in support of a common goal, we can build our own industry and collectively, become a force to reckon with.
Your mission statement:
What do you plan to achieve with your works? What’s in it for you? And most importantly, why are you doing this? Be honest with yourself and reflect this honesty in your mission statement. No one has to see it but you.
A writer and co-founder of Secular Press wrote this mission statement:
“My mission is to live a good life and build a positive legacy while helping others who share the same passions to do the same.”
Notice how simple and to the point it is. What you want to accomplish and why you want to accomplish it is your mission statement.
The Secular Press Process
Having a mission is great. Completing a mission is greatness. The process of getting there is where all the fun is.
Overview of the Secular Press Process:
- Have an idea
- Build blog/website/social media presence
- Write
- Write
- Write
- Edit
- Choose cover art
- Choose a licensing & distribution model
- Form or find a publishing company
- Submit to distribution channels
- Submit press releases
- Become a speaker/debater for hire
- Sell sell sell!