Ranbir

5 Steps To Build Your Novel Like A Tech Start-Up

4 min read

This week, I’ll teach you how reframing your novel like a start-up can be a massive unlock.

The typical start-up stages are:

  1. Pre-Seed
  2. Seed
  3. Series A
  4. Series B (Then Series C & beyond)
  5. Initial Public Offering (IPO)

These stages represent the amount & type of funding your start-up has. If you know business, thinking about your novel in a similar way can help make the unknown more relatable.

Unfortunately, many people don’t like comparing the art of writing to the business of tech.

People think fiction writing is something ‘special’

  • ‘We can’t use tech standards for art.’
  • ‘My novel can’t compare to anything that’s come before.’
  • ‘Writing is something mystical & can’t be operationalized.’

Let the ‘serious’ writers be & give this reframe a shot.

Here’s how to think about it, step by step:

It starts as a family affair.

When your novel is in the pre-seed stage, all you’ve got is a dream.

You primarily derive your support from family & friends. You are bootstrapping - using your own resources to get off the ground. You’re exploring the feasibility of your big idea.

View your novel as a minimum viable product.

If your idea won’t make for a compelling tweet it won’t make for a compelling novel.

Don’t leave yourself in suspense until you’re at 60,000 words. Find out in 280 characters. In the seed stage, you have settled on your big idea & now must put it into action.

This is your first test to see if you’ve got an idea that resonates. From here, expand your tweet into an atomic essay, then again to article length. You need to iterate often & listen to your target market for feedback.

If there’s immediate interest, crowdfunding your novel could be a fun idea.

Start building out the business.

By the time you’ve hit Series A, you’ve got a working model & systems in place.

Your idea has proven to be scalable. This means a finalized story structure for the entire novel. You’ve also got the key team in place by fleshing out all your characters.

Now all you’ve got to do is sit down & write the damn thing!

People start noticing.

In Series B you’re in peak build mode.

Your days involve writing draft after draft, & getting closer to the finished product. Your IPO is in sight, so you’re also working on your query letter for publishers. You may also be lucky enough to get the attention of a key investor - an agent.

Executing this stage well will determine if you’re ready to go public.

The big day arrives.

Start-ups succeed once they’re able to turn the value of their company into equity that they can sell.

The hard work on your novel will end the same way - with you being able to sell it to readers. You’ll need a big marketing push & proper institutional support (agent & publisher)

Combining lessons from divergent industries is a great way to find better solutions.

To get more help on your first novel:

Happy writing!

Workflow:

  • Pick Theme
    • Advice
      • Writing
      • Storytelling
      • Productivity
      • Mindset
      • Frameworks
    • Update
      • Research
      • Workflow
      • Tools
      • Outlining
      • Digital Garden
  • Pick from Ideas Note
  • Clickable headline
  • Skimmable outline
  • Rough Draft
  • Polished Draft (1:3:1)
  • Hemingway Edit
  • Review- next day, on mobile, out loud
  • Queue on Medium (Tue)
  • Queue on Substack (Tue)
  • Chk for Twitter Notes
  • Insert Backlinks for Digital Garden
  • Write Pre-CTA (Mon)
  • Write Post-CTA (Fri)
  • Write Tweet (Wed)
  • Write Linkedin (Thurs)
  • All scheduled?

Spokes:

Pre-CTA:

Your 1st novel is just like launching a start-up

  1. Pre-Seed: Only your wife cares
  2. Seed: Writing the minimum
  3. Series A: Big things underway
  4. ???
  5. IPO: Profit!

Tomorrow, I’ll run my subscribers thru this reframe: https:/ranbirsingh.substack.com

Post-CTA:

Reframe writing your 1st novel as bootstrapping a start-up & see what it unlocks.

Or you can write my newsletter where I do it for you.

Grab it below ↓

https:/ranbirsingh.substack.com

Tweet:

  • Pick creator-focussed sub-point
  • Can I add new context?

Marketers have a lot to teach novel writers about the power of language.

They can turn something stale into something in-demand.

  1. Dolls become action figures
  2. Crypto becomes Web3
  3. Couchsurfing becomes AirBNB

All are examples of performing magic tricks with words.

Linkedin:

  • Pick business focussed sub-point
  • Can it be made spicy?

Marketers have a lot to teach novel writers about the power of language.

They can turn something stale into something in-demand.

  1. Dolls become action figures
  2. Crypto becomes Web3
  3. Couchsurfing becomes AirBNB

All are examples of performing magic tricks with words.

{1st Comment}

I’m writing my 1st novel completely in public. Interested in how to do the same?

Subscribe to my weekly newsletter here: https://ranbirsingh.substack.com

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