Our job as writers, particularly prescriptive nonfiction writers, is to take our readers on a journey. A very specific, personal journey that takes us from Pain Island to Pleasure Island, as Vrinda Norman puts it.
Pain island represents failure, pain, and frustration. These are the negative circumstances, emotions, and thoughts that plague a person at the beginning of the problem-solution journey.
By the way, every good story begins with pain. Readers want to know what the problem is right away.They don’t want to wade through thirty-nine pages, or chapters, to figure that out. Without a problematic situation, or ten, there’s no story. Game over.The book gets tossed.
Pleasure Island, on the other hand, awaits our reader on the other end of the problem-solution pathway.This is what they’ll experience at the end of the long journey. These are the pleasures that will make the struggle along the way worth the effort. The compelling aftermath.
Over the weekend I sat with a friend and talked about that singular feeling one experiences after a long hike up a mountain. He spoke of the wind on his face, the dead quiet all around him, the deep sense of solitude, the vista that reminds you just how small you and your problems are in the grand scheme of life. Sighing, I knew precisely what he meant. We agreed that there was great pleasure to be had at the summit. My friend is in his early 90s and he’s not sure he has another mountain in him, which made him wistful, me sad. I can appreciate the loss of those summit moments, but also the loss of the life-altering experiences you pick up along the trail. The weather surprises, injuries, face plants, and other mishaps you must deal with… they grow you as a person like nothing else will. That growth is gold.
I’m sure I talk about all the benefits you enjoy by having a well-written book out in the world, particularly if you’re an expert. For instance, the right book will allow you to…
• attract ideal clients
• be known, liked, and trusted
• show readers and potential clients the real you
• impact others’ lives and affect radical change
• buttress your credibility and authority
• inspire people by offering them your perspective, your hard-won experience so you can save them time and pain
• catalyze massive action, a change in paradigm, a veritable movement
• spell out your unique process for fixing a specific problem once and for all
• become known as the go-to expert in your niche
• outline your message in a clear, concise way
• improve your business status, marketability, and profitability. In other words, to make more money
• attract bigger stages and coveted opportunities
• garner interviews and media spotlights
• charge more for your associated products and services
But, if you ask me, there’s so much more that happens to a person along the writing journey that actually outweigh the associated (pleasurable) benefits of having a book—the desired outcome.
I love watching my clients evolve during the writing process. It’s as though they finally see their gifts for what they are, as opposed to taking them for granted. Their unique expertise comes shining through on the page, and they’re often amused that others don’t understand a situation the way they do. We all forget beginner’s mind, take it as a given.
Rare is the client who lacks for confidence—you don’t tend to invest in your ideas unless you believe they (and you) have value—but boy, do I see an uptick there too. I think this confidence is built on clarifying one’s message or framework in a way that a reader can track and understand. Fortunately or unfortunately, you create a lot of cat poop before you get that message or framework down the right way. Wrestling with it, problem solving, is what yields that outcome.
Going one or two layers deeper than you do when you’re speaking or teaching on Zoom, that’ll give you clarity that you never had before too. And that kind of clarity is compelling to listeners when you’re having sales conversations, or you’re answering questions, or you’re speaking somewhere off the cuff. That stuff’s magnetic, and so are you. And that feels reallllyyyy good. Priceless, if you want to go all Mastercard-y.
If I were going to wrap this lesson into a nice neat package, I’d have to say this…
I think if the writing process were easy, the fruits of your labor wouldn’t be half as sweet. I’m all about Pleasure Island, the benefits that you get to enjoy at the end of the journey. But I wouldn’t give up the personal growth that comes from overcoming the obstacles along the trail.
