The Creative Success Pyramid

Two years ago, I introduced the model I use to help writers get clarity in their work, develop an audience, and launch their work in a meaningful way. It’s called The Creative Success Pyramid. Today I want to share an update to it, which I’ve spent three months working on.

This is it, you can click on the image to download a full-sized PDF:

The Creative Success Pyramid

It’s composed of five basic parts, you start at the bottom and work your way to the top:

  1. Get radical creative clarity on what you create and why.
  2. Build your platform to open pathways to your work.
  3. Create and share with your authentic voice.
  4. Connect with your ideal audience.
  5. Launch and market your writing.

This methodology is meant to tie together the many disparate aspects of what it means to share your work and engage an audience. But what’s more: it is focused on finding a sense of personal fulfillment and creative growth in the process.

I’ve used this model for years, but a few months ago, I wanted to revisit it with fresh eyes as a part of my own creative reset. I took the pyramid apart piece by piece, and then built it back up again, keeping the following in mind:

  • I stress tested every piece against the work I do every day with writers. This is the practical, in the trenches stuff that works, not high-minded theories that sound good on paper, but fall apart in real life.
  • This may sound silly, but part way through the process, I realized the old pyramid wasn’t as elegant of a pyramid as it could have been. Compare the old (left) with the revised (right) :

Here is a 15 minute video walking you through the pyramid:

As you look at the first level of the pyramid, what questions do you have? Let me know.

Thanks!
-Dan