The idealistic path of both helping people and also making money seems great. However, in reality you have to prioritize one. After mastering that one path, then you can look at the other path

Here is what happens to authors who both try to help people and also make money
1) They divide their focus between the two tasks and end up doing neither well
2) For every 1 author who manages to BOTH help other people and also make money, there are 99 authors who fail at both because they are very different goals and involve very different skillsets

Now let's set that aside and understand why it's better to focus on One Target first and master it


If you devote yourself completely to adding value to people, without worrying about getting value back, you grow your customer base very fast, and you build a very strong reputation

This will allow you to sell products based on your reputation to that customer base

The obvious danger is that you don't want to build up an 'imaginary customer base' of people who want everything for free. With digital products (digital music, games, apps, ebooks) this is what happens most often. People think they are building up a 'customer base' by giving things away for free. In reality they are attracting 'non customers'

The very real risk in focusing on helping other people by giving things away for free, without asking for money or value in return, is that you attract people who never want to give any value back

We would very strongly recommend that you set aside your idealistic side and first learn how to make money from books. After that you can do charity or find some way to 'help others'. Helping others by devaluing your work and your time is a pointless exercise

If you absolutely want to first focus on 'helping people' then make them give something back (whether it is a donation to a charity, or some other 'value' they give). This will ensure you attract Readers of Good Intent and not just freeloaders


If you work very hard and learn how to sell books and make money from it, you get a few big advantages

A) You have money and now can choose to 'help others' on your terms
B) You have a valuable skillset and can leverage it to make more money from books, OR even switch to a more lucrative area and make large amounts of money
C) Selling requires better books, better marketing skills, and more focus. It will make you a much better writer and a much better salesman if you focus on making money

Make sure that you learn the skills to make money first. Giving away books under the guise of 'helping others' is easier to do, and the skills you learn are not as relevant to having a career as an author


There is an incredible amount of competition. If you divide your resources and focus 50-50 between two goals, you will end up being mediocre in both areas. Being Mediocre = Being Invisible

Additionally, it is sometimes best to Help Other People by selling them a product that is good value for money. Giving stuff away, or selling it very cheap (at unsustainable prices) very rarely works out