To Pivot or Hunt
“I wonder if I need to pivot,” an author said. It was a word spoken out of frustration, but with a refreshing amount of optimism. A new direction might be all they need to unlock themselves from the rut they’ve been in.
As an editor who helps authors get from idea generation through publication, this comes up a lot. In sessions over the last couple of weeks I’ve had this conversation with different authors, about different stages of projects. “Time for a pivot.” But what does that really mean, and is it what you need?
The Pivot
I know the idea of a pivot from startups—it’s a beautifully simple word to represent a fundamental change. When a company pivots, that means it’s changing its end-goal. Maybe a company started as a dating app but that’s not working, so they turn on their heel, changing direction to instead use their software to match tractor owners with spare parts to other tractor owners who need spare parts.
If I’m on a road trip from Baltimore to New York, but I discover that the forecast calls for rain and all I packed was tank tops, I might pivot to get some sun in Florida. It’s a complete change of destination to make better use of what you have.
Sometimes a pivot is justified. A project that you thought would resonate doesn’t, or people respond by saying, “that’s nice, but what I’d be really interested in is X.” A pivot looks like re-conceptualizing your book to aim it at a different reader (Your book is about how hospital administrators can get magic marker stains out of their clothes—but it turns out hospital administrators aren’t interested in how to get magic marker stains out of their clothes…maybe preschool teachers are!).
However you’re pivoting, it’s a decision to abandon at least a part of what you were aiming for. Setting a different goal. And that’s okay, as long as you go into it with that understanding.
A note on impostor syndrome and the pivot
If you find that you start projects with great energy and anticipation only to go some way into them and hit a block, you might be getting bogged down in self-doubt. If that sounds like you, take stock of your expertise. Are you pivoting repeatedly because you really tackled something that was beyond your ability, or are you experiencing something like impostor syndrome?
Here’s something you can try, from my own experience, to get yourself over those feelings (or to clarify them at the very least). Imagine you are talking to someone who loves and respects you, and who needs help with exactly the thing you’re writing about. What would you say to them? If you would step up confidently to help your mom, your friend, or your sister, that speaks volumes about the self-assurance you should feel. If, on the other hand, you’d hesitate to give advice to someone that close to you, maybe it’s time to rethink.
The Hunt
There’s a chance that what you need isn’t a pivot. Maybe what you need is to go on the hunt. If you’re totally committed to a specific goal, you’ll be willing to change everything else that you’re doing if it keeps that goal in sight.
Being on the hunt could look like a set of nimble tweaks, or it could look like changing your book entirely in order to have the impact you envision.
Let’s say your ultimate goal is to make people understand that social safety net policies are good for economic growth, but no matter how many statistics you gather, the drafts aren’t getting any traction with people you send it to. If you’re on the hunt for that outcome you won’t let it go, and you won’t be loyal to the work you’ve already done—you’ll be loyal to your goal. (But watch out! if you try to be loyal to your goal and your existing project, you can get stuck in an endless cycle of futility.)
You might put away that draft and start over to write a narrative book that follows two different people through experiences that show how the different policies play out. In the end, maybe you find that storytelling got the result you needed, or maybe you’re getting reactions like “that sounds great, but where’s your proof?” and you go back to the first draft to pull key information into the narrative that you now know is compelling for your readers. Throughout the process, you kept your eye on your target, and in the end you hit it.
I could write more about this, but I don’t think I could do a better job describing what an author on the hunt looks like that this video does—
The way the kestrel shifts in every dimension in order to keep its head locked on the target is mind-blowing. It’s one of my favorite visual metaphors.
To Pivot, or to Hunt?
What feels more like what you need—to pivot towards a new target, or to go on the hunt? Answering that question could be the key to unblocking yourself.