According to CliftonStrengths, my #1 strength is Strategy, so it’s no surprise that 1) I’m writing this series on author strategy, and 2) I love the Enneagram.

If you want to know how to work with a person, you need to know what motivates them at that core level. What are they running toward, and what are they running away from, essentially. And the Enneagram is all about motivation.

So let’s talk about what motivates an Enneagram Type Eight, the Challenger, and how to build a comprehensive and compatible author strategy around it.

Though I’m a Type One, my stubbornness and willingness to jump into a fight often get me mistyped as an Eight. Either way, rock on, Eights.

Before we launch into it, let’s revisit what motivates a Challenger:

Type Eight: The Challenger

This type has a big personality, and they can sometimes find success through sheer will and brute force of personality. They’re natural leaders mostly because they would rather die than follow what they consider stupid advice from others. The core desire of an Eight is to have complete power over themselves, which can make a great entrepreneur. And the core fear is being the victim of abuse of power by someone else.

Some things Eights will care about:

Not being beholden to a single retailer
Having full control of their schedule and platform
Only doing the parts of the job that they see value in
Being the leader of their readers, and not the other way around

If you’re a female Eight, you’ve likely been told that you’re “just a lot” more than once. And if you’re a male Eight, you’ve likely been congratulated for your ability to make miracles happen as the leader of your team.

I’m not trying to be divisive or derisive here. Challengers just have a big personality that makes people take notice (and that’s valued very differently based on things like race and gender). But your ability to charge forward regardless of obstacles is a strength for this industry, even if some people try to make you feel like it’s a weakness.

Let’s check out some common reasons Eights might decide to become an indie author in the first place:

“I want to be in charge of my publishing empire.”
“It’s a new industry I can capitalize on big time.”
“I want to make my mark on the world through my stories.”

There will be other reasons, but I bet at least one of these will resonate with you Challengers.

Whereas I might warn other types at this point not to feel ashamed of the real reasons they got into this business, that’s not usually a problem with Eights. Shame doesn’t stick to you like it does the other types, mostly because you don’t take note of it.

So here’s the warning I’ll give you: know and embrace your reasons for choosing this path, but if you go around proclaiming them, you’re not doing yourself any favors. Your strength comes from being able to lead, and your virtue to strive for is kindness.

I’m not saying you need to muzzle yourself, but the more you can strive for being kind, the more people will want to follow you and help you achieve these audacious goals. Announcing to everyone, “I’m going to be a leader in this industry!” will not make the other types fall all over themselves to work with or for you.

To be fair, you can probably do it all yourself, without the help of others, but why would you want to when there are other options that will get you farther in a shorter time? Save your fightin’ energy for necessary fights. (Who am I kidding? You have plenty to go around. But still.)

So, let’s return to the question. What do you want to accomplish with your books? What’s your goal?

Here are a few likely possibilities:

Gaining enough of a market share that Kindle Direct Publishing won’t screw with you.
Break free of the stigma of indie publishing to become an industry force to be reckoned with.
Be impossible to ignore so you can lift up people like you who haven’t historically had a voice in publishing.

This first goal is a big one, let me tell you. I know a few indies who think they’re too big for Amazon to fuck with, but that simply isn’t the case. The federal government isn’t big enough for Amazon not to fuck with it, quite frankly (Amazon is literally taking on the Pentagon in court as we speak). But it’s still a great goal for you, since you’ll derive all kinds of motivation from it.

Just, you know, don’t try to take down Jeff Bezos too soon or you’ll end up flattened. (Pro tip: Keep people around you who will bring you back down to earth about how much power and sway you actually have. You may not like these people, but yes men are the enemy of the Eight.)

The second goal is fantastic, and let me tell you how many indies are waiting for more people to do this. The more breakout successes from indies, the more legitimate the profession. You’re the person to do this! Just don’t turn around and shit on all the indies you left behind, and it’ll remain a noble pursuit.

And this last one is why Challengers include people like MLK Jr., Toni Morrison, and Ghandi. Eights are born to challenge the systems that protect the status quo. And if the status quo doesn’t treat you, an Eight, like a full human being, then the status quo needs to watch the hell out. Because nothing will stop you from demanding and earning respect. You’ll stake your whole life on it.

Now that you have considered the things in this business that will matter to you, why you got into it in the first place, and what your goal might be, let’s construct a sample strategy for your world domination, you benevolent leader, you.

Example:

I got into this business because: I want to challenge the stranglehold of traditional publishing on the voices of women of color.

Things I care about: Not asking for permission or forgiveness, forging a path where others like me can follow, gaining enough power and influence for my message to spread far and wide.

Goal: Make ungodly amounts of money and build a publishing empire that can give dozens of women writers of color a mainstream platform where they can no longer be ignored or marginalized.

Whoa, did you just get chills? I just got chills. That goal is big (and specific, so if it’s doesn’t fit you, just remember this is only an example).

I do want to point out that money means different things to each type, and for Eights, it means POWER. You don’t want an ungodly amount of money, you want an ungodly amount of power, and the psychology behind that is simple: if you have more power than someone else, they can’t have power over you, which is your biggest fear. Anything to keep from feeling powerless and vulnerable! Ach!

So go ahead and make ungodly amounts of money. But I do want to mention that the Challengers whose reputations age well tend not to be the wealthiest, while those who become, shall we say, infamous, tend to do so by amassing a ton of wealth (Saddam Hussein is an Eight, so, well, you know, keep that reality-check friend close).

Anyway, let’s look at the strategy for a Challenger based on the example above:

Locate the genre in which I can make the biggest impact and invest everything I make back into the business until I’m making mid six-figures, then position myself as a spokesperson within the industry and without, talking about the lack of female voices of color within the mainstream. Establish a non-profit that will help fund the mission and, more importantly, position me as the philanthropic face of the cause. Continue expanding and bring more authors into my publishing company, then expand to other storytelling avenues, including Hollywood.

Other types might look at this and think it’s a bit underhanded or inauthentic, so again, you probably don’t want to tell too many people what you’re going for. Make it appear as if each new step forward, each expansion of your reach, is an inevitable consequence of who you are and what you do (you’ll gain more influence this way, anyway).

In conclusion, if you want to build your strategy for your Enneagram Type, be sure to start small, with the things you care about (autonomy, advocacy, power) and keep your plan close to the vest. You get more power from mystery than transparency, anyway. But do find a few confidants and let them in. And keep them around even if they tell you something you don’t want to hear. That’s the real game changer for Challengers. A little vulnerability can go a long way. Learn to love it, and strategize appropriately.