Talking your book is more than hitting the record button and letting your thoughts fly. A bit of pre-planning and forethought goes a long way!
Yes, You Can Talk Your Book
Many authors don’t actually write their books—they “talk their book.” This is a technique that I (and many other ghosts/coaches) use with my ghostwriting clients because it helps me capture the author’s voice.
But there is more to “talking a book” than sitting down and hitting the record button. Before I start the series of interviews with my ghostwriting clients, we establish the goals the author has for the book and for his/her business. (I specialize in business and self-improvement books.) We spend substantial time on what should go into the book and what doesn’t fit and what might fit. I organize and develop the structure of the book. And then we leave plenty of room to go deep, fall into rabbit holes, and make sure the author’s personality comes through.
Unfortunately, I have also done “cleanup” on books where a coach (and I use that term loosely) has had people (it seems to happen more often in group coaching) talk their books with results that can range from okay to downright abysmal.
With that in mind, here are some of the most common pitfalls I see people tumble into when “talking” a nonfiction book.
Pitfalls to Avoid When Talking Your Book
- Lack of structure: This is the most common pitfall I see, whether someone has gone through a series of interviews for the book or just sat down and started talking. Many times, book Interviews follow a conversational flow, which may lack the structure necessary for a well-organized book. Just sitting down and hitting record has its own set of problems—structure being just one of them. Without careful planning and, later, intense editing, the book will feel disjointed and lack coherence.
- Incoherent narrative: Transcribing interviews directly into a book can result in a fragmented narrative, especially if the conversations jump between topics or lack smooth transitions. It can be challenging to maintain a clear and logical progression of ideas. (Read my post on why Your Crappy Transcript is NOT a Book.) When I work with a client, I develop a list of interview questions, set in a logical order for each chapter. That way, the interviews follow the set and logical progression for the book, creating a clear narrative.
- Repetition and redundancy: During interviews, participants may repeat information or cover the same ground multiple times. Yes, there is the old adage, “Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you just told them.” A good chapter structure will include an introductory paragraph or two, the meat of the chapter, and then a wrap up with takeaways. That is very different from hammering on the same information page after page. In a book, excessive repetition can be tedious for readers and lead to a bloated manuscript that lacks conciseness. But it’s not just the repetition of the same information said in different ways—I have been brought in to edit books where entire PAGES of text are duplicated word for word in two or more places.
- Lack of depth and analysis: While talking your book captures the spoken word as it happens (good), it often lacks the depth of analysis that can be achieved through written text (bad). A book that relies solely on interviews may lack the necessary context, interpretation, and critical analysis that readers expect. If you’re an expert in your field, it’s easy to talk about your subject off the top of your head. But because of your familiarity with the subject matter, you tend to not go in depth or to analyze what you’re saying, because you’ve already done that at some point—we tend to summarize when we talk. Your book needs to go into full detail.
- Language not at the right level for the target audience: In particular, an expert in their field often doesn’t break down the information so a less-expert audience can understand or take action on the information. The person who interviews the author needs to be able to pick up on when the information is too technical or above the head of the average reader and should ask follow-up questions that break down the information so the reader can benefit from it—and not give up in frustration!
- Limited range of perspectives: Relying solely on talking your book may result in a narrow range of perspectives, i.e., only yours. Yes, the book is your take on things, but “because I said so” is not the way to validate your theories. If you talk your book, you run the risk that it might lack diverse voices or fail to explore alternative viewpoints, limiting its depth and potential impact. You’re basically working in an echo chamber. When writing your book, you’re much more likely to look things up, to check and include various resources, and to substantiate your theories and principles with concrete proof, whether in the form of statistics, studies, or polls.
- Lack of clarity and precision: Oral communication can sometimes be less precise than written text. In conversation, we tend to leave words out or not finish thoughts, leaving room for the person we’re speaking with draw their own conclusions. In transcribing interviews, there may be instances of vague or unclear language that could confuse readers or dilute the intended message. As an expert and an author, depending on your audience, you will most likely need to fill those gaps and spell out the conclusions for your readers.
- Tangents: Whether you are being interviewed or working alone talking your book, it’s easy to digress or go off on tangents that might not be relevant to the overall book. Including excessive tangents or unrelated discussions can distract readers from the book’s main focus. Tangents can often be used in “break out boxes” if they include important information, but deciding what’s useable and what’s a tangent is an important part of the editing process. I love a good rabbit hole—I also know to cut when the hole doesn’t yield a rabbit.
- Editing challenges: Oh my gosh! Transcribing interviews and converting them into a coherent book format is—I’m going to say it—a high level skill. Transcripts require extensive editing. Often times, it involves restructuring or moving information to different sections or chapters. It is time-consuming and labor-intensive to transform raw transcripts into a polished manuscript that reads well. The more prep work you do on the front (organizing/structure) end, the easier your editing process will be. I promise.
- Lack of engagement: Reading a book that primarily consists of transcribed interviews might not offer the same level of engagement as a well-crafted narrative. The absence of storytelling techniques, vivid descriptions, or immersive writing may make the book less captivating, i.e., BORING, for readers. People learn through story and the more stories and case studies you use, the easier it is for people to read and learn. Some people are natural storytellers as speakers and this is where they will shine when talking their books. But most of us need to write down the story to make sure we didn’t leave out important parts and really, to make the story more compelling.
Talking Your Book Shows—Not Always in a Good Way
I have been writing and editing business books and courses for twenty years and I can tell immediately if someone has talked their book. The average reader may not realize it at first, but they will sense that something is off; your book literally will not “read right.”
Careful advance planning can mitigate these pitfalls. The first draft of a well-planned book will still need thorough editing, but it won’t be a nightmare to work through. The first round of edits should also expose any areas that need additional research, depth, and analysis.
There’s nothing wrong with talking your book to help you create that first draft—in fact, I recommend it. But there’s a smart way to go about it. Use this list of pitfalls to guide you through the experience so you don’t end up with an incoherent, un-editable mess.
Need a book coach or a ghostwriter? That’s what I do. Find out more about my services here: Book Coaching Services
