The biggest mistake people make with business books?
They start writing.
Not outlining.
Not strategizing.
Not positioning.
Just… writing.
And it feels productive—until you realize you’ve written 30,000 words that don’t actually do anything for your business.
And that you’ve been writing in circles.
In fiction, it’s called being a pantser, not a plotter.
In nonfiction? It’s called pointless.
Writing is not the first step in a business book. Positioning is.
Once you start writing, you’re going to face multiple decisions every day:
- What to include
- What to emphasize
And most important,
- What your message is.
If those decisions aren’t guided by strategy, you’re just… guessing. And it’s going to get ugly, I promise.
When I work on a nonfiction book, for myself or for a client, I keep a Post-It note on my laptop with the goals of the book written out, goals for the author, goals for the reader. When I’m making decisions about what to include and what to leave out, what deserves more detail, I look at those goals and ask if the content I am considering meets either or both of those goals. If it meets neither, it goes in the “not used” folder. (It may be useful as a social media post or in a future book or could be reworked. I save everything.)
What Happens When You Skip Positioning
Problem #1: You End Up with a “Generic Expert” Book
A typical business book covers:
- Your experience
- Your knowledge
- Your process or framework
…but nothing stands out.
The Result: You sound like everyone else in your space.
With everyone touting using AI to write your book (Just Say No), we’re going to be seeing more and more of these generic-style, vanilla-pudding books. People don’t pay premium rates for vanilla pudding; vanilla pudding is what you resign yourself to when you can’t get Crème Brûlée.
Prospects can go just about anywhere and get generic business advice. Your book should differentiate you in whatever way makes you unique. So many business people are afraid to own their personalities. But people want to work with people who are self-confident. Being yourself shows that you know who you are and you’re ready to deliver on your promises. A prospect can talk to ten different consultants and they’re all going to have—basically—the same approach. At that point, they’re looking for the person who can not only offer something different, but someone who will be easy to work with, someone who understands them and their needs.
As much as you are looking for the right-fit client, they are looking for the right-fit advisor. Plan your book with your ideal target market in mind. You’re looking for people who get you, who like your ideas, who feel comfortable with you. The tone of your book is going to attract the right people to you—but only if you are presenting yourself genuinely.
Problem #2: Your Ideal Client Doesn’t Recognize Themselves
Without positioning, you don’t clearly define:
- WHO the book is for
- WHAT specific problem it solves
The result is that readers think, This is interesting… not, This is exactly what I need.
I am a big believer in using case studies in your book. And whether you have hundreds of case studies or only ten, the case studies that we use are chosen specifically to resonate with your ideal client. If you don’t have case studies, we use examples to illustrate the types of problems you solve for people. Your book should give the reader the hope, then the proof, that you can solve whatever issues they are facing.
Problem #3: You Can’t Tie the Book to an Offer
This is huge. It’s the whole point of the book!
If you didn’t define your offer, your pricing level, and your client journey before writing, then you literally (pun intended) don’t know what the book is supposed to lead to. And neither does your reader.
Clarifying your offer before you start writing will shape the character and direction of the book.
Problem #4: You Write Yourself into Corners
I’m not going to pretend I don’t write myself into corners. I do it all the time with blog posts and newsletters. For those types of content, I’ve developed a certain writing style and I use that to work my way out of the corner and make it look like I meant to do it. (Shhh.)
But when it comes to books? I know better than to work without a net.
Without a strategic framework:
- Chapters wander off topic
- Ideas repeat (Even entire sections are repeated!)
- The structure gets lost and readers find the book too confusing (Structure builds rhythm and familiarity for your reader)
The result is that you:
- Overwrite
- Rewrite endlessly, taking much too long to finish the project
- Or abandon the project altogether (This is the most common result I see)
Problem #5: The Book Feels Disconnected from Your Business
It might be:
- Smart
- Well-written
- Entertaining
- Even insightful
But if it doesn’t generate leads, support your services, or strengthen your positioning, your book lives in a vacuum. This goes hand-in-hand with tying your book to an offer.
What Positioning Strategy Actually Does
Positioning is what turns a book from
“something you wrote” → “something that works.”
It Defines Exactly Who the Book Is for
Not Entrepreneurs but:
- A specific type of client
- With a specific problem
- At a specific level
- That you enjoy working with
It Clarifies the Transformation
Before you start writing, you know the journey that you want to take your reader on. You know where they start and where they want to end up. Most important, you know WHY the transformation matters to them.
Here’s a pro tip: Think about your ideal client. Where are they on their journey, at what level are they at when they decide it’s time to turn to you? Start your readers at that point or a little bit before.
It Aligns the Book with Your Offer
The book is designed to lead naturally to:
- A service
- A program
- A next step
Working with you in some capacity should be the next logical step after reading your book. And your book should tell them exactly how to do that. Make your reader’s path clear and easy to follow.
It Creates a Strong, Distinct Point of View
Remember Problem #1 at the top of this article? If you start without a positioning strategy you will end up with a generic book? When you start with a positioning strategy, your book has authority built in. Instead of:
“Here are some good ideas…”
You have:
- A clear stance
- A defined methodology
- A recognizable voice
You are taking a position on things. You are stating your beliefs, your experience and knowledge with clarity and authority. You come across with the confidence that creates trust with your reader.
It Gives You a Structural Blueprint
No more wandering.
You’re not asking, “What should I write next?”
You’re executing a plan. Whether I am coaching someone or ghostwriting their book, I build out a framework for the book and chapters that enables us to place the content, your knowledge, in the proper place, in the proper order. That creates a smoother experience for the reader as well as gives the writing an even flow. Having a structural blueprint in place helps the writing go faster and ensures that your manuscript is delivered on time.
The “Position Before Pages” Rule
Before you write a single word, you should be able to answer:
- Who is this for?
- What specific problem are they trying to solve?
- What do I want them to do after reading?
- What offer does this lead to?
- What makes my approach different?
If you can’t answer those questions, you’re not ready to write yet.
The Difference Between Positioning and Just Writing
A friend asked me to take a look at his book. He was in the real estate investing field and taught creative methods of buying houses. First, I have to commend him because he actually finished the book—most people don’t. I know that he used a lot of content from his seminars and one-on-one coaching business.
He was writing from experience. He had good content ready to slide into the book. But he got lost in the weeds before he was halfway through the book. Entire sections were repeated. The same concept was taught several times. (This often happens when someone doesn’t have a lot of experience or knowledge in the subject and they’re trying to fake their way through. My friend had the knowledge; he just wasn’t organized as a writer.) The book needed heavy editing, but the real problem was that these concepts were being taught by dozens of real estate investing gurus. There was nothing in the book that made him stand out; no reason to buy his book or hire him as a coach when there were more well-known people with better offers.
Contrast him with one of my coaching clients. He has a very narrow, specific audience. He has decades of experience in that industry, and he has added more experience on top of what the average leader in that industry has. That special knowledge is what sets him apart.
We discussed what his readers needed and used that to guide the content in the book. Then we built a framework for the chapters of the book. While we knew the reader of the book would be frontline personnel, the book also needed to appeal to their upper-level management—the people that would hire him to provide in-person training.
The book became not just a manual for the frontline personnel, but a highly successful marketing tool for his high-ticket trainings. The bonus? It also became a strong additional income stream from back-of-room and private online sales.
Bottom Line
Most people think writing a book is about discipline.
It’s not.
It’s about direction.
Without positioning, you can write for months and still end up with something that doesn’t serve your business.
If your book feels vague or unfocused, if it doesn’t connect to your services, then it’s not a writing problem. It’s a positioning problem.
Before you write your book, you need to design:
- Who it’s for
- What it does
- And how it fits into your business
That’s the foundation of the Authority Book Platform.
Because a book that isn’t positioned… can’t perform.
