Nothing like stating the obvious, huh? Writing a book is a lot of work, but it doesn’t have to be excruciatingly painful (in spite of the famous quote, “Writing is easy; you just open a vein and bleed”).
So You’ve Been Thinking of Writing a Book for Your Business
Mentors and business consultants (and sometimes me) will sometimes advise business owners that they need to write a book to help establish themselves as leaders in their field.
And yes, of course, a book can do that. (A good book, but that’s a topic for another day.)
Let’s set aside the question of whether or not you and your business need a book; we’ll handle that in a future blog post.
Let’s just get right down to it.
Writing a book is a lot of work.
I know. I’ve written dozens. And while the process has become easier for me, it’s still a LOT of work.
People Quit Too Soon
Nine out of ten people who start writing a book don’t finish. I suspect many of those are writing fiction, hoping perhaps for the Great American Novel and seeing their efforts on the page pale in comparison to the vision in their head. (Here’s a wonderfully encouraging clip from Ira Glass called “The Gap” that addresses that.)
This gap is part of the normal process of any kind of creative endeavor. But if no one tells you that, you might give up too soon.
Business authors are a little more motivated to finish their books. Their book doesn’t have to be the Great American Novel. It just needs to be clear, well-written, and advance their agenda, whether that agenda is teaching their principles and methods, attracting new clients, or building credibility. They understand their book is a marketing tool and the audience for that book is (or should be) very targeted.
And because business authors are sharing their expertise, they don’t have the added frustration of having to make things up out of thin air. (Hopefully!)
But writing a book is still hard work and a relatively large project.
Hiring a Ghostwriter or Book Coach
It’s not uncommon for top level executives to hire out the writing of the book altogether. Ghost writers are often behind celebrity books (whether they are accorded recognition or not), but they are not limited to celebrity bios. There are ghostwriters for almost every genre and sub-genre out there, from business books (full disclosure: I am a business ghostwriter) to paranormal zombie billionaire bully romance. (Don’t ask.)
More commonly in my world, the business owner wants to write their book. Scheduling time to write and staying on track are two of the largest hurdles they face. Business owners put the “busy” in business. They have a company to run. Clients to serve. Fires to put out. Then they need to still find the time and head space to write their book.
When I tell my book coaching clients that we can have a fairly final draft of their manuscript finished in 90 to 120 days, they are enthusiastic. My job is to keep them going when the initial enthusiasm flags and things start feeling sloggy. Because they will. It’s good to have someone tell you that’s normal, too.
The Writing Process
The steps to writing a book are deceptively simple. Once you have your subject matter chosen, the process looks like this:
- Organization and Structure
- Creating the Actual Content or as I so delicately call it, “Hanging Meat”
- Checking for Holes and Gaps (This can and should involve beta readers)
- Editing
- Publishing
Looks simple, yes? But every book—and every author—reaches that point where they are lost in the weeds, what fiction authors call “the messy middle.”
That’s where having a book coach really pays off. As the story goes, I’ve been there and I know the way out. Wait? What story you ask?
The West Wing: Noël
Now for the Fantastic Problem
Once you’ve written one book, you will probably want to write a second one. And even a third. Or more.
There’s something very special that happens when you hold your book in your hands. It’s a moment of accomplishment and joy and all those little endorphins flood your brain and make you feel on top of the world.
And, being human, you want to experience that again. And again.
Sometimes you discover that you have more to say on the subject. Or you may decide there are other topics you want to expound on. Your problem goes from “Will I be able to fill an entire book?” to “Will I live long enough to share all the information and experience I have?”
And that’s a fantastic problem to have.
If you’ve been thinking about writing a book for your business (or you’ve been TOLD you need to write a book), let’s talk. I love to talk books! Click here for a Free Consult
