Being the author of a book gives you an edge. If you’ve written a book and your competitor hasn’t, it can make a difference. You have that additional authority as a thought-leader in your industry.
But what do you do if you are not a natural writer?
If your grammar and punctuation are best described as ‘variable’ or your spelling is pants, does that mean this isn’t an option for you?
There are always ways around the non-writer problem!
- Does it have to be you? Is there someone else in your business who could put a draft together?
- I’ve written books with co-authors who haven’t written a word – but they’ve talked a lot! Could you talk to someone (or record your thoughts) so they could put your words into writing?
- You could outsource it. There are plenty of people who will ghost write your book (we do this for some clients). It costs more, but it depends on how much influence you think it could have and whether investing in a ghost writer would be offset by a couple of high value contracts.
What to write about
This is often a challenge, but almost every business owner has a wealth of knowledge and experience that they can share.
Start with the conversations you have with current and previous clients.
- What questions do they often ask?
- What are they surprised to discover?
- What are you surprised that they don’t know?
The answers to these questions should give you plenty of material to get started.
Remember that a book is not a sales pitch, it’s sharing valuable knowledge. Your aim is to make life easier for your readers.
- You could use a Q&A format tackling the answer to a question in each chapter.
- You could use a tips format, putting all the tips around one subject in a section.
- You could build a system one chapter at a time.
If you are selling products rather than services, you might want to take a different approach using a series of case studies or stories, even humorous ones!
Remember to get permission if you use a client’s case study. If they’re a recognisable organisation, even if you don’t name them, be careful with their reputation as it will affect yours!
If you want help to get started ask me for the Pipedream to Proposal document.
