It’s often said that everyone has a book inside them. Whether or not that’s true as a whole, it’s certainly true that every business owner has at least one book in them — and often far more than one. Which leaves the question, have you written your book yet?
Most people who dismiss the idea of writing a book do so for one (or more) of three reasons:
- “I’d never get it published.”
- “What could I write about that anyone would want to read?”
- “I can’t write.”
I’d never get it published
It’s actually extremely easy to get a book published these days of e-books and print on demand. All it takes is a bit of determination and organisation, and neither should be something that any business owner lacks.
You won’t get into the Times bestseller list, of course, but you don’t need that. You want the book to be available to the people you want to target. You want it to show up to the people who make just the right search on Amazon. You want to be able to direct people to it and even give away copies at business shows.
And, who knows? You might even get into the Times bestseller list. Stranger things have happened.
What could I write about that anyone would want to read?
I’ll let you into a secret — you’re the world’s number one expert. You’re the expert on your life, your experiences, your knowledge and what you do. What you’ve acquired in the course of your career as a business owner (and before that) is likely to resonate with a great many other people, either in the same sector or at a slightly earlier stage of their progress.
Even if you don’t think you have a book’s worth in you, don’t worry — a book nowadays can be pretty short, especially if it’s an e-book. What you could write about depends a lot on your experiences and your sector, but some examples:
- What are the secrets of your success? You could reveal some of them, at least.
- What are the ten most common problems in your sector?
- What about producing a short book tackling one specific area of your sector that you’re often asked about?
- What’s the story of your success?
- Include anecdotes of the various strange, amusing or inspiring things that have happened in the course of your career.
I can’t write
Writing isn’t really as difficult as many people assume, especially when there’s no need for it to be “literary”. In general, the kind of book you might want to write should be written in a slightly more polished version of the way you talk.
Of course, there are other aspects of writing a book, such as knowing how to organise the material and choosing the most effective wording. Even if you’re not sure how to approach these, however, that only means you need a bit of help.
If you think you might need help to get your book written and published, you’re very welcome to get in touch with me for a chat.
“Procrastination (Lent 11)”by cathyse97 is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
