If you’re here, you probably already have some idea of how writing a book could benefit your business. Perhaps you’re a coach with a signature offer and you’d like to write a book to compliment that offer or allow you to reach a wider audience. Perhaps you’re launching a speaking career and you know that having a book will help you gain access to more lucrative speaking engagements.
But have you considered how writing a book can change your business?
Now, change can be scary and maybe you’re thinking, “I like my business. I’m not sure I want it to change. I just want to write a book.” Okay, but hear me out. The authors with whom I’ve collaborated have all changed their businesses as a result of writing their books. The changes have been positive, intentional steps toward growth. While writing their books was a catalyst for those changes, none of them were unwelcome or made under duress.
So, it’s totally up to you whether you allow your book to change your business. Still, I encourage you to go in with an open mind. In what follows, I talk about three ways writing a book can change your business, drawing on what I’ve witnessed with my ghostwriting and developmental editing clients.
1. Your book can clarify your one-on-one work.
If you already spend a lot of time creating content for your business, writing a book could be relatively easy. This is not the boat most of my ghostwriting clients find themselves in, though.
Many of my clients make most of their income working one-on-one. For instance, one of my clients is a pediatric neuropsychologist working directly with parents and kids. When we started working together, she had a series of ad hoc worksheets, some polished presentations, and a few articles written over a few years. What she lacked, however, was a neat and tidy way of tying everything together.
And this is what writing a book can give you. The process of writing a book requires you to zoom out and look at everything you’ve created (written or not). It induces you to connect dots you wouldn’t otherwise connect. You will naturally have ideas for new products and services. Getting your book done may even give you the confidence to cut ties with non-ideal clients and clear the way for doing the work you really love.
My client created an online course as a result of writing her book and the publicity she earned because of the book has opened the door to new partnerships. She has found her voice and it has changed the way she looks at her business.
2. Your book can help you see where you stand relative to others in your industry.
As a business owner or even as an expert working closely with others outside of your industry, it’s natural to feel isolated. It can be hard to know where you stand relative to others in your industry.
Of course, one way to connect with other experts in your field is to network or attend a conference. And writing a book can make both of these tasks easier. If you promote your book well, you will have others reaching out to connect with you on LinkedIn and other platforms. Your book will give you plenty of fodder to talk about at industry conferences too.
One of my clients is a physical therapist. She has always enjoyed going to conferences and often presents at the biggest conferences in her field. In fact, it was after hearing her present that one of her colleagues first suggested that she write a book and her book will be published with an eager audience awaiting. So having a well-received book can help you stand apart from others in your industry or even place you in the upper echelon.
Also, I always recommend that authors familiarize themselves with the competition before they write their books — get the lay of the land before you do much writing. Too often, I hear of an author only looking at other books in the same genre just before their book goes to print. At this point, it’s too late. If you wait until the book is finished, you’ll have too much at stake to take an objective look at the competition. Your own biases about how unique your book is will set you up to see your book as in a class by itself (whether or not this is true).
It can be scary to face the competition. It can make you feel like an imposter to see a big name with a similar book. But this is where an editor or ghostwriter can give you a truly objective view about what’s unique about your book. Then you can play that up in the marketing (and use it to quiet those inner imposter voices).
3. Your book can open a world of possibilities when it comes to your offers.
Finally, for service-based businesses in particular, having a book can create a ripple effect through your offers. I worked with a financial advisor who was a partner at a high-end firm and after we wrote her book, she decided she wanted to strike out on her own building an independent personal brand consulting with individual clients.
She may have never discovered what she now considers to be her life’s purpose had she not written her book and she wouldn’t have written her book without working with someone like me.
There really is something almost magical about the thinking process required to write a book. Reflecting on what lessons your clients most need to hear and bringing those lessons to life in the pages of your book can change everything…if you’re open to it.
Are you excited about the prospect of publishing a book, but aren’t sure you really want to write it yourself? Take a look at my ghostwriting service guide and then, let’s chat.