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AM I READY TO
WRITE A BOOK?
āGood writing does not come from fancy word processors or expensive typewriters or special pencils or hand-crafted quill pens. Good writing comes from good thinking.ā
~ ANN LORING
A LOCAL CELEBRITY ONCE CONTACTED ME because she needed to write her business success story. She was an āaccidental entrepreneurā: after Hurricane Katrina, she stumbled into an opportunity and was a business owner in her own right before she even realized what was happening. Today, she is a recognizable face around New Orleans and has even garnered international press in her industry.
The impetus for her book was a call from Hollywood. After the success of Louisiana-based reality shows like Swamp People, Cajun Pawn Stars, and Duck Dynasty, some producer wanted to film yet another one, this time featuring a resourceful Crescent City entrepreneur. Planning to write her book before getting caught up in filming was a good decision. By the time the show finally aired, we could have found a publisher and had the book ready for immediate release. The show could premiere simultaneously with her book hitting the bookshelves. In the end, she decided to go it alone.
When I spoke to her a few months later, she informed me she had bought āThe Penā: a gorgeous $1,500 Mont Blanc screw-top fountain pen with which she meant to write her memoir. She laughed about her extravagant indulgence and I ribbed her about it a few times over the call. In the end, though, I again encouraged her to share her inspiring story with the world.
The last time I checked, she had yet to write the first word.
Are you doing the same thing? Do you keep thinking and talking about writing your book without ever beginning? Have you been gathering ideas and stories without ever committing them to paper? Are you trying to figure out what to say before you sit down with a pen?
You will never get your book written until you start writing.
Donāt wait. Donāt look for someone to give you permission. Donāt look for a sign from heaven. Donāt wait until you know more or until the stars have aligned. Donāt wait until you have read the right book or bought the right pen. Donāt wait for anything to begin.
If something in you tells you that you need to write a bookādo it.
WHEN SHOULD I BEGIN TO WRITE?
āYou must have experience to write a good nonfiction book, so please do not write a book on how to get rich unless you are already rich.ā
~ PATRICIA CLAY
I received an email from a gentleman in Croatia who asked for help in putting together a book on nutrition and fitness. He wanted to establish himself in the US market via a book first, followed by a business venture later on. He had a great idea. Business books are, hands down, one of the best, fastest, and most cost-effective marketing tools you will ever have. He started off on the right foot.
Too, he had done his homework and identified the US weight loss industry as a lucrative market. Again, he displayed good sense. He even went so far as to profile his ideal demographic and target audience. Kudos for his sensible approach.
The only problem was that he was not an expert in nutrition nor fitness. His experience was nowhere in the area. Not even close. His idea was to hire someone to research enough to write a book on it so that he could claim it as his own.
Now, not every business book is an āexpert bookā based on the authorās expertise in a field. Plenty of great business books have been written by journalists or others who penned a manuscript based on their research and writing skills rather than their own experience. The Power of Habit and A Whole New Mind stand out as two examples. But before Duhigg and Pink wrote their respective books, they spent hundreds of hours doing their homework first: reading, distilling, cross-referencing, interviewing, arguing, and more reading. Even though they were not the authorities on everything in their books before they actually wrote them, they still had to learn enough to become true experts on the subject matter before they knew enough to write a whole book.
You absolutely should write a bookā¦but you should wait until you know enough to write it.
WHEN SHOULD I BEGIN WRITING? (PART II)
āThe best way to become acquainted with a subject
is to write a book about it.ā
~ ATTRIBUTED TO BENJAMIN DISRAELI
Check that.
You should wait until you know enough to publish it. You should absolutely start writing your book today, even if you donāt know enough to release it yet.
One of the best ways to learn a subject is to teach it. Writing takes it to a whole other level. Trying to put a series of cohesive chapters together forces you to learn the topic to a degree you canāt imagine until you do it yourself. It forces you to know enough on a subject toāwell, to write a book on it.
Client after client of mine tells me that authoring a book about their business helped them reach a new level of understanding. Itās not that they did not know their stuff. Most of them were already thought leaders. But1 having to organize their knowledge into a book and explain it in satisfactory detail made them get quite clear about it.
In a question-and-answer interview with me, my client Greg Short put it this way:
The process of writing has been incredibly valuable in helping me think, talk, and deal with these complex concepts at a whole new level. Going into it, I thought I was an expert in the topic area of my book. I came out as an āexpert plus oneā because of my newfound capability in articulating that knowledge.
You should wait until you know enough to publish your book, but start writing ASAP.
THE MAGNUM OPUS FALLACY
āI have never met an author who was sorry he or she wrote a book. They are only sorry they did not write it sooner.ā
~ SAM HORN
One of my favorite fiction formats is epic fantasy, such as The Lord of the Rings. If J.R.R. Tolkienās publisher had released all three books in just one volume, it would have been massive. It would be too unwieldy, resembling a dictionary more than an enjoyable novel. It did not make sense to force the entire story into one book.
By the same token, you do not have to cram everything you know into one massive volume. Iāve heard more than one author declare that their book will be their magnum opus: the great, all-encompassing work of their lifetime. Your book does not need to be an encyclopedia of everything you know on the subject. It should suffice for the purpose at hand.
Professors with decades of research and study behind them can crown their achievements with a final masterpiece. But business changes so rapidly that a thought leadership book might be out of date in just a few years.
What about the year after you release your book? Donāt you think you will have learned a little more? What if the industry shifts or technology renders much of your advice moot? Your masterwork is suddenly insufficient.
This is why textbooks have multiple editions. It is why authors write new books that compete in the marketplace with their older ones. Even business āgreatsā like Napoleon Hill and Dale Carnegie, whose books have endured for decades and who have inspired legions of followers around the world, released multiple works and editions. It is okay if your book does not contain the depth and breadth of your knowledge.
I wish I could give everyone who wanted to write a book a card with this inscription:
Business authors of the world, I hereby give you permission to write more than one book.
You need not feel as if this book were your final word on all things related to the subject. You have the freedom to write about things that may well be rendered obsolete within just a few years. You hereby have the liberty to write an entire series of books cente...
