The following is a guest post written by my dear friend Robert Carnes. Robert is a writing, content, and messaging expert who has been an invaluable resource to me. Click HERE for his website and make sure you pick up a copy of his most recent books The Story Cycle: Your Business Guide to Better Marketing and The Original Storyteller: Your Guide to Becoming a Better Storyteller. I know Robert will make you a better leader because he made me one.
Now onto Robert’s thoughts on book publishing:
Writing a book is hard. Publishing a book is harder. And yes, there’s a difference between the two. Writing a book means assembling the right words on the page. Publishing a book means editing those words, designing a layout, working with a printer, and marketing to an audience.
I’ve been lucky (or perhaps stubborn enough) to publish three books—including my latest book called The Story Cycle about how organizations can use storytelling principles to meaningfully connect with their audience. I’m also crazy enough to continue working on more books.
From this experience, I can tell you that it’s rarely worth publishing a book—except when it is. Most people dream of publishing a book one day, but few do. This is good because it’s a difficult and thankless endeavor, kind of like running a marathon or climbing a mountain. Yet we do it anyway.
For any leader who has yet to publish a book and still clings to that dream, here are a few reasons why you shouldn’t publish a book, along with a few tips for how to if you’re brave enough to ignore my advice.
5 Reasons Why Leaders Shouldn’t Publish a Book
1. You don’t have anything to say.
Thousands of books have already been published by authors more well-known than you. How can you possibly say something unique that hasn’t been expressed by someone else before? To invest your time into a book, you need something new or insightful to say.
Most books should be long blog posts. Most blog posts should be social media posts. We’re better off shortening what we say, rather than rambling on for 200+ pages. We’ve all read books (or started to read) that rehashed tired, old ideas and stretched them to the breaking point.
Unless you genuinely have something original to say or a unique perspective on a topic, it’s not worth your time to publish a book. You could always write a book manuscript and keep it on your laptop. Save it until you know why it matters to a wider audience.
2. You’re not a good writer.
Writing is intimidating. It requires practice to do well. Some leaders have a natural talent for communicating through the written word, but not all do. Even if you have that innate skill, developing to a point where you can write a good book takes years.
Even if you want to write a book, the first copy of your book will be bad. It has to be. You rarely know what you’re going to say the first time. That’s where editing comes in—and editing is perhaps more difficult than writing. It requires you to clarify your points and grow a thick enough skin to admit what’s wrong and strip it out of the book.
Unless you have the time to grow as a writer, working on a book will be agonizing. If you’re intimidated by a Word document, then you best get comfortable with embracing your fears. Or hire a ghostwriter who does that for a living.
3. You don’t have the time.
Developing something to say and developing the skill of writing both take time. Time? Who has the time to do those things? You have an organization to lead, meetings to attend, emails to respond to, and a hundred more pressing things to take care of right now.
Publishing a book is not just an investment of money and emotion—it requires a healthy investment of your time. Books cannot be rushed. Authors are masters of patience, or they’re forced to be good at being impatient a lot of the time.
Anything worthwhile requires time, and I’d hope that you want your book to be worthwhile. Even if that means you need to wait a few more years before you’re even ready to embark on this journey.
4. You won’t make any money.
Publishing books won’t make you rich. Some authors become wealthy and famous, but they’re the extreme exception. Most books won’t make back their initial investment. They’re financial liabilities. That’s the expectation you should enter into publishing with.
Promoting and selling copies of your book is the biggest difference between writing and publishing a book. Writing a book can take a year or two. Promoting the book happens for the rest of your life. Unless you have a massive platform or dedicated audience, you’ll have to grind to share it.
However, books are loss leaders that can open doors to new opportunities. Good books may not sell many copies, but they build credibility for an author.
5. Your book won’t be perfect.
No book is perfect, and each author is painfully aware of this fact. Editing your book manuscript is painful, but it’s a process that you’ll cling to. Because stopping means that you’ll be sharing your book with the world. And that’s a vulnerable and intimidating prospect.
But real artists ship and you’ll never transition from writing to publishing unless you’re willing to let your perpetually imperfect book go. There’s no shame in leaving the book unfinished on your laptop where no critics can find it. Publishing those words with your name on it requires courage.
Publish your book at your own risk. People may have negative things to say. Or they may not even notice the book even exists, which is even more humiliating. At least publishing a book means you were willing to take the risk and enter the arena.
How to Publish a Book Anyway
1. Find a theme you’re passionate about.
Every book worth reading is about something. The author had an idea that could sustain an explanation of a few thousand words. That’s the first ingredient you’ll need before deciding to leap into a publishing journey.
This is an idea you’ll spend the next several years exploring and then promoting. So unless you’re passionate about this topic, then don’t bother dedicating yourself to it. Be willing to commit yourself to this idea for the long term or your book won’t get far.
2. Know who your book is for.
Every book was written for someone. Sometimes, that audience is just the author. Or maybe their family and friends. That’s fine, but realize that you won’t sell any copies beyond that small circle. If you expect to sell more than a few copies, consider the ideal target audience of your book.
Write the book with them in mind. Think about the person who might be reading the book years later. Communicate directly with them. This will help with the marketing down the line, but the creation process should also begin with this end-user at the center.
3. Read all the similar books.
We’ve already established that there’s already a book written about every conceivable topic. If you’re going to add your book to the pile, you’ll need to examine what’s already there. What books have already been written on this subject? What do they say? What does the cover look like?
Buy a copy and read each of these books. Understand what’s already out there so you can add your unique take and avoid sounding like a copycat. Acknowledge these books within your own when needed—don’t pretend like these books don’t exist.
4. Start with short-form content.
Don’t start by writing a book. Start by writing a social media or blog post. Before you commit to writing 50,000 words, make sure you can write 500 words about the topic. Focus on something small and put it out into the world. If that works, do it again. And again.
This forces you to practice the process of writing and communicating your ideas. It prepares you for the journey of writing the book and gives you a starting point for the content. Not only that, but it helps you build an online audience and test out your concepts with the public.
5. Build your acknowledgments page.
I always skip the acknowledgments page of a book—mostly because I’m never listed in them. However, I learned their importance when I published a few books of my own. These are the people who made the book possible and no book is created in a vacuum.
Start creating a list of people to list in your acknowledgments page from the beginning. If that list of people isn’t long, then your book won’t be good. Ask people to read your book. Get feedback about your ideas. Request testimonial blurbs to include. See if people would help you promote the book.
No author should write a book by themselves. Getting input from a wide range of people and perspectives only serves to make your manuscript better. It spreads the word about your book. These people aren’t easy to find, but they’re vital to your success.
Are you crazy enough to publish a book, too?
#CommissionsEarned
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