It’s not good news, is it? A big part of my professional life is spent encouraging thought leaders to get their ideas down on paper in book form, publish them, and send them out into the world: something about which many of them feel diffident, to say the least. And now, here I am, pointing out that whatever you put out there in writing (blog, book, white paper) will, in fact, be mercilessly judged by your readership.
Every thought leader who writes a book needs help. A buddy. A fellow traveller. A book is too big a project to be tackled alone. And let’s face it, it’s not so much fun on your own. I liken it to climbing Mount Everest. Every author I have worked with goes through a crisis of confidence somewhere on the way to the summit. Some only metres from the top!
There is nothing in the dictionary definition about how many pages make a book, what size it should be, or if it must have one word or 20 or 5000 words per page.
Even so, will your readers be satisfied if you give them a book that is 10 pages long, with one word a page? I think not. Let’s define what readers expect from a business book, and how to make them so excited that they buy yours.
Promoting your book is the big gig for all authors. I went to a book launch last night. The place was packed. I know the author, Lennox Nicholson, a little and can’t wait to read his book, On the Wagon. My point is this: writing the book took Nicholson three years, yet his journey as an author is just beginning. Promoting his book is his big gig now.
Have you noticed how confronting it is to put your ideas down on paper? We believe we are an expert until we start writing. My clients often tell me that they experience a sinking feeling as they write: a feeling of unworthiness. A question arises in their mind along these lines: Who am I to write this blog or book?