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31.5.18

What The Best Business Book Writers Do Every Day

If you are a business book author today, you face two big problems.

The first is that you have lost the first-mover advantage. Great books — including those that are self-published — appear daily. Competition and quality is on the way up. The second big challenge is making writing your book fun.
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16.5.18

When your reader doesn’t believe you, call them out

When you decide to write a book, you face one significant barrier: no-one likes being told what to do or think. In fact, the harder someone tries to convince me of anything, the harder I resist, and the more sceptical I become. I might even fling a book onto the couch with a bit of righteous anger, exclaiming, ‘How stupid do you think I am?’ That is how one-sided arguments make us feel: insulted. ‘Pollyanna-style’ panacea to the injustices of the world have the same effect.   Read More

2.5.18

Don’t overcomplicate your book promotion program

A business book has a simple and powerful value proposition: to help you sell more of your valuable mentoring, training or speaking programs. Here’s the scenario. You sell a two-day leadership training program for veterinary practices for $10,000 a program. Each year, you sell 10 programs and make $100,000 a year.

You self-publish 200 copies of a book about leadership in veterinary practices. You get 50 new leads from giving away and selling your books. As a result, you get an extra 10 training gigs a year. You just made an extra $100,000 a year and doubled your income.  Read More

11.4.18

What your book should be about if you want to be a speaker​

Public speaking is an amazing gig. For a start, you can impact hundreds if not thousands of people at a time. Competition is limited since most people would rather die than speak in front of an audience (which is remarkably silly and probably not true). It is fabulous pay – the best speakers get $10,000 for a gig, usually an hour. And, if you are good enough, you get to travel the world.

Professional speakers, such as the award-winning Matt Church, tell me that speakers who have a book are more likely to get a gig when all other things are equal. So, if two speakers are vying for the same gig, Church reckons the one with the book will win the day. I’ll take his word – he’s been speaking professionally for decades.  Read More

22.3.18

How to use ‘pace’ when you write

Have you ever had a friend who walked too fast or too slow? Some days, it is a little irritating. Some days, it’s infuriating. Your pace as an author can have the same effect on your readers. If your story or ideas unfold too slowly, your readers get bored. If your story moves too fast, your readers get lost. Either way, the outcome is the same: they close your book (or click away from your site).
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8.3.18

Book promotion tips that money cannot buy

Every author needs Chutzpah. Isn’t Chutzpah a lovely word? It’s Yiddish, and it means audacity (for good or bad). Cheek. Insolence, even.

Today, of course, is a day for women the world over to get their Chutzpah on – it’s International Women’s Day. It is the day we women stand up and back ourselves.  Read More

22.2.18

Is ‘wibble-wobble’ a desirable quality in your book design?

Poor design and printing can really let your book down. You have gone to all the trouble to write 25,000 to 45,000 words; now put some effort into the presentation of your ideas. I’ve been known to reject a book, even though I wanted to read it, because of poor design. Of course, I might be biased. In a former life, I was a graphic designer and a print-production manager – I’ve got baggage.

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14.2.18

Secrets of Creativity: Action keeps the darkness away

Creativity is a strange chariot. Creativity likes activity, not standing still. If I make a single observation about all the creative people I have ever known, it is that we find it hard to rest. When the chariot comes to a standstill, we start to fret.  Read More

31.1.18

Are you ready to share your expertise by writing a book?

Money is a remarkable motivator (at least for me). But it’s not likely to sustain you through the journey of writing a book. Business growth and financial freedom come from publishing. I’ve seen this again and again. But it does not fuel authors through the creative process. What does is a readiness to share your expertise.  Read More

17.1.18

How to live a more creative life starting today

In my late 20s, I had to give up my first career as an artist for health reasons. It was a shock to my identity – I loved being an artist.

Still, I was never a traditional artist. As far as many people were concerned I wasn’t an artist at all. I made screen-printed posters, some on commission, some for myself. I worked in community groups helping others to make posters. I wasn’t a ‘true artist’, meaning I wasn’t starving amid my oil paints in a garret somewhere.
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