If you are thinking about writing a book, the choice is up to you. So I am going to give you the views of three experts who have explained why very well:
- John Butman, the author of Breaking Out: How to Build Influence in a World of Competing Ideas, wrote this article in HBR.
Butman makes a compelling case for 7 outcomes that ONLY writing a book can deliver. My favourite three, which I quote verbatim, are:
- “Evidence of effort. Books are hard to write and everybody knows it. They demand more rigorous thought and require a greater preponderance of material than any other form of expression. If you put in the work and do the thinking, people will usually grant you a larger measure of authority than if you have put in the work and done the hard thinking but haven’t written a book.”
- “World’s most beautiful (utilitarian) object. The book is a work of art and elegant technology. It is a tangible form that enables you to hold an abstraction in your hands. It is also, you have to admit, a great gift item.”
- “Wellspring of future endeavour. The book is the end of a period of work, and the beginning of another, often more important, one. It is not the final word on your topic, but rather the start of a conversation about it. With a book, you can lay the groundwork for a whole life’s enterprise.”
- Some favourites points from marketing guru Seth Godin’s blog 10 reasons to write a book.
- It’s a project that is completely and totally up to you.
- Because it’s a generous way to share.
- As hobbies go, it’s energy-efficient, takes up very little space and is portable.
- Lisa O’Neil, CEO of Thought Leaders Business School, recently blogged, Why You Should Write a Book. Excerpts are below, so do go and read the whole article.
- Books get you booked.
It’s commercially smart to have a book when you are selling yourself. A book positions you as an expert—it shows the world that you know some stuff! A book is a proof that you have the knowledge, authority, courage, and grit. It shows that you know so deeply about something that you have curated 30,000 words on a topic! A book is an extremely heavy business card – some proof that you are worth working with.
- You will learn about yourself!
Pushing yourself to squeeze out your thinking can be a huge challenge. The discipline that it takes to sit down regularly and write challenges you. To push through when you don’t want to. To develop the discipline of regularly writing will change the way you work. - You will see yourself as a writer.
Many of us believe that while we might have a great story or huge amounts of experience, that we are “not writers’. A writer is someone who writes. Developing a habit of writing is one of the greatest things you can create if you are wanting to lead the thinking in your area of expertise. Doubt is a killer. If you think you are not a writer then you will never write.