Written by: Shoma Mittra, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
If you're an entrepreneur or small business owner, you likely have a tremendous amount of valuable knowledge that you could be sharing with others through the written word.
As most entrepreneurs know, building a business is no small feat. It requires time and dedication, not to mention a certain amount of courage to start from scratch or get up every time you stumble, dust off your failures, and begin all over again. Once your business has been established, however, you must keep it growing. This can be a difficult process that requires creativity and innovation to succeed.
Entrepreneurs who have the foresight and the leadership skills know that a book is the surest way to build authority and credibility. Having a book to your name is an impressive accomplishment and can open a huge number of doors for you, in the form of speaking engagements, consulting opportunities, global platforms and immense visibility and a large following.
It's no wonder then that many entrepreneurs are tempted to write a book.
To some however, the idea of writing and publishing a book might seem like a distraction—and it may well be. But if you want to become a thought leader in your industry, then it's important to have a book on your resume. Plus, having a book can drive additional revenue streams for your business. First, you can sell copies of the book for money, whether via direct sales or via online stores like Amazon. Second, you can offer free books to people who sign up for email newsletters or other services from your business (not to mention the additional benefit of creating a relationship with them). There are many more benefits, but that is not the purpose of this article. Author Earnings says an indie author can make $6,000 from just 1,000 sales. Typically, many bestselling authors make way more than that.
Many entrepreneurs ask me, if they can accomplish writing and publishing a book to become a successful author? For others, it sounds crazy when they are already busy running their business.
You too are probably thinking “yeah…but I simply don’t have time to write a book!”
My question to you is “why not?” As an entrepreneur, you know that people don't buy products — they buy solutions or transformation. And the best way to solve problems is by sharing your story with others. By writing a book and publishing it online, you can reach customers directly and close more sales than ever before.
As an author, and especially as an editor, I have thumbed through hundreds of manuscripts for over a decade and learnt a few things along the way. There are some simple but strategic things that you can do if you want to write and publish a successful book.
Top 10 Tips to move forward with your book
I have put these together as Ten Tips for entrepreneurs and aspiring authors who want to write bestselling books:
1. Have a clear idea: Do you know why you are writing the book? Who will it serve? Why do they need this book? What will happen once they have read your book. Make written notes as you answer these questions.
2. What is your expertise: Write about your expertise in one area of your business. If you're an expert in a niche— like customer service or marketing, nutrition or mental health for seniors — create a book that helps people and other businesses improve in that area too. This could be a great way to gain a reputation as an authority in your industry.
3. Find the time: Writing a book is not just a question of finding time. It's a question of finding the right time, the right reasons and the right focus to write a bestselling book.
To write a book, entrepreneurs need to create time in their day-to-day schedules to devote time to the project. It's not just about setting aside blocks of time or scheduling it into their busy days—it's about making writing their top priority throughout the entire process. That means they need to be able to say "no" to certain things and set new habits. It means you have to be diligent about tracking your time and eliminating distractions. For the next few weeks, your book becomes your priority.
4. Getting Started: The biggest hurdle when it comes to writing a book is getting started. What helps me motivate myself is setting up deadlines for my schedules. You can even reward yourself by promising yourself something fun in the end. I would say that the biggest hurdle when it comes to writing a book is as Mark Twain famously said, “the most difficult part of writing a book is finishing it.”
So, to get started, create a plan first. Write out your working chapter titles, then write a short paragraph describing what the book aims to do. Then mind map/brainstorm some ideas that you will put into your book; along with some interesting stories/case studies. Then put these in some sort of chapter structure. You can always change this later. Start your chapters with a story that draws your readers in – it’s your hook. Then go on to write about the main teaching points in that chapter. Repeat for all chapters till you finish.
5. Don’t give up halfway. It’s easy to get discouraged. Writing is a lonely process. Invest in a good author coach or mentor. Someone who will be able to guide you and hold your hand along the way when you feel you have no ideas and you don’t know how to push forward.
6. Once you finish your first draft, step away. Give yourself some ‘away time’. Then come back and take a look at your manuscript with fresh eyes. You will begin to see the gaps which you can start to fill in.
7. Get a professional editor to look over and work on your draft. This is your best investment to creating a worthwhile book. A good editor is worth their weight in gold. And it’s not just the grammar and syntax they look at, but also your overall flow and narration.
8. Finally get a professional cover designer, a good formatter and someone to help you navigate the publishing process – buying ISBN’s, uploading on Amazon or Ingramspark and other platforms.
9. And finally, don’t forget that your book needs visibility to sell. Marketing a book well to get on the best seller list is a whole other beast. Unless you are a savvy marketer yourself, I would suggest getting professional help from people who know the industry inside out.
10. And finally…stop making excuses and get started.
By now, I hope I have been able to cut out some of the overwhelm. My advice is to take small steps. If you can't seem to focus on one idea yet, or become discouraged by the process, then break it down. Get started with something small like a chapter or section. Then move on to another section (or chapter) when you feel more comfortable or ready. You will be amazed at how much easier it becomes after completing several chapters. If you break the big task of writing a book into smaller chunks, that can make the whole process more manageable – try writing just 500 words a day. That’s just one page!
It is often difficult for writers to see the light at the end of the tunnel. They tend to miss out on the fact that writing is an iterative process, where you start with a rough draft, then move to polishing, editing, and finalizing your work.
The main reason why people who begin writing a book give up is that they don’t have a clear idea of who their audience is and how to engage them in their book. Because they never had a clear purpose behind the book. Writers stop writing because they didn’t plan or map out their process in advance. They also stop writing because they don’t know why they want to write a book in the first place.
Writing a book is not the final goal. Getting it read and converted into sales channels is what matters. Writing a book is like planting seeds and you will reap returns only when the right reader comes across your content. This is where an effective book writing strategy comes into play to ensure that as many people come across your book as possible, which then helps in making more money, more impact and leaving behind a legacy that will outlast us.
Let’s be clear. The task of writing a book is not a colossal one. It is not something that only the best writers, or only those who have been published before and only those with time on their hands can do. Most books written by entrepreneurs are simple and easy to read ‒ they don’t require high levels of education or technical language to be understood by ordinary people. You write as you speak – in simple language.
If you think that having a busy lifestyle means you don’t have the time to write your book, there are people who can help you write the book you always wanted to. The biggest mistake that newbie authors make is thinking that having a busy lifestyle means that they don’t have time to write a book.
Here are some final tips for how to go from entrepreneur to bestselling author:
Keep it simple
Make sure your audience needs it
Write about something you’re passionate about
Set a goal for yourself
Write daily or at least 4 times a week
Set a deadline for yourself
Write your book fast
Shoma Mittra, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Shoma is a book coach and consultant for emerging and established authors. With over three decades in the industry, she simplifies the process of publishing, then champions you to success with her experienced team of editors, book cover designers, illustrators, and marketers.
