This is do-able but it’s a tough road to hoe. However, there are two major benefits. First, it gives you a product to sell on your website and at the back of the room when you do any public speaking. Second, it gives you major credentials.

We all know that being a published author gives you cache. It helps brand you as an expert. And it gives you some celebrity in a world of bland business owners.

Writing is hard work

But writing a book isn’t easy, in spite of what you may have read on some websites. I offer as proof that over 70% of new blogs rarely last more than a month or two. Writing a book requires discipline, a willingness to see it through, and writing talent.

Getting writing help

The writing talent is actually the easiest part. You can partner with or hire an actual writer or ghost writer. Most celebrity or politician books are written this way. And for that matter, most “business” books are written this way. And by “business”, I mean the seminar-types who are out there claiming to be business experts but are actually just experts at self-promotion.

Don’t kid yourself into believing you can write at a professional level

One problem I run into out there as a professional writer myself is the belief by most people that they can write. I hear it all the time. “Why should I hire a writer? I wrote papers in college. I can write.”

Yes, you may be able to write a dissertation or a paper. You might even be able to write some pretty good poetry. However, writing a marketing piece that will glue people to the paper or screen, convince them that you have the answers they are looking for, and then get them to pick up the phone, email you, or hit the “buy” button is a very specialized skill.

If it weren’t, all the small business owners who write their own copy would be rich.
In my next entry, I’ll talk about the difference between self-publishing and using a traditional publisher.

HackingEthics

Originally posted 2007-10-20 07:22:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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