Ok, so you’re now convinced you should write a book. If you’re not, please refer to my previous article, You, Yes YOU Should Write a Book to find out all the reasons why being an author is beneficial to you as a businessperson (including setting yourself apart and branding). What’s the next step? This is where most people get held up. It’s very easy to convince yourself that you have no time, no knowledge, or just no business writing a book. Well I’m here to tell you that those excuses are just that: excuses.
You CAN write a book, and I’m here to tell you why and most importantly HOW. The best way to illustrate my point is to lay out the common reasons why people think they can’t write a book and the ways you can work around these issues. The three big reasons are: I don’t have anything to write about; I don’t have time and I’m not a writer.
I don’t have anything to write about.
If you’re reading this article, you probably already have an idea for a book. However, even if you don’t, you can find one. Your topic does not need to be earth-shattering. We aren’t reinventing the wheel here. All you need is to be educated about your topic and write about it in a fresh, easy to digest way. That’s it. Your topic could be as simple as ‘How to Make People Smile When You Meet Them’ or as complex as ‘New Technology in Combustion Engine Manufacturing’—it’s all about what you’re trying to accomplish and who your target audience is.
I don’t have time.
Yes, we are all busy. As a business owner, you may be even busier than most. But the misconception here is that you need to write a big ol’ brick of a book to be taken seriously. However, the opposite is really true. Some of my favorite business books are right around the 200 page mark, and many of them even fall under that. You don’t need to write War and Peace, people! Short, sweet and to the point is really what readers are looking for in this arena. Just think: if you focused on writing just one page a day, you could have a nice sized manuscript in around four months. Doesn’t that put things into perspective?
I’m not a writer.
Guess what? Most people aren’t writers. Guess what else? Many people (especially businesspeople) who have books didn’t write them, even if their name appears on the title page under ‘by’. There are many talented writers out there who can gather the information you want to put on paper and do it for you. They’ll probably even make you sound better than you do in your own head. If you write but just need some help organizing or polishing, you can hire an editor. If you can’t even write a grocery list, you can hire a ghostwriter. No matter how much or how little help you need, there are writers out there who can make sure your book gets written.
Though there are many other ‘reasons’ (excuses, really) why people talk themselves out of writing books, these are the three I hear the most. The good news is, they aren’t really reasons at all. You DO have something to say, you can FIND the time and there are plenty of writers out there to HELP you. So what are you waiting for?
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