The three (unbreakable) rules of business book writing

Rules, rules, rules. Life is full of them at the moment.

How many friends can we meet? How far can we travel? What are we allowed to do when we get there?

You may be one of those people who hates being told what to do. Or you may be someone who finds rules reassuring.

For me, it depends. But whatever your view there’s an undeniable truth about rules: they can give you a basis for working from when you’re trying something new.

Like writing a book for your business.

In fact, as a business book ghostwriter and book coach, I’m often asked what rules there are for writing a book, and if they’re helpful.

What I say is, if you follow the rules you can’t go far wrong. But – and this is a big one – there’s no need to let them dictate your every step.

Because, just sometimes, rules are made to be broken. The trick is in knowing when.

So, what are the three main rules for writing a business book, memoir, or self-help guide? In my experience, they’re the following.

#1: Your book length should fit its purpose

Book length is one of the main areas that new authors feel unsure about. Which isn’t surprising given that publishers talk about length in terms of words, whereas most people think in terms of pages.

And how many words (or pages) should you write in any case?

The rules about book length stem from the fact that there are a number of long-held conventions about it. When we hold a book in our hands we make assumptions about what kind of book it is from how thick it feels – is it an in depth exploration of a topic, or a quick and handy guide?

You can see this post for a more detailed explanation, but the summary is that for a full length business book you’re normally looking at around 50,000 words (or 200-250 printed pages). E-books and how-to guides can be shorter.

If you’d like the digest, it’s this:

Standard business books

These are usually 40-60,000 words in length.

Business books, however, are shrinking. Time-pressed business owners would often rather choose a book they can read on a flight than spend hours slogging through it in their own time. That means a 30-40,000 word business book is becoming more acceptable.

You’ll also want to take into account its ‘heft’. If your aim is to grow your reputation as an authority, a book with some physical substance is a must and I wouldn’t recommend anything shorter than 50-60,000 words if that’s the case.

Books written for e-readers

These can be shorter still. On a device, books are easier to read when they’re less lengthy as you can’t gain a feel for the whole book in the same way you can when you’re reading a printed version.

If this is your plan it needs to be part of your wider strategy for your book. You want to be thinking about who it’s for and how it’s going to be bought and read, as well as the business results you aim to achieve with it.

The size of the topic

If you want to write about a relatively narrow subject, such as social media advertising, your book can be short and designed as a reference guide for busy people.

On the other hand, if you’re expounding on a theme that demands more detail and expanse, such as the environmental damage caused by the food industry, your book should be longer.

When to break the rules on length

Your book should be long as it needs to be. There’s no point padding out what could be a concise and punchy guide just for the sake of making it more wordy.

Equally, if you have a huge amount to pack in, your book should expand to fit.

If there’s a business book you admire why not count the pages, tot up the words on an average page, and see how long it is in total? That will give you a guide.

#2: Your book needs the right structure

The way you structure and outline your book should be guided on both what kind of book it is and what you want your readers to take away from it. If a book doesn’t work, it’s almost always because it’s structured incorrectly.

The way I see it, there are four main categories of business or self-help book:

• Self-help or how-to guide, such as Will it Fly? by Pat Flynn.
• Transformational memoir (your story and how your readers can learn from it), such as Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant.
• Thought-leading, inspirational book, such as A Good Time to be a Girl by Helena Morrissey.
• Collection of interviews, such as the final section of Public Speaking for Authors, Creatives, and other Introverts by Joanna Penn.

Again, I have a handy post which explains these in more detail, but in summary you need to think about what experience you want your readers to have.

Your outline should be connected to the purpose of your book. What do you want your readers to think, feel, and do by the end of it, and which of these is most important?

If you want them to do something, a how-to guide might be best.

If you’re keen for them to think something, an inspirational book would work well.

And if you’re prompting them to feel something, a memoir or story-based approach could be the answer.

Still stuck? Turn to your bookcase or e-reader and glance through the books you’ve read recently. Which were most helpful and enjoyable for you? Take a look at how they’re structured and you’ll find clues to the kind of book you want to write.

You can also think of your readers. What kind of book would they appreciate? Which outline would suit them best?

This is a starting place for you to create your outline, but you need to tailor it to your (and your readers) needs.

When to break the rules on book structure

You’ll notice these four outline types can overlap.

Your interview book might contain how-to elements, your how-to guide might contain some of your personal story, and your thought-leading book could include interviews with other thinkers on your topic.

So don’t feel you have to be rigid with your outline type, just consider what the main thrust of your book will be and use these formats as a guide.

#3 Your book demands a reader-friendly writing style

Most business books, self-help guides, and memoirs are written in a direct style with accessible language.

They also address their readers as ‘you’, rather than talking theoretically in general terms.

Here’s an example of what I mean. An academic or theoretical style would be: ‘It’s possible for this to be completed by you or your manager.’ A direct style would be: ‘Either you or your manager can finish this.’

The first is distancing, using the passive voice and longer words than necessary. The second brings your reader close to you by using the active voice and less formal vocabulary.

You want your readers to be nodding along with you, ready to absorb what you say next and willing to take action.

This is one rule I would heartily endorse. You can play fast and loose with the rules of length and structure if you want, but if you want your readers to engage with your ideas you must speak to them as individual human beings, rather than an amorphous crowd.

To sum up …

It’s funny, when I started writing this post I assumed there would be a lot of rules for writing a successful non-fiction book.

But really they boil down to three: having the right length, the right structure, and the right style.

These are the building blocks for creating a book that will enhance both your reputation and the lives of your readers, so it’s worth deciding how (and if) you’re going to follow them before you put fingers to keyboard.

And remember that the only REAL rule you need to follow is that your job as an author is to inspire, inform, and entertain. If you achieve that, you can go to the top of the class.

This post originally appeared on Ginny Carter's blog.