Your Business NEEDS A Book (and so do you)
I'll admit it was initially defeating when the title of "AUTHOR" became more commonplace. After all, I was a "real" writer. (Don't judge! I don't feel that way, anymore!) We're not supposed to confess to such a thing as feeling threatened and, while I never expressed it outside the confines of a conversation with my husband or sisters, the feeling was there. I had spent my entire career in writing and publishing. I busted my ass for my title of "AUTHOR". It used to be unique to be able to say in a room, "I'm an author." I lived the Catch-22 cycle of Can't-Get-A-Publisher-Without-An-Agent-Can't-Get-An-Agent-Without-A-Publisher over and over until I finally broke into the industry for pennies on the hour with my first traditional publisher.
They need to know my starving artist's suffering!
Then, the industry changed and, within a few years, every network meeting I went to was filled with, "I'm in Sales . . . and I'm an author," "I run a coaching firm . . . and I'm an author," "I own a gym . . . and I'm an author." So, when I told people I was "An Author," I suddenly didn't feel so special anymore. Their responses were almost always along the lines of: 'Oh! My friend/sister/cousin/boss/cat.... wrote a book.'
It took a couple of years to accept this result of the changes in writing and publishing. By the way, I love and support those changes and, even today with more than 15 of my 50some books traditionally published, I often will choose the non-traditional approaches available depending on the book. But, I digress. After I got over myself, my heart and mind had enough freed up room to really think about why I chose the career that I did. I didn't become a writer because I wanted to feel cool in a room of other professionals. I became a writer because I love the power of words!
And, by the way, when did I allow WHAT I DO to become such a fragile piece of my identity that others sharing it with me meant I was somehow "less"? Nearly 600 athletes were U.S. Olympians in just the year 2016 - each one unique. 1.3 million people serve in the U.S. Military, but each is honored. And nobody thinks of a teacher as unimportant because there happen to be other teachers . . . 3.6 million of them in pre-collegiate fields in the U.S. The new field of professionals who also identified as authors wasn't going anywhere, so I needed to put on my big girl pants and set aside my ego.
That's when I focused on the other reason I got into writing: Stories Are Catalysts For Human Connection And Positive Change. I sum up this longer statement in my company's tag line: "Better Words For A Better World."
I didn't just come to support the fact that these other professionals and entrepreneurs were also authors, but I even began to help them achieve that title.
If I really believed in the power of words and I truly thought that stories were the ultimate tool for connection and change, then that's something I wanted to be a part of. In the approximate decade since this revelation, I have helped more than 500 individual stories come to fruition, managed more than 80 projects, and helped more than 50 other "AUTHORS" go to #1 with their books.
These numbers mean far more to me than being the "1" of a kind in a room of professionals. I even want YOU to be added to those numbers. There are some truly valuable reasons for your business needing a book. Here are my top ten:
Know Your Stuff!
1. Process
o Truly define the steps of what is done in your business in a step-by-step manner
o Make your business more trainable
o Make your business more scalable
2. Passion
o Discover the things about what you do that originally got you excited
Marketing Yourself!
3. Position Yourself as an expert
o You “wrote the book” on your subject!
4. Add some celebrity to your status
o Become an author/professional
5. Build Your Library
o Have different formats for your book (print, electronic, audio, excerpt, etc.) to be able to serve your potential clients in the ways that they most desire.
Get Out There!
6. Pick Your Topics
o Your table of contents is your topic list
o Your chapter orders are your presentation structures
7. Have a “front of the room/back of the room”
o Make sure those that hear you speak walk away with the excitement they enjoyed
o Those who hear you will have a tangible/physical piece to be able to tell others about you
o The book table, itself, can become a networking opportunity and chance for you to shake a hand, know a face, and get a name and contact information
Build Relationships & Connections
8. Giveaway
o Tell people who you are
o Introduce people to your process
o Encourage people to feel already invested in you
o Show your generosity
9. Leave Behind
o Use as a tool for potential future connection
Profit
10. Revenue Stream
o Depending on how you use the book, books can become a recurring stream of profit continuing under your business; do it once and it’s done!
If you are ready to add a book . . . your most powerful business tool . . . to your company, I'd like to invite you to join me for my "BOOK-IN-A-MONTH (NONFICTION)"course. As a busy professional, you probably have "WRITE A BOOK" on your business bucket list, now that you know what a difference it can make for your product, service, or company, but you wonder: 'How on earth will I EVER have time to do that!?' That's what I will help answer. A book is completed through a combination of the writing tools, the book structuring tasks, and a project-management process. All three work together and you can learn about them in this brand-new 1-DAY INTENSIVE.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/book-in-a-month-nonfiction1-day-intensive-tickets-65193476443
Book-in-a-Month (Nonfiction) is an ideal training for leaders, professionals, ministry teachers, entrepreneurs, and anyone with a self-improvement message or teaching to share with his or her target market.
Enter the discount code: EarlyAUG at checkout to receive 25% off the already low price when you register by August 31st for this opportunity.
Whether you are a Blank . . . and an author or you're looking to become a Blank . . . and an author, I'd like to apologize for my former self-centered beliefs and wish you luck and support toward moving YOUR book from the bucket list to the bookshelf. Good luck!
Yours in writing, Reji
