When it comes to writing and publishing a book self doubt is one of the main reasons most business owners and consultants don't start their book.

I’ve seen grown men – leading business executives, highly successful entrepreneurs and business owners – turn into a quivering mess when it comes to taking the decision to write and then publish their book.

It’s one thing to have confidence, to be able to present to a room of powerful people or at a conference of thousands, it’s another thing altogether to put your thoughts, ideas, thinking, experience and insights down on paper and share them with the world.

Over 80% of business people say they want to write a book, but only 1% ever do.

After 30 years of helping business executives, entrepreneurs and consultants write and publish their book

I've heard lots of reasons why most don't. Here's the top 5.

 

1. Who am I to write a book?

In the ‘old publishing paradigm’ having a business book published was akin to being anointed as an expert in your field, especially if you’re talking about business management, strategy, theory, economics, finance etc.

This comes from the somewhat archaic and still practiced approach of academic institutions where publishing papers and books is closely linked to advancement in the university structure.

In the mid-20th century certain academic institutions developed a more commercial approach and they were matched by some of the large consulting firms.

Think Harvard Business Review, Wharton, INSEAD and McKinsey to name a few.

In the 21st century self publishing has completely changed the landscape of how business people can communicate their thoughts, insights and ideas.

Once seen as a fringe option for fiction writers business book self-publishing 2.0 has become not only an accessible option for a business leader, entrepreneur, consultant but a highly credible and effective option.

So who are you to write a book?

If you’re someone who has several years/decades of experience in your chosen field, an executive/consultant with 15-20 years experience, a business owner who has built a successful business, you are what I’d call a practitioner … you’ve been there and done what you’re writing about as opposed to sitting on the outside advising or hypothesising.

While being a practitioner doesn’t give you an automatic Advance to Go pass, it’s a huge plus, and I’d say an essential requirement if you’re going to self publish your business book.

It’s the answer to the question ‘Who am I to write a book?’

 

2. How will I know if what I’ve written is any good?

The short answer is that you won’t if you decide to DIY it.

While I’ve never been a fan of the traditional publishing model (where you have to grovel to an Agent or Publisher for them to take on your book, only for them + the distributor and bookshop to take 70-80% of the RRP, 90 days sales and return as their cut –YES you read that right), there’s a whole process involved in taking a draft manuscript and crafting the final copy that’s published.

Writing something is relatively easy . . . but that’s not the point, especially if you’re writing a business book.

You want/need to write something that provides knowledge, insights and actions that help your target audience. If you don’t know how to work this out you could quite possibly be writing for yourself!

Writing a good book starts with not writing, it starts with some serious thinking and planning around what your specific areas of knowledge and insight are and then deeply understanding who your target audience is and what their challenges are, then cross-matching these two. If you can’t help your target audience solve their biggest challenges you should think again about what you’re writing/what you can write on and/or who your target audience is.

Presuming you’ve done the hard work of planning your content and written your book you need to be willing, interested and able to revise it several times, then engaged an editor and/or proofreader to review your ‘final draft’ (which is not really a final draft at all).

As Ernest Hemingway said ‘the first draft of anything is shit.’ And he was right.

I am a professional business historian/storyteller as well as business book adviser. Most manuscripts I write would go through 2-3 rounds of revision with my client and then another 2-3 rounds with an editor and/or proofreader.

And, I love the process as it makes my writing better EVERY time.

 

3. Will anyone read my book?

Well, this depends, and if you’ve read point two you’ll have some insight into the answer.

There’s no point writing a book unless you deeply understand who you are writing it for. I’ve shared my insights about how important knowing your target audience is on several LinkedIn Posts.

Before you start writing you need to stand back from focusing on what you want to write and spend some time and energy researching who your target audience/reader is. Work out who they are, what they’re reading, who they are following/listening to, where they go for insights and advice and, most importantly what there biggest challenges are.

If you spend time on this you’ll know exactly who is going to read your book, why they’ll read it and the size of your target audience. You’ll also know where you need to spend your time, effort and money to share and promote your book.

 

4. What if people don’t like/agree with what I’ve written?

Firstly, no-one currently agrees with everything you say or do (unless you are a Svengali or complete ego maniac) and your book is no different.

I’d go one step further. You should hope that your book sparks interest, discussion, debate, engagement . . . that’s part of the reason you spent a chunk of your life writing it.

I like to use an analogy with my clients, that of an artist on the opening night of their exhibition that’s taken a year to create.

The single most important reason for you writing your business book is that you believe in what you’ve written.

The words and thoughts shared encapsulate your knowledge and insights. You’re not saying ‘I am the Oracle’ (although some people try to), you’re putting your particular

perspective on a subject matter based on your experience and knowledge . . . that’s it.

And, most of us have developed our knowledge and insights based on a combination of our own experiences as well as a large amount of reading, learning, thought, experimentation and execution. Our individual knowledge is built on the insights of others and sometimes the mentoring and input of others, so don't forget to acknowledge and connect the dots for the reader. In other words be humble.

 

5. What will my peer group think of me?

Let me ask you a question before I answer this question.

What does your peer group think of you now?

The reality is 80 per cent of business people want to write a book but only 1 per cent ever get around to it, mostly because of what I’ve covered in this article so far.

Peer group validation is alive and well at the top levels of business, entrepreneurs and consultants.

When you publish and market your book (and yes, you’re going to have to market your book), you’re putting yourself out there in a way that you probably haven’t done before.

So it’s completely understandable that you want to make sure that what you’re holding up in front of the cameras and what your peer group is reading, is the best it can possibly

be in terms of the content, production values and insights it shares. Anything less than your best is simply not good enough.

And, be prepared for some of your peer group to disagree with you, engage with you more deeply on what you’ve written. That's the engagement you actually want.

Writing and launching your book might seem like a huge mountain to climb but the real opportunity and challenge comes when your book is out in the world and you’re engaging not just your peer group but your target audience and others about it.

This said, you need to think about your own personal style, reputation and relevance in your network.

I’ve worked with board directors who took a decidedly low-key approach to their book and others who have gone all-out to promote and publicise their book as they wanted to utilise it as a tool to increase their profile.

It’s important that you’re clear about why you’re undertaking your book, what you feel comfortable with in terms of marketing and promoting it, from the outset, not as a afterthought.