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How to Become an Author When You Hate to Write

It would seem to be an oxymoron that you can become an author if you hate to write, however it is in fact possible. You can do so in the 4 ways I outline below without requiring a ghostwriter to create your content.

Maybe a book is on your bucket list, and is one of the things that just seems to be getting put off and off… Maybe the thought of writing a book is overwhelming… and maybe you aren’t even sure how to get started.

Remember, the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, but your path to being an author doesn’t have to start with a blank page!

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This simple idea about book creation may put your mind at ease, and make it easier to get into action and get your book started, and completed before the end of the year. There are ways to ‘write’ a book that you may not have considered, and may be less overwhelming or intimidating than starting with a blank page to write your business book.

Here are the top four types of books that will allow you to become an author even if you hate to write

1. Compilation of blog posts or articles can be bundled together to create a book. By turning your content into a book, and publishing it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble and other online retailers, you are able to extend your reach and get in front of new audiences.

2. Radio or podcast interviews can create great content for your book. The audio file can be transcribed into text to form the basis for your book. Once published, the radio/podcast hosts will be helpful in promoting the book as they are mentioned i
n it.

3. Speeches or presentations you have given can be turned into books. A speech is often developed on paper first, so already have your text draft you can use to create your book. If you have a recording of your presentation you can also have it transcribed and turned into text.

This J.K. Rowling Book is the transcript of a speech she gave at Harvard University in 2008. It is 81 pages long.

4. Curate other people’s content around a theme. The content can be articles or blog posts that other people have written. It’s easier to go with content that’s already written, than to invite people to write new content and then hope that they comply with your deadlines. This book is not only easy to put together, but has a built in marketing team as the contributors will gladly promote a book they are featured in.

Once you have collected your content, you will need to have it edited for typos and grammatical errors. You can leave an interview in its Q and A style. You just need to add an introduction and a summary to the content and you now have a book!

For eBooks, you don’t need to be too concerned about the length. Amazon has categories for shorter books, as does Barnes and Noble and Kobo. For print books, there are length requirements but they are a lot shorter than you would think at 24 pages [that is 24 individual sides or 12 leafs]

With our short attention spans today, a concise book that is easy to read, and on point with no fluff is often more appealing than a big fat book. It can also help you become a published author more easily, so you can begin to reap the benefits this year, next year and beyond!

The beauty of getting your book done this year is that you will end this year on a high note, and be poised to start 2017 off with a
bang, as you’ll be a published author and be able to leverage that status and receive all the credibility and benefits that are possible along with it.

Read Part 2- How to become an author when you hate to write

How to Use Press Releases To Promote Your Book- Infographic

If you have ever wondered how press releases promote your book, I have you covered. Our handy infographic highlights the benefits of using press releases and shows a timeline of press-worthy events that call for issuing a release.

Suggested occasions to use press releases to promote your book:

Pre-publications events include when you come up with your book idea, signing a publishing deal, and getting invited to co-author a book.

Publishing milestones such as a new book release by an established or famous author, the release of the book in print, kindle or audio versions, or a new book series.

Book promotional story angles include local author, book tours -both virtual and live, author interviews, book signing, free chapter give-away, bestseller status, awards, or reprinting of a book.

To get the most benefit from press releases to promote your book, start planning before you even finish writing your book. That way, you will be ready to start your publicity as soon as you have a newsworthy event, even if it’s pre-publication. To prepare, you can draft a basic press release that can serve as a template for all your press releases since key sections of the press release will remain the same. These sections include the ‘about us’ section, which is also known as the boilerplate, the book title, publisher and contact information.

The additional value of using releases is that they can and should be added to your online press room. That way, you let your site visitors know about your book news and milestones and start to build credibility with each additional item you add to the press room.

For more resources to help you use press releases to promote your book, download our Publicity Toolkit and Free Downloadable Media Plan Template. You can also contact us to find out about our press release writing and distribution services.

Related Content: 8 Ways to Promote Your Book Online

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Build Your List of Book Buyers Before You Even Publish

Your Opportunity to Make Book Sales with One Email

You have probably heard that the money is in the list. It’s never been more true than for authors, who can build a list of book buyers before you even publish. Set yourself up right in advance, and you can make book sales with one email.

Having a list of interested readers, ready to buy your book as soon as it’s published or available for pre-order, is a major asset.

Many authors make the mistake of focusing on writing and publishing their book and not thinking at all about their marketing until their book is already completed. Building your author platform takes time; building a prospect list also takes time. It’s understandable to put off even thinking about marketing, considering how much concentrated effort goes into the writing and publishing of a book. There’s nothing worse than publishing your book after all your hard work, and hearing crickets – no sales, no reviews, nada. It’s actually pretty depressing; and it doesn’t have to be that way.

Smart authors spend some time building their author platform in advance of publishing their book so that even before they launch, they have generated some interest in their book. By building an email list of interested people, that interest can turn to buzz and sales the minute you publish.

Build a List of Book Buyers Before You Even Publish

The simplest way to build an email list, is to create a book landing page that allows potential readers to opt-in. That way while you’re busy completing, editing, and polishing your book, you can be gathering the email addresses of interested people so that the minute you publish you can let them know about it. Your book has a waiting and ready audience even before it’s published. Once it is, you know you can send one email and make book sales. This is great insurance that your book will make sales, get read, and your hard work will pay off.

Once you have built your list, you can use the time before you publish to build engagement with your audience. Here are a few topics for those emails:

Behind the scenes of a day in the life of you, the writer
Ask for input – on a cover, a subtitle…
Let them know about a major endorsement the book received
Update them – let them know where you are in the writing/publishing process

Building engagement helps create a sense of know, like and trust. This will have your list rooting for you, supporting you and even more committed to buying your book as soon as it’s released. The great news is that if you build a list of book buyers and keep up the engagement, you’ll have a list of hungry readers and buyers for all your future books as well.

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10 Ways to Use Interviews in Your Marketing

One of the strategies in your marketing toolkit today should be the interview process. The interview, or a simple question and answer session, can be very effective in facilitating the creation of a variety of valuable customer facing content such as blog posts or profile articles, to content that is strictly for internal company use.

The beauty of the interview process is that you can simply hold a conversation that you record and have transcribed into text. Speech to text software is now built into computers and smart phones, or you can use a transcription service. You now have both text and audio versions of your content. Both versions can be re purposed into additional formats including video and Power Points. You can get additional mileage by extracting short quotes or sound bites to use as social posts and tweets.

What works so well about this format is that most people are comfortable speaking about their business, product or service, than they are writing about it. Most people also prefer being directed and prompted. A blank white page with free range, can be very daunting.

Ask a client to write a testimonial for your business. They’ll wonder what to write about and put it off. Sending them 3 questions to answer about your business is a much easier and more comfortable way for them to respond, taking the guesswork out of it for them.

The beauty of the interview process is that it is a strategically designed set of questions that can help you elicit the story that you would like to tell. Whether you are interviewing a customer a strategic partner or one of your staff, by strategically designing the questions you get to shape the outcome, and can reap the benefits of 3rd party credibility – someone else telling your story and singing your praises.

Download our handy Interview Resource List

Here are my Top 10 Interview Types:

1. Customer Input
Many companies do not take advantage of this simple and obvious activity. Your client will be more than happy to tell you what their biggest challenges are and what they would like help with; then when you offer that solution they’re sure to buy.

2. Testimonials
Clients are usually happy to give you a testimonial however many businesses don’t even ask. Create an easy format with questions that prompt the client’s response, and your clients will thank you. They are often uncomfortable not knowing what to write, so when you remove the guesswork it is easy for them to just get it done.

3. Case studies
This is an underutilized form of content for your business. Case studies are so valuable because they show prospects how you solved another company’s problem, which gives prospects the ability to see themselves in your existing client, and basically try your solution on for size. It is also a form of third-party credibility, which carries more weight than a description of that very same service does in your company brochure or website.

4. Product Research
Interview customers to find out what they like about your products, as well as features they would like to see added. Everyone loves to be consulted and offer his or her opinion. Your customers probably use your products more than your own staff does and have probably already thought of things that could be improved or features that will make your product better. Make this an ongoing each aspect of your marketing and product development and research

6. Industry Insight
Interview a partner or vendor about different aspects of your industry. This can create a thought leadership piece and help inform your customers and your prospects about your industry trends, inner workings and the state of affairs.

7. Interview a Recognized Expert or Thought leader
By interviewing a thought leader, you are giving people access to someone they know and respect, as well as getting the benefit of greater exposure due to your expert’s popularity. This also positions you as a top expert and a peer of the thought leader.

8. Interview Staff

A staff interview can create content that introduces your staff and the role that they play in your business. This personalizes your business, provides insight into who a customer or vendor will be working with, and helps deepen engagement with your brand. This helps create greater consumer confidence, as people buy when they feel they ‘know, like and trust’ the company.

9. Interview Yourself
The interview format works very well to generate content more quickly, so why not use it yourself, wearing both the interviewer and subject hats. If you decide to keep your finished piece in an interview format, no one needs to know who the interviewer was, however you can also turn the interview content into a general article.

10. Interview to create a book
This one is possibly my favorite. Use an interview format to create a book. Many professionals, entrepreneurs and the public in general are interested in writing a book, yet it’s a daunting project that often gets put off repeatedly for that very reason. Using a strategically designed set of questions, it’s easy to create the content for your book through an interview. Your book can be published keeping the interview format, as I do with the books that I publish for my clients, or you can turn your answers into prose. Either way, it helps you get your book written much more quickly and efficiently so you can reap the benefits of being a published author.

The interview format is incredibly versatile and can be included in your marketing and content toolkit to help you create the variety of content that are required in today’s marketplace. Using interviews in your marketing can help grow all aspects of your business. The value of the interview format can be clarity. Simple questions, answered directly. I recently interviewed a colleague who runs a unique marketing service, for a profile in an online magazine. After reading the published interview, one of her prospects commented,

“Now I really understand what you do and the value of your service.”

That is the power of asking the right questions. Ready to put interviews to work for your business?

Note- this article was written using an interview format [I interviewed myself using a speech to text software] then edited the text for the final article.

Download our handy Interview Resource List

This post first appeared in Business2Community

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Promote Your Book Online – 8 Expert Tips

Writing a book is a lot like having a baby. You need to prepare for the big event; a process often described as painful, yet one that yields beautiful results.

Pre-planning for your book’s publication is something you should start months before your publication date to ensure your book gets the notice that it deserves. Let’s help readers discover your book by promoting it everywhere online.

Here are 8 ways to promote your book and bring your book some much-needed publicity. Read my guest which appeared on the WiseStamp blog

Related: For more ways to promote your book get our Media Plan Template and our 2015 Publicity Toolkit and Planner

Book Promotion Using Press Releases

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Is It O.K. to Curse In Your Marketing?

Do you think about how you come across?

I know I do. I tend to lean towards being polite and professional – call it a bit old fashioned, but that is how I was raised. I have a humorous side that I am trying to let you see more of….. and in real life, I curse sometimes. But you haven’t seen cursing in my marketing.
How would you think of me if I cursed in my marketing? Would it offend you? Would you quickly unsubscribe?

Allow me to digress for a moment. Last week I attended the Entrepreneur Conference – Winning Strategies for Business with a keynote by branding expert Erika Napolitano.

A few of the things Erika said, which I loved, were “Never Apologize for Who You Are” and “I refuse to turn down my ambition because someone else is uncomfortable with the volume.”

Erika elaborated on how being yourself, even it if offends someone, brings you closer to your ideal customers; those who ‘get’ you and love you for exactly who you are.

Who doesn’t want to work with raving fans? Who needs customers who have you walking on egg shells? This really resonates with me, as it’s something I have been conscious of and striving for myself.

During the panel discussion Erika Napolitano, Chris Penn and Laura Fitton offered a lot of smart business insights and tips. There was also some cursing. Did I mind it? No.

It did get me wondering though. Was it necessary? We spent the drive home from the event talking about authenticity in marketing, how much of yourself you should reveal, and whether cursing is professional or even necessary.

I did get the sense that I was seeing Erika, Chris and Laura themselves – not a ‘manufactured for public’ version of themselves. I felt their authenticity, and that they were there with no holds barred and no information held back. It endeared me to them and also added a trust factor.

So cursing may not be for you. I don’t plan to start cursing in my marketing any time soon, however, I am striving to be more fully ME in my communication with you, as if you were sitting in front of me and we are having a conversation.

It’s not that I haven’t been authentic with you, I have. I think my own position about whether to curse in your marketing comes from having a notion that marketing is marketing, and my life is my life, and n’er the twain shall meet.

But life, and marketing aren’t like that. Have you noticed? There are lessons that each can learn from the other… and all business and none of me, doesn’t make it relatable. We want to work with people, and we want to have that “know, like and trust” feeling before deciding to do business with them.

So, feeling empowered about being myself, I was surprised to get a long email from someone who attended my webinar on Wednesday, telling me how I offended her.

I have to say, my initial response was good! I am being more of the Me I want to be in business.

Don’t get me wrong – my goal is not to make people feel uncomfortable or to be offensive just for the sake of being offensive. That would be professional suicide right?

What I had done was to be authentically me on the webinar. I had provoked such a strong reaction that this attendee felt compelled to let me know. This is why it’s a great thing on a few levels:

~ that they shared their feedback – I am sure they feel better, and I value the time they took as well as the information they shared

~ we both now know that we aren’t a fit to work together – that frees us both up to move onto prospects or service providers who are a better fit for each of us

By sorting out those who don’t get you, or are offended, you make room for those who do ‘get you’ and like your style. If you are busy worrying, there won’t be enough business left – you are going down the wrong rabbit hole. There is plenty of business around, made up solely of your raving fans.

To be authentic, I know I don’t need to curse, and neither do you. What you do need to do, for more engagement and deeper client relationships, is be yourself.

As Oscar Wilde said, Be Yourself – Everyone Else is taken.

It’s the best positioning you can have in your business and in your publicity!

How can you be more authentic in your own business and create more know, like and trust with your audience? I’d love to hear your feedback on this.

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