Why write a business book?

There are countless reasons, actually 

In an earlier post, 4 reasons to consider writing a business book, I included an infographic highlighting some of the biggest success stories in business book (self-) publishing. Of course, few achieve that kind of success, but for mere mortals, a different kind of success can be achieved. And the best news is, a best selling book is not required.

Studies show that professionally written business books generate instant authority, credibility and trust. They help market your business  and your brand in a way that nothing else can. Of 200 business book authors polled by RainToday.com:

• 76% reported that their book helped them close more deals
• 94% reported that their book helped them generate more leads
• 94% reported that their book helped them improve their brand
• 73% of those who used ghostwriters to write their books said they would be “very likely” to hire them again.

Erika Andersen, author of Leading So People Will Follow, writes in Forbes.com ("Why writing a book is good business”) that when you write a good business book, the following things tend to happen:

Personal credibility: Having a book published makes people think you’re smarter and more expert.  I don’t know if you get the same effect through self-publishing, but it’s certainly been true in my experience of having books published with traditional publishers.  As soon as my first book came out, at the end of 2006, you would think by the way others responded to me that I’d suddenly gained 20 IQ points.  It was almost disorienting – I knew I was the same person, but previously closed doors magically opened, and people I knew wouldn’t have paid much attention to what I said before were suddenly listening hard.  It was (and still is) enormously helpful in establishing initial connections with potential clients and business partners.

Business credibility:  If you’re running a business and you publish a good book, your business gets a halo effect from your rise in credibility.  Being associated with a business book and its author gives an enterprise legitimacy in the eyes of the world. Being considered more legitimate simply makes it easier to get things done.  In my experience, it also gives a lift to everyone who works in the organization – it becomes a source of pride and esprit de corps.

Brand clarity: Having a book or books that lay out the key intellectual property or the core models or principles of your business really helps potential clients understand what you’re about and how you can be valuable to them. It can also help your own staff be clearer about who you are and what you’re offering.  People have often been surprised when I’ve said this – they question whether it’s really a good idea to put your ideas out in public for anyone to see (and, by implication, steal).  But our experience has been that the ideas in a book quite often whet people’s appetite for more in-depth knowledge or consulting.

Wondering what your story is? If you've struggled in business but ultimately triumphed in the end, you have a story to tell. If you've developed a unique business or a business skill that would inspire others or that's in high demand, then you have a story to tell. Perhaps it's time to share it with others.

Seven things to look for when hiring a ghostwriter

 1. Compatibility

It’s important that you and your writer are a good fit because writing a book takes months to complete. Even if you leave much of the work to the writer, writing a book is a personal endeavour and during those months you’ll be in regular contact with your writer. You’re the expert, and your ghostwriter’s job is to elicit from you the interesting facts and anecdotes and stories – and angles – that will make the book an interesting and possibly compelling read. If you’re a good fit, your writer and you will often start to think about old things in fresh new ways. If you’re a bad fit, the book will be the poorer for it.

Your writer should be interested in you and curious about your subject from the very beginning and remain constantly curious about your subject and your thoughts weeks and months later. For your part, you need to be as honest and transparent as possible, because a good collaborator asks questions, lots of questions. That doesn’t mean you need to be friends, but it does mean being a team that maintains a positive and mutually respectful working relationship. Just as the most effective teams are collaborative rather than hierarchical, the best ghostwritten books are those in which subject matter expert and writer are in sync. To borrow from Patrick Lencioni, the relationship should be one of:

• trust
• willingness to debate
• commitment
• accountability
• results

+Andrew Crofts may be the UK’s most popular celebrity ghostwriter. He shares an interesting perspective on what a good writer brings to the table, and his thoughts are equally applicable to business experts and not-yet-celebrities:

“It is essential for the ghost to make the subject feel completely comfortable and confident in his or her company. If they think the ghost is going to criticise them, judge them or argue with them they will not relax, open up or talk honestly. It is not the ghost's job to try to make them change their opinions about anything or anyone, but rather to encourage them to tell their story in the most interesting and coherent way possible.”

 2. Reliability

To keep your book on track, your writer must be dependable. Deadlines must be met. Not all writers are schedule-driven, and some of the dependable ones may overcommit to multiple books and become unable to meet their time commitments. Your time is precious. A reliable ghostwriter understands this and works within and around your schedule.

3. Expertise

Ghostwriters of business books tend to have (or should have) business backgrounds. It makes the process smoother and easier for the client, and adds value and quality to the material being produced. Financial planning, for example, is not an abstract concept. It is very real, and there is a great deal of logic behind an investment strategy, for example. But the process is also very fluid because emotions cannot be entirely eliminated. A ghostwriter who has the right expertise and experience, who brings prior understanding and perspective to the process, who knows how to connect many of the dots and collaboratively communicate the process (all the while knowing there are different strategies to building wealth) brings added value.

4. Ability to ask the right questions

Jargon and complexity is an inevitable by-product of being an expert in your field, whatever that field may be. A good ghostwriter takes complexity and turns it into plain English so it is accessible to a wider audience. This is done by asking clarifying questions, and sometimes by drilling down and asking the five whys (here is a simple example of the five whys). When the expert says something that sounds intelligent but appears opaque, the writer must keep at it, asking the “dumb” questions (back to ‘fit” again) until another better way is found to express those thoughts so that every reader will understand.

5. Structure

Structure is about developing a coherent theme and organization, which means the ghostwriter must have the ability to organize and structure the book’s contents so the argument builds and flows in a convincing way. At their core, most business books are simply just an extended argument. Their quality is defined by how persuasively the author makes her case. Unlike an academic thesis, however, a business book must work on multiple levels – inspirational, emotional, intellectual and visceral.

For example, the overarching theme (argument) in Live Well Retire Well was simply: you don’t need to sacrifice the quality of your life today in order to live well in retirement tomorrow. The main theme and the resulting topics that flow from the theme that you and your ghostwriter discuss and agree on are the building blocks that push the book forward to its inevitable conclusion.

6. Voice and tone

Finding the right voice and tone can be subtle and sometimes difficult to grasp, but an experienced ghostwriter knows how to put creative ego aside and quickly discover the author’s authentic written voice. That said, the voice on the page differs sometimes markedly from the spoken voice. Even the most articulate speaker will appear a little less polished when her words are seen (transcribed) on the page, so a certain amount of polishing is always necessary -- but never too much or her personality will get lost in translation.

7. Trust factor
The trust factor -- between writer and subject matter expert -- should be a given. But it takes time to develop. Your ghostwriter should be willing to take the time to assuage your concerns, because trust is not as common as it should be.

The Five Laws of Business Writing

1. Always tell the truth


2. Every story is an experience


3. Every story has a hero


4. Every hero has a goal


5. Every hero must meet obstacles




Why truth?
Because in an age of information overkill, truth is rare.

Why experience?
Because the audience must connect and be transformed.

Why a hero?
Because someone must drive the story.

Why a goal?
Because the audience must always feel there’s a finish line.

Why obstacles?
Because nothing worthwhile - in business or life - comes without a struggle.


The following are two excellent references that helped deepen my understanding of the rules of good storytelling. I was influenced by the first book a long time ago, the second much more recently.

1. The Hero's Journey (Joseph Campbell)

2. The Elements of Persuasion (Richard Maxwell and Robert Dickman)