They say that everyone has one book in them, and we are also often asked by clients and those considering reputation-marketing programmes “should I write a book?” Having seen and talked through the great benefits that can be gained, but also the not always positive experiences of a number of authors and gurus, we thought it would be useful to pass on a few observations of our own and offer two additional perspectives.

We are very grateful therefore to soon-to-be-published first time author Hugo Tugman of Architect Your Home and to Richard Burton of Publishers Infinite Ideas for sharing their experience of approaching getting a book to publication. Please see their separate Blogs.

Do I really want to do this?

There is no doubt that having a book or two published adds gravitas to your profile in the eyes of clients and prospects, not to mention journalists and event organisers. As well as having a tangible manifestation of your expertise, if you have used a publisher this in itself acts as some endorsement that your expertise is considered genuine and unique enough to be a commercial publishing proposition.

Publishers’ and book retailers’ web sites can have a huge impact on your search engine optimisation because of their sheer weight in the on-line marketplace. Publication also opens up different opportunities to penetrate the media, through reviews and book launch news, that will often have more impact than a PR strategy based on feature placement alone.

And finally, of course, there is the income potential. For most this isn’t a major part of the return. It’s often quoted that very few business books sell more than 25,000 copies, which, with average royalty levels, doesn’t equate to a huge income. However, we do have clients who, as experienced authors with a number of books to their name, can generate up to 25% or 30% their income from their books.

On the other hand
Writing a book undoubtedly takes a great deal of time and energy that, if equally applied to other “promotional” activity, may well generate far more exposure and income.

Your book is also unlikely to stay news for long, but in publishing it you may have released years worth of ideas and IP into the market in one go. Some of this may well get overlooked and be lost.

So what’s the advice to would-be authors? That’s probably best summarised as:
~ Be sure that a book really fits into your strategy . . .and that the time and energy are going to generate a return.
~ A stand out concept with appeal to a wide audience is the ideal. If the concept has niche appeal is a published book the most practical option?
~ Enlist help. Unless you’re a natural writer it may be worth, for example, using the services of a professional writer to assist you polish your material or even craft some of it.
~ Be prepared to put the effort in yourself – or invest in help – to gain the marketing benefits. The publisherAs focus is on selling books, which is not the same as promoting your services or expertise. Their marketing activities may well be of some assistance, but they are very unlikely to lead to significant consultancy income or even profiling opportunities without a proactive approach from you to exploit the book.

I spent a couple of days at the Cheltenham Literary Festival last month. It was great a experience and interesting to see the likes of Stephen Fry to Andrew Marr making the extra effort to be there in person to promote their book. But hats off went to June Whitfield. Despite being a month off of her 84th birthday, and me choosing a strategically positioned seat by the exit in a very full Town Hall, she still made it to the book-signing tent before me. Obviously not one to miss a promotional trick!

If you’re interested to read more, please check out Hugo’s Blog on writing his first book or Richard’s publisher’s eye view.