Stephen Covey’s second habit of successful people (from his 7 Habits of Highly Successful People) is, “Begin with the end in mind.” Besides the fact that it echoes similar admonishments in the wisdom of many cultures, I have always been fascinated by the dual meaning of “end” in this statement. “End” can mean “terminus,” final point. It can also mean “purpose”–”To what end?”

Both are relevant to book-writing. You should think through the process to its last stage, and you should also think it through in terms of its purpose.

Here are 5 specific ways to do this:

  1. To whom are you writing? Who is your audience? What  do they care about? What language, what terminology will be familiar and clear to them? This is a biggie, and worth spending time on.
  2. Problem/solution. What “pain” are you addressing in your reader’s life? What are you offering to address that pain? Does the book’s title reflect the problem or pain it addresses, so that readers will be able to easily identify it? Are you able to offer clear steps to resolve the pain?
  3. How will the book be published? Are you going after a publishing house? Will you self-publish? Might you use print-on-demand, like Lulu.com or Createspace.com? Will you create a matching website?
  4. How will your book be promoted? How will you let people know of its existence? Ads? Press releases? SEO? Joint ventures?
  5. What role will the book play in your business? Will you sell it “back of room” at your talks? Will you sell in bulk to meeting organizers who retain you to speak? Offer it on your website? Put it on Amazon.com? Will it serve as an invitation to explore your other products and services on your website? Can it replace your business brochure? Will you give it away as a “thick business card”?

If you address these points before you begin your book project, your work will be focused and your results will be to your liking.

Filed under: book love • book writing • planning

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!