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April 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

What do you think about a template-based book kit?

I have a question for you. But first, I need to describe one of my products to you. Please read the description, especially if you are NOT a coach.

If you look at the tabs above the header of this site, you’ll see one that says Coach Book Kit! If you click on it, you’ll be taken to a long sales letter that leads up to a free 26-minute video, explaining why every coach should write a book–and how my template-based coach book kit is a powerful shortcut.

My kit works like this: Based on the principles I write about in my book, The Simple Secret To Writing A Non-Fiction Book In 30 Days, At 1 Hour A Day!, I teach coaches how to write a book that will explain their “special sauce.” Then I give them all the words that need to be in every coaching book–sections defining coaching; distinguishing it from therapy and consulting; relating how the coaching relationship works; offering examples; and more.

All of this is delivered in a Microsoft Word document, with blank pages that include my instructions for what THEY need to fill in.

Now, a coach could take my free book, and write a book fairly quickly. But the template-based kit greatly accelerates the process. One coach, Bud Bilanich, used the kit to write a book in 5 hours.

Here’s my question: Do you think a GENERIC book-writing template, with step-by-step instructions, would help you write your book? If using it would give you some assurance of completing your book in less than 30 days, at no more than an hour a day, would you want it?

How much would it be worth to you?

I’ve been brainstorming the content of such a kit, and I’m starting to get excited about it. I think it could be a breakthrough for many would-be authors.

But then, I love writing books.

What are your thoughts? Would you want to hear more about such a product? Please comment below.

Filed Under: book love, book writing, marketing, publishing, steps to write a book, write a book Tagged With: , , , ,
April 1, 2010 By 1 Comment

Write a good book. But–what’s a “good” book?

A good book, in my definition: A book that keeps its promise.

What is the book’s promise? That it will answer the question implicit in its title.

Let’s look at some examples I’ve randomly chosen from current non-fiction best-seller lists:

  • CHANGE YOUR BRAIN, CHANGE YOUR BODY, by Daniel G. Amen. The promise is clear: Read this book, and you will learn how to change your body by changing your brain.
  • The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, by Michael Lewis. How the US economy was driven over a cliff; here’s what happened. You have to go below the title to learn what the “Doomsday machine” is, but there is a promise: Read this, and you’ll learn what happened.
  • HOW TO NEVER LOOK FAT AGAIN, by Charla Krupp. “How-to” books have obvious promises.
  • Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell. Why some succeed and others don’t. “How to succeed” is not implied here; the promise is that you will understand the “why.”
  • Have a Little Faith, by Mitch Albom. A true story, surprising in many ways, answers questions evoked by the title: How? Why?

You get the idea. By virtue of these books having made it onto best-seller lists, you can rest assured that they kept their respective promises to their readers.

Your book is an offer, in the sense of a deal: “Read me, and you will get what the title promises.” Sounds obvious. But if you examine books that didn’t make any best-seller lists, you’ll find many among them that disappoint.

People who don’t keep promises are not respected in our society, and with reason. You can’t trust them.

If you write a book to enhance your professional stature, to “credentialize” yourself, to serve as a “trojan horse” in your prospects’ offices and homes, pay attention to this point. You cannot afford to let down your readers; they will not easily forgive you.

Filed Under: book writing, marketing, write a book Tagged With: , , ,
March 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Surprised by people

Your book is going to be read by people. Do you know anything about them? If you say, “Well, whoever is attracted to it will read it,” you are right. But you will attract more of the kind of people that you want to reach if you know something about them.

I’ve written about having an “avatar” in mind when you are writing your book. And I try to do that as well. Within the past few days, I was twice surprised by people, who turned out to have backgrounds, interests, and experiences I would never have imagined.

A friend asked me to substitute for her at a BNI meeting. Having been a member myself, I knew I’d enjoy it–and I did. And I met a gentleman there who surprised me.

His name is Alex Lubin, and he has a business that employs professional handymen. (I highly recommend him if you’re within 50 miles of Sunnyvale, CA.) We chatted for a while. Turns out he has a PhD in computer science from Stanford; was vp of Cadence, an electronic computer-aided design company with which I am very familiar; created and sold an intellectual property company based on Russian inventions; and more. Now he runs handymen.

This morning, I needed a notary. I put “notary” and my zip code into Google, and came up with All Things Notary, just a couple of blocks away. I drove over and found an unassuming house at the address. The notary pulled up right after I did, and invited me inside.

He took care of the notarizing, and we chatted a bit. He is Robin Roberts, PhD (business administration). He has a background in nuclear engineering; holds multiple patents; invented, built, and marketed the first device to print out (on paper) caller ID’s, then sold the company to Radio Shack; has been a professional photographer since the fifties; own a kennel (next door) together with his mother; has authored a book….

If I were writing for notaries, I wouldn’t have pictured anyone like Robin. If I were writing for handymen, or small business owners that rent out handymen, I would not have pictured Alex.

Yet the more I get to know people, the more I realize how wide a range of uniquenesses they exhibit.

So when you think of your readers, make room for a variety of qualities and interests.

Filed Under: book love, book writing, marketing Tagged With: , , ,
March 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Your book stays

While I help authors of all kinds of books, my main focus is on people who want to enhance their business presence and their client-getting abilities by writing a book. So I want to remind you of some the benefits of having a book to share with prospects:

  • If you write a book, that makes you an author. An author is an authority. Whatever your area of endeavor, it’s not likely that many–or even any–of your direct competitors have written a book. The mere fact of having written a book sets you apart.
  • The process of writing a book–well, my book-writing process–forces you to take the information in your head, and put it into a form that is easy to communicate. A form that can easily serve as the basis for a wide variety of additional products. You can sell each of those products, and generate a separate income stream from each.
  • A book is a product you can sell. Many authors who are also public speakers find that after they have negotiate their speaking fee, it is easy to say, “Would you like everyone in the audience to have a copy of my book on the subject? Its cover price is $19.95, but I’ll be glad to provide 500 copies for $12 each.” (Your cost: $3/book.) Meeting planners generally agree enthusiastically.
  • Books are revered in our culture. We happily throw away expensive color brochures–at least, I do–but we keep books. You don’t throw away a book. Consequently, your book hangs around your prospect’s office or home, a constant reminder of who you are and what you offer.

    And if you’ve followed my recommendation, your website‘s url is in the footer of every page of the book. So when the book-owner decides to contact you, you are only a click away.

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Filed Under: book love, marketing, publishing, write a book Tagged With: ,
March 17, 2010 By 1 Comment

Have an avatar when writing your book (not necessarily a blue one)

embodiment: a new personification of a familiar idea; “the embodiment of hope”; “the incarnation of evil”; “the very avatar of cunning” – definition from wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn.

In copywriting circles, “avatar” is used to add significance to clear definition of your ideal reader.

But whatever you call it, you must know who you are writing for. And generic definitions, like “middle-aged women,” are not really sufficient. You must have a very clear picture in your mind: For example, Helen Brown; 47; divorced, two grown daughters, one married; works as PR director for a Silicon Valley startup; annual income $93,000; no mortgage, as a result of the divorce; drives a 4-year-old Prius. Concerns: Finding a companion; being overweight; an upcoming mammogram; her unemployed unmarried daughter; and so on.

You get the idea: A very detailed picture of who you are writing for will make it easier to write. Because if you know Helen, you are writing to her, not just for her.

What is Helen’s greatest need? Her greatest pain? Greatest fear? Find a magazine picture of “Helen” and hang it up where you can see it.

Having a detailed “avatar”–or ideal reader–will greatly focus your writing. Your compassion and love will come out. You won’t wonder what to write; it will come out of you automatically.

Filed Under: book love, marketing, steps to write a book, write a book Tagged With: , , ,
March 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Conflict: Good for your book

Something in the reader is engaged by conflict, if they can identify with it. If you lay out a story of someone faced with the kind of problem that you typically solve for your clients, describe just how bad things were, then how they got worse (but only if they really did, of course :-) ), and then how the problem was solved with your help, you will have a narrative that is engaging, or even gripping. And if you can describe three such situations, you should have no difficulty using your book to attract clients.

Think about it: What grips your attention? Isn’t the pattern of conflict and resolution in all your favorite stories? There’s no reason it can’t be in your non-fiction writing, too.

And this is just the sort of thing that will carry over nicely into other products–podcasts; recordings; ebooks; and more.

Filed Under: book writing, marketing, steps to write a book
December 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Why to write a book even if you don’t care about having a book

There are really two separate sets of reasons for writing a book. One set has to do with having a book:

  • As a product to sell or give away
  • To credentialize you to your clients and prospects
  • As a kind of brochure or business card that is relatively inexpensive and won’t get thrown away

The other has to do with the fruits of the book-writing process, whether or not an actual book results from it:

  • In the first stages of creating your book, you are forced to structure your expertise. You know a lot, but it may not be well-organized. When you create the structure of your book (in Joel’s BookProgram, structure must precede content), you find out what all the big pieces and the little pieces are, and how they fit together. You may learn that you have several discrete areas of expertise, that can become sources of products and services you never thought of.
  • The chapters of your book can become separate products–ebooks; reports; courses; and so on. You can read them, or have them read, and record the reading. You can append them to video recordings.
  • You can create a course around the whole book, with text, video, and audio. Use a service like Prfessor.com ($50/month) or build around a WordPress installation using the Wishlist Member plug-in ($97 for the plug-in).

So–consider writing a book, even if you don’t care about having a book.

Questions? Write me.

Filed Under: book writing, marketing
December 9, 2009 By 2 Comments

Produce a book of interviews to promote your expertise

Gary Olson, Radio Dubuque

Microphone: Gary Olson, Radio Dubuque

One way to become known as an expert in your field is to interview other experts and publish the transcripts. Benefits:

  • You are known by the company you keep. By merely appearing in print with known experts, you cause your name to be associated with theirs.
  • When you publish information from several experts, that positions you as a kind of “meta-expert”–someone who, in a sense, stands above the experts and brokers their information to the reader.
  • Regardless of how expert you are in the field when you begin your interviews, you will learn a great deal from the experts in the course of interviewing them–especially if you prepare for each interview. Research each expert and determine what most people would want to know from them.

Access to experts may seem like an issue, but in general, it is not. Most experts appreciate any additional exposure they can get. Many will ask for you to include a link to their website, and you should be happy to provide it.

If the expert wants to promote a particular product to the readers of the interview, consider signing up as an affiliate for the product. That way, if your readers buy the product, you will get a commission. (Of course, if you do this, it is important not to mislead readers by claiming, say, that your comments on the interviewee and their product are disinterested.)

When you contact your interview candidates, it is best to reach them through mutual acquaintances. Conferences and industry events may present opportunities to both meet experts and actually interview them. If they don’t have time to be interviewed, at least you will be able to make a personal impression on them and find out how to schedule time for an interview.

Have your pitch written out clearly, and have a copy you can hand directly to the interview candidate. You can use the same text when you email experts.

In the pitch, your focus should be on the benefit to them. You should also say if they will be able to review the transcript before it is published. Of course, you’ll get more agreement if you do allow for review and approval.

If possible, buy the expert’s book or other product before approaching them.

You should promise a free copy of the book to all participants, and special pricing for quantity purchases.

Interview length will depend on how large a volume you intend to produce; how many experts you plan to interview; and the prominence you want to give to any particular expert.

Get a good-quality digital recorder; they are available for under $100. You can use a smart phone with recording capabilities, but test it first; phones do not usually have the best microphones.

If you are interviewing on the phone, you can use FreeConferenceCall.com or other services that record the call. When I do this, I use a good-quality speaker-phone, and also make my own digital recording locally, as back-up. (Court reporters use duplicate recording systems in depositions, with good reason. Technology can fail.)

When you design your book, don’t forget the “diamond.” Have a clear question that the book will answer for the reader, and make sure you keep that promise.

Questions? joel@joeltrainsauthors.com

Filed Under: book writing, marketing, people & ideas
November 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Size matters


Skinny books can be more effective
Joel Orr

If you are writing a book, or thinking of writing one, you are probably at least somewhat aware of average book sizes in your field. In non-fiction, 220 pages is a common size.

But if your goal is for your book to be your “large business card,” your “credentializer,” or to replace your color brochure, it can be much smaller. In fact, it probably should be much smaller.

Excuse me if this sounds brutal, but most people who receive or buy your book won’t read it. They may scan it; they may start to read it; or they might not even crack it open.

Now, that sounds like very bad news, but it isn’t. The book itself establishes your authority, serves as your credential, and will probably not get thrown out. It will hang around, read or unread, and remind the owner of you. That’s much more than any brochure will do.

However, if you have important information to share with people–say, about the uniqueness of your approach to your profession, or simple things the reader can do to alleviate some pain, and so on–put it in a small book. 64 – 128 pages are plenty.

And although some might accuse you of “padding” if you use large type and lots of white space, your older readers will be grateful.

Filed Under: book love, marketing, publishing
October 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Make a promise and keep it

Keeping promises is important to human relationships, including the one between an author and a reader. The title of your non-fiction book makes a promise: “Read this book, and get this result.” Sometimes it’s explicit: “Awaken the Giant Within–Wake up and take control of your life!” (Tony Robbins). Sometimes it’s implicit: ”Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association“; while you can’t really tell from the name, this widely accepted style manual has become a standard reference.

Sometimes the title is designed to make you curious: “A Bold, Fresh Piece of Humanity” is a Bill O’Reilly memoir. Here, the author’s name is what gets most people to pick up the book; the title doesn’t evoke any response other than, “Huh?”
A good approach is to have a provocative title, and a clarifying subtitle: “Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money–That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not!” (Robert Kiyosaki)

The same consideration applies to chapter titles, and even to subchapter titles, if you use them.

If you keep the promise of your book’s title, your reader will judge the experience of reading the book to have been worthwhile–even if the book has other imperfections. If you don’t keep that promise, your prose may be scintillating and your anecdotes breathtaking, yet your book will leave the reader unsatisfied.

Think about your book’s title as a promise to your reader. Make it a good promise–and keep it.

Filed Under: book writing, marketing
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