I have helped people from all walks of life write and publish their first book from an 89-year-former flight attendant from rural Queensland, a 76-year-old grandmother from Long Beach Florida who told her story about her own mum growing up in Dunkard Hollow right the way through to my own 8-year-old daughter.
However, most of my clients, and those that get in touch with me and my team are solopreneurs, practitioners, coaches, consultants and entrepreneurs.
Some of these people had lots of time, some of them had lots of money but many of them had little time, and little ‘spare’ money.
Having been in front of more than 10,000 people at my seminars and speaking events, I have seen that more than 80% of people over the age of 45 have some desire to write a book.
If we travel back 10 years, writing a book was the domain of Harvard graduates, academics and the entrepreneurs that were ahead of the curve.
The process was a hard slog, and not for the faint-hearted, especially business owners, practitioners and solopreneurs who couldn’t connect the dots and didn’t have any social proof on what a book would actually do for their profile and business growth.
Marketing and advertising were done the way it always had been, with word of mouth, The Yellow Pages and ads in print media (If you could afford it)
Yet today, any professional speaker, high-level consultant, and well-known personality all have one thing in common, they have a book by their side.
For those that have ‘already made it’ the process of becoming a published author can happen a few different ways.
Firstly, they are offered a publishing deal from a well-known publication house, have the process totally funded and, in many occasions, a nice monetary advancement.
Secondly, many times they have a ghostwriter that either interviews them and does all the hard lifting or they are able to dedicate a time period free from any other commitments or life tasks.
Now, unless you have already ‘made it’ whatever that means, you will need to work harder, and smarter than everyone else to get where you want to go.
Traditionally, my clients are practitioners, coaches, consultants, healers, solo business owners and entrepreneurs that all have one main thing in common, a deep desire to reach as many people as possible with their message.
For some, it is to leave a legacy, for others, it is their tool for helping others that might be going through their own ‘stuff’ by sharing their own story how they overcame their challenges, and for a large majority of my clients, it is a way to leverage their profile and credibility enabling them to win more business, increase their prices and speak on more stages.
Unless spending 6 months locked away in a cabin in the woods sounds appealing, for you parents reading this that have just survived 6 weeks school holiday it well might, the traditional ways of writing a book simply don’t cut it anymore.
In most business decisions, and especially ones that require a substantial investment, the biggest question that I ask is, what will be my ROI (Return on investment) if I put my time and money into it?
Therefore, I look for experts that have the results that I want in the area I need.
I outsource what I can, so that I can focus on what I am good at, and importantly needs to be done for my business to flourish which is sales and service delivery.
If we come back to the question of ROI, and relate it to writing a book, it is naïve to look at book sales alone when doing your calculations.
Unless you have a hundred thousand followers or beat all the adds stacked against you to become the next big thing, book sales alone should be looked at the icing on the cake and a good little passive income stream into your account.
The true ROI considerations need to be looked at in a different way.
When I work with my clients, we focus on leverage, and how their book can work for them.
- A book gives them more speaking gigs
- It gives them a tangible product if they are a service-based business
- It gives them an ‘in’ with the media and publicity opportunities
- It is a lead generating machine
- It wins new business
- It gets them on Podcasts and Interviews
- It can become an online course generating more passive income
- It builds instant trust with a wide audience
The list goes on and on…
So, if there was a system that enabled you to have all of the above and more, what would be stopping you from writing your first book to showcase your expertise and experience?
This is what was missing in the marketplace when I wrote my first book 7 years ago, and why I dedicated my time and focus to building a one-stop-shop and become Australia’s leading non-fiction book mentor for those professionals and story-tellers that understand that the ROI on writing a book is well worth their time and money.
To find out more, check out www.writeabook.com.au or phone the office on 1300 664 006 to discuss your book idea and how we can help you write, publish and leverage your first book.
Natasa Denman
