Your business book

You’re an expert. You know what you’re doing. You’ve copious notes and handouts.  You’ve years of experience, and now it’s time to show what you know.

 Writing is power

Consultants and service professionals market their businesses by referrals, networking, and speaking engagements, but for almost any business owner, articles and books give you instant credibility and recognition. Think about the words author and authority. You can write your book yourself, or you can get help. A ghostwriter can write it for you, or act as an editor and help you organize those notes you’ve used in seminars and presentations.

Right way, wrong way

If you’re like most people, your first impulse is to write everything you know. You genuinely want to help people avoid obvious mistakes. But a list of things you shouldn’t do might even be funny, but its not helpful by itself. You must show how to do it right.

Forget business jargon

Make sure that your language conversational, and easy to understand. If you have to use an acronym spell out what it means. Think about who you are writing for. It isn’t to impress your peers. You must write clearly for people who are new to the area you are writing about. Your readers probably don’t have a lot of time, so make your information quick and easy to access.

Keep it simple

The best business writers now use a one- or two-page formula. A clear topic headline lets the reader know instantly what the subject is about. Short text isn’t intimidating, and a bold one or two sentences conclusion summarizes and reinforces the message. If you can’t summarize your message in one or two sentences, keep working on it until you can. 

One step at a time

You don’t have to have a finished book before you publish. Use the topic approach to writing and you can post your materials to your website, or blog as you write them. Better yet, you can have someone read and distribute your material by podcast or downloadable audio file on your website. More people are now listening to business communications on portable devices. In this way, you start to build anticipation, an audience, and get feedback. 

Communicate enthusiasm

If something is enjoyable people are more likely to do it. Business writing can be serious without being somber, so make your writing lively, relevant and fun wherever you can. Demonstrate what you know.

Keep it simple, make it easy, and show how.