Should You Write a Book?
Since publishing my first book – The Changemaker’s Toolkit – in February, I’ve had a lot of changemakers reach out to me about writing a book.
Some are actively working on one. Some have an idea they’ve been carrying around for years. Some are trying to figure out whether they should write one at all.
Having conversations with these incredible changemakers about publishing their life-changing work has been one of the unexpected joys of being a published author. Books are a great way to change the world, so I thought I’d share answers to the most common questions.
If this newsletter sparks your own author journey – or that of someone in your orbit – then that’s just a super sweet cherry on top of the already magical sundae of authorship.
Maybe. I know that sounds like a frustrating answer, but it really depends on your goals.
Writing a book is hard. Most people know that going in. What I don’t think people always realize is that promoting a book is even harder. Books don’t sell themselves. Getting them into the hands of the right readers takes a tremendous amount of work, and that work doesn’t stop once the manuscript is finished.
That’s why I think the most important question isn't "Should I write a book?"
It’s "Why do I want to write a book?"
Are you trying to grow a business? Advance your career? Share an idea you think needs to exist in the world? Become a professional author? Support your speaking, consulting, or advocacy work?
There isn’t a wrong answer here. But without clarity on your goal, it becomes very easy to make decisions that move you away from what you're actually trying to accomplish.
This is probably the question I get most often.
There are three primary publishing paths:
Traditional publishing
Hybrid publishing
Self-publishing
Rather than explain all three here, I’m linking a resource from Jesse Finkelstein, co-Founder of my publisher, Page Two. Jesse does a great job walking through the differences.
Check out the resource here.
What I will say is that there isn't a universally correct choice – not even for an individual author. I know authors who have picked a different publishing path for different books. The right path depends on your goals. You'll notice that's becoming a theme.
Generally speaking (and of course, there are always exceptions):
If you want to pursue traditional publishing, yes.
If you're interested in hybrid or self-publishing, not necessarily.
Also generally speaking, you’ll need to invest money upfront for hybrid and self publishing, whereas traditional publishers will cover your publishing costs.
Depending on your goals, this may have a large impact on the best publishing path for you.
And once again, the best path for you answer depends on your goals.
The best advice I received came from AJ Harper, author of Write a Must Read. Her core idea is that a book is not about something, but written for someone.
I had already written an entire manuscript when I encountered her work. I was preparing to self-publish, and after going through her exercises, I realized I had written the wrong book.
So I started over.
That wasn't a fun realization, but it was the right one. The exercise forced me to get crystal clear about who I was writing for, what they needed, and what I hoped the book would do for them.
You may be writing for leaders. You might be writing for someone like your clients. You might be writing for a former version of yourself. That's completely valid. But write for someone.
You can grab a copy of AJ’s book here.
Yes - but it might not be purely from book sales.
It might be helpful to know that the average royalty from each book sold is $7 and the average lifetime sales of non-fiction books is 1,500 copies. Keep your expectations realistic regarding millions of copies sold immediately after publishing.
However, there are many other ways to monetize your book: keynote speaking, workshops, online courses, and more. With client partnerships and speaking opportunities made possible by The Changemaker's Toolkit, I expect to make back the money I invested in about 6-7 months after the launch date.
Use this very helpful Book ROI Calculator from Author.inc to help calculate your earning potential from a book - it was a gamechanger for me.
Writing is math. You determine how many words you want to write and by when. Then you divide the words by the days or weeks available and figure out what your weekly writing goal needs to be.
Then, you need to find a way to make sure you stick to that goal. For me, external accountability works really well.
While I was writing, my executive assistant checked in every week. I had to send her my word count every Sunday. If I missed my goal, I had to sing in our staff meeting, and she got to choose the song.
I was very motivated not to sing. You’d better believe there were weeks where I dragged myself off the couch on a Sunday afternoon to meet my writing goal and avoid my singing fate.
Whatever your accountability system is, find one and stick with it.
If you're serious about writing a book, I'd start here:
Get crystal clear on your goals. Spend a bunch of time on this. I wish I’d been clearer on mine (and this was something I spent time thinking about).
Understand who your reader is and what they need.
Start writing.
That's it.
One thing I've realized through these conversations is that many changemakers aren't really asking whether they should write a book. They're asking how they should best share their ideas. And a book is only one possible answer.
Before The Changemaker’s Toolkit became a book, many of the ideas inside it existed as LinkedIn posts, newsletters, keynote speeches, workshops, and conversations. I was writing several times a week for years before the book came out.
You could write for your local newspaper. You could start a newsletter. You could launch a podcast. You could share your thoughts on social media.
The question isn't necessarily "Should I write a book?"
The question is: What is the best way for me to share my ideas in service of the change I want to create?
And if you've made it this far, you probably already know what I’m going to say next.
Before you answer, start with your goals. Then think about the people you're trying to reach.