I asked ChatGPT to write a column on business book writing... any thoughts on the result? Read here:

Writing a book for a business audience can be an excellent way to establish your expertise, enhance your credibility, and reach a wider audience. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a consultant, or a thought leader in your field, writing a book can help you showcase your ideas, insights, and strategies to potential customers, clients, and partners. In this column, we'll explore some tips and best practices for writing a book that resonates with a business audience and achieves your goals.

1. Define your purpose and audience.

The first step in writing a book for a business audience is to define your purpose and audience. Why are you writing this book? What do you hope to achieve by publishing it? Who is your target audience, and what do they care about? Answering these questions will help you shape your book's message, tone, and structure.

For example, if you're writing a book to promote your consulting services, your focus may be on providing practical, actionable advice that can help businesses solve common problems. On the other hand, if you're writing a book to position yourself as a thought leader in your field, your focus may be on exploring cutting-edge ideas and trends that are shaping the future of your industry.

2. Focus on the reader.

As you write your book, keep your reader in mind at all times. What do they need to know? What questions do they have? What challenges do they face? By focusing on your reader, you'll be able to craft a book that speaks directly to their needs and interests, rather than just promoting your own agenda.

To do this effectively, you may need to do some research on your target audience. Conduct surveys, interviews, and focus groups to gather insights into their pain points, aspirations, and attitudes. This information can help you tailor your book's message to their needs and make it more relevant and engaging.

3. Create a clear and compelling structure.

To keep your reader engaged and focused, it's essential to create a clear and compelling structure for your book. This means organizing your content into logical sections and chapters, with clear headings, subheadings, and transitions. Use a strong introduction to hook your reader and establish your main theme, and conclude with a powerful summary that leaves them with a lasting impression.

In addition to the structure of your book, pay attention to the tone and style of your writing. Avoid jargon and technical language that may be unfamiliar to your reader, and strive for a conversational, engaging tone that makes your ideas accessible and relatable.

4. Provide value and insights.

One of the key reasons readers turn to business books is to gain insights and learn new ideas that can help them succeed in their careers or businesses. To provide value to your readers, focus on providing practical advice, case studies, and real-world examples that demonstrate your ideas in action. Draw on your own experiences, as well as those of your clients or colleagues, to illustrate your points and make your book more engaging.

5. Edit and proofread meticulously.

Before publishing your book, make sure to edit and proofread it meticulously. Typos, grammatical errors, and inconsistencies can undermine your credibility and distract from your message. Take the time to review your work carefully, and consider hiring a professional editor or proofreader to provide a fresh perspective and ensure your book meets the highest standards of quality.

6. Promote your book effectively.

Finally, once your book is published, it's important to promote it effectively to reach your target audience. Use social media, email marketing, and other channels to get the word out about your book, and consider hosting book signings, speaking engagements, or webinars to build buzz and engage with your readers.

In addition, consider leveraging the power of reviews and endorsements to build credibility and increase your book's visibility. Reach out.

I hope to hear your comments, which may be featured in my follow-up post.

How to Just Write

It’s advice that is often necessary but does not always appear easy. Just write. How many times have you heard someone complain that this is useless? Or impossible? And yet it is so simple, it really is doable. What isn’t is what is added in your mind: just write perfectly; just write impressively; just write a polished manuscript in an instant. That, my dear reader, probably won’t happen.

The idea of ‘just writing’ is like freewriting exercises that can improve your creativity and increase your capacity to express yourself during regular short intervals of no more than 20 minutes. Writing whatever comes to mind without stopping until your set time is up, is a regular practice for writers and will allow you to exercise your mind ‘s ability to jump over the ‘writer’s block’. The main goal is not to get the best words out, but to write without concern for style or grammar or even being viewed by another person; the focus is on flow. You will naturally find yourself dissatisfied with what you wrote and critical of it, but it’s yours to delete, burn or keep once the exercise is done. The point being it is yours to do with what you want but is not expected to be published. Put in a drawer, forget about it, then read it again in a few days, as it may be part of a rough draft.

This method of writing has many other benefits besides the creativity and expression. For instance, it also clears the mind, resolves mental blocks that get in the way of productivity, helps in learning, memory work and absorbing new information, helps with problem solving, and even promotes planned or required writing projects–be it formal writing for work or personal, such as writing a reply to a letter, or even a business plan to secure some necessary funding.

In practice, writing helps people make sense of their thoughts and their experiences. It is a processing system people use to create a narrative or tell a story. It starts with building meaning and relatable stories first with ourselves, then others. Part of this is taking overwhelming events and breaking them down into smaller more manageable events that can then be organised towards a resolution. This is one reason why therapeutic writing has been so beneficial under supervised care, since it may spark strong emotions, or triggers. With direction, writing through these or talking through them can even be healing.

Either way, writing has been a part of the human story with the likes of scripture from your ancient faith, the 17th century diarist Samuel Pepys, the Diary of Anne Frank, right through to your modern-day social media accounts or public webpage posts. The opening up of these new channels of self-publishing has crossed over into traditional publishing, with some collections of blogs becoming books, owners becoming influencers and even thought leaders. The main common denominator is consistent writing. So ‘just write’ is not such bad advice, after all.

Connecting with a writing coach can walk you through this daunting process if it feels like writing is hard. Feel free to get a consult by getting in touch or completing this brief survey to see if a coach can help your needs.

Survey

Contact

A Ghostwriter Shouldn't Scare You

No, a ghostwriter isn't really a writer of ghost stories... unless the author being ghostwritten for happens to actually be writing about ghosts. Using a ghostwriter shouldn’t scare you. The fact is ghostwriting isn't as rare as one might think. This week, you may well have heard about one of the most recently anticipated books that has been ghostwritten. Announced by Penguin Random House, it is titled Spare: Life in the Shadows, the much-talked about tell-all memoir by Prince Harry, aka Harry Wales, Duke of Sussex.

Ghostwriting is a popular choice for those people or business owners who don't necessarily have time to write or simply may not want to write, but can certainly help supply the information, potential background research and direction of the content so that it reflects the actual vision of their desired final draft of their book.

You can expect to have regular one-on-one meetings with your ghostwriter, telephone interviews, providing them with access to diaries or personal journals, all under the strictest of confidence. They usually sign a non-disclosure contract in addition to agreeing to exchange their byline credit for a premium fee, for which they earn as they are meticulous and are exceptional at what they do. Capturing the author’s voice is often seen as a gift, as they are invested in getting it right and some find it a challenging endeavour, preferred over seeking attention. Particularly if it helps the rarer voice’s story getting told, as is paramount for Peninsula Editorial Consultancy.

It is one of the biggest parts of the ghostwriter’s skillset. One New York Times bestselling ghostwriter, Jodi Lipper, was known to have stated that many of the non-fiction books that make it on to the infamous list is ghostwritten. She is said to have quoted in Refinery29 as saying, “My brand is not having a brand. My brand is being able to capture other authors’ voices.”

Using such experienced professional writing services gives the 'author' (yes, they usually instigate the project and give the writer the focus and scope of the project) the peace of mind that ensures the creation of a page-turning, lively read.

Of the main types of ghostwriting projects, which include: memoirs or autobiographies, such as Spare; business books that can help promote a business; social media content; song writing; and speeches, most work falls under the non-fiction umbrella of writing, so it is especially important that they find a qualified and experienced writer who can do the job justice.

There are many factors that play into deciding to use a ghostwriter, from lack of time or experience in writing skills, to hiring one that did a great job and keeping the consistency of voice going. These ‘ghosts’ may be invisible–hence the moniker– but are worth their weight in gold for any celebrity, business professional or artist. No tricks here, just a treat to work with.

For more information on how a ghostwriter might help impact your business or brand, click on this linked article, What Is Ghostwriting? All About This Writing Style | Upwork or drop us a line in the chat.