Suddenly your 2016 business book is easy

I’m sure that by now you’re sick of blog posts and emails urging you to set goals, create a ‘new year, new you’, and so on. I say, if you’ve not done that already you’re probably not going to, and all power to you! So this post isn’t one of those, I promise.

However, even the less goal oriented among us have a mental to-do list. You know, the things you’d love to look back on a the end of 2016 and think, ‘wasn’t it great I did that’. Given you’re reading my blog, I would take a bet that writing a business book is quite likely on that list.

There is, however, a more interesting take on this. Which is to ask yourself, why you’ve not written a book already? What’s so special about the coming year that was different in 2015? It might be that your business is now taking off and you’d love a book to make it fly; or it could be that your coaching programme or keynote speech is increasingly going down a storm and you want a book to help lift your reputation into the stratosphere. These are all excellent reasons to make this year the ‘year of the book’ for  you.

But what if there were other reasons why you didn’t write your book? From the many conversations I have with budding authors, I can name you three main ones – see if they resonate with you.

Time, time, time

Yup, writing a business book sure takes a lot of time. Planning it, researching it, writing it, then re-writing it, and finally editing it. By the end of the process, you’ll feel like that book is a part of your very soul.

The thing is, though, there’s always enough time to do the things we really want. So if you believe you don’t have time to write a book, take a moment to tot up all the hours you spend on activities that aren’t really essential. Netflix, scrolling through Facebook (guilty as charged), reading yet more blog posts about how to write a book without actually doing it (couldn’t resist that one). Remember, a box set never changed anyone’s life, but your book has the potential to change not only yours but those of the people who read it as well.

It’s funny, I thought I didn’t have time to pull off a challenging project last year, but I decided to get up an hour earlier for a few weeks and lo and behold, it was done. And I didn’t feel any more tired than normal – weirdly, I slept better as a result.

So lack of time isn’t your real enemy.

No instruction manual

If you’ve never written a book for your business before (and let’s face it why should you have), then you may not know where to start. This is normal. In fact, it would be a bit more worrying if you felt you had it all mapped out and tickety boo, because that way I’d wonder if you’d explored all the options thoroughly enough.

You know when one of your kids gets a new computer game for Christmas (please say I’m not the only one), and you haven’t got a clue how to even plug it in, but they get it working in minutes? Well it’s the same when you work with a book coach. That huge project which seems like a mystery to you is as clear as day to them, and they can help you get your book written so much more easily than you can on your own.

 DOUBT

The biggie.

You think you’re not good enough to write a business book. Or you think your writing isn’t good enough. Maybe you’d start it and never finish, or possibly you’d write it and no-one would read it. ‘Perhaps I’ll think about it for a bit longer before I start,’ you say to yourself. Oh and look, there’s a new email come in, better check it out.

The most powerful cause of procrastination is that feeling you’re not up to the job. And it’s a killer, not only of your book but of your business. Because if you’re an expert selling your knowledge and skill, there’s no better way to share what’s inside your head than by creating a well written book you can be proud of. Think of how many people you could help, and how grateful they’ll be to you. For more mindset help see one of my more popular posts: Who am I to write a book?

And if you can’t face writing it yourself, then a business book ghostwriter can do the job for you. There really is no reason not to get started now!

It’s not the new year you need to be worrying about, it’s the new business you could be generating with your book that should be your focus. If you know you want a book, but one of the three gremlins above is stopping you, then apply for an Author Maker strategy session with me. I’ll help you sort out what’s stopping you and get you clear on your next steps, so 2016 is the year you finally inspire the world with your business book