6 simple ways to write a spellbinding business book

You know that feeling when you’re reading a book you can’t put down? The words seem to draw you in – it’s like magic.

And now, as you’re about to write your own business book, you want your readers to have that same sensation.

Absorbed. Engaged. Excited. So much so they’ll be recommending your book to everyone they meet.

But here’s the problem – you’re not a book writer. You can turn out your blog just fine, but you’re struggling with the idea of crafting a whole book so it flows like a dream and persuades your readers to take action.

It’s not your fault. The only long-form writing most of us have done is when we scribbled our essays at school all those years ago. And I can tell you one thing that marks out those essays from your book: your teacher had to read your essays. No-one has to get through your book.

Then the doubts set in. What if your book doesn’t work so well? What if your readers don’t see the point in your ideas and advice? How on earth can you tell if they’re going to like it?

So you sit in front of your keyboard for the third day in a row, only to give up in despair.

But what if I were to tell you there are a few simple tricks to writing a page-turner? And they’re nothing to do with magic, mystique, or being the next JK Rowling. Once you’ve got these techniques in place your book can’t help but inspire, motivate, and grip your readers.

Draft hot, edit cold

Before we delve into how to grip your readers, I don’t want you to worry about getting your writing perfect first time. For now, just focus on getting your words down on the page. Don’t concern yourself as to whether or not it’s a good read, it’s just a read right now and that’s fine.

Writing the original draft and editing use different parts of our brains, which means it’s tiring and unproductive to keep going back to refine what you’ve done. Save the editing for another time when you’ve completed your first draft. Yes, you have permission to shush your inner critic for now.

These tips are meant for when you know what you want to say and you’ve got at least one chapter written down.

The number one reason your book might not work

If you were to hop in a helicopter and cruise over your chapters what would you see? Would it be an orderly series of landmarks relating to one another in a harmonious way, just as a river leads to the sea, or would it be a hodge podge of different elements which don’t seem to relate logically to one another, such as a mountain bursting through the middle of a lake?

The order you write your points in is the outline of your book. And the number one reason why some business books don’t convince their readers is because the outline doesn’t work. The reader doesn’t ‘get’ it – and nor will a commissioning editor at a publishing house.

Put yourself in the shoes of your ideal reader. What do they know? What don’t they know? What’s their starting point? Then plan your outline points accordingly so they ease them through your thinking, making it a no-brainer for them to keep turning the pages as they learn more and more about your topic.

Think like a slinky

You remember that slinky toy you had when you were a kid? The one that hopped down the stairs, with each step giving it the energy to leap to the next one? I used to play with mine for hours – it seemed kind of magical (or maybe I was just odd).

Your paragraphs and sentences need to flow like a slinky too. Here’s what I mean:

‘Dogs are simple creatures and their needs are few. They socialise with other dogs and require feeding twice a day.’ [non slinky flow]

‘Dogs are simple creatures and their needs are few. As such, they’re happy to socialise with pretty much any dog they meet and only need feeding twice a day.’ [slinky flow]

Can you see how the second example uses extra words to explain the connection between the first and second sentences? If you don’t do this work for the reader they’ll have to fill in the gaps themselves, which (if this goes on for the whole book) will leave them tired, confused, and feeling like they want to give up.

Think about what you’ve just written and how it leads to what you’ve written after it. Do they have a relationship? If so, make it clear. If not, reconsider why you’ve put them next to each other.

Don’t leave your reader standing on their own

Is your business book a ‘how to’ guide? If so it’s really helpful to address your reader as ‘you’ – much as I’ve done in this sentence. Many writers make the mistake of phrasing their words n a theoretical way which comes across as academic and therefore remote to their readers. Here’s an example:

‘Strategy is an essential tool in business because it drives all the decisions made.’ [theoretical]

‘Strategy is the most essential tool in your business tool kit because you’ll be using it to drive all the decisions you make.’ [convincing]

The first sentence leaves your readers cold; the second helps them understand how to think. That’s because the first one uses the passive voice (‘decisions made’) and doesn’t talk directly to the reader; the second addresses them directly, using language they’d relate to.

‘But my book isn’t a how-to guide, it’s about my ideas’, you say. Don’t worry, similar thinking applies. You still want your readers to think differently after reading it, and they’ll only do that if you speak to them naturally and directly. There’s no need to do this all the time of course, but you need to regularly address your reader or they’ll start to feel like the left-out guest at the party.

The easiest way to get your reader to fall in love with you

Be natural. That’s it!

Going back to how we were taught to write at school, our teachers made us use formal language that didn’t excite our readers (and let’s face it, when your main reader is your teacher then why would you care?). But your readers want to feel a part of your world, and they can only get to know you and feel an emotional connection with your words if you show a bit of who you really are.

Now I’m not suggesting you go ahead and write just how you like, you know, like you were chatting at a cafe with your mate when she, like, said this …

Books do demand an element of formality and they certainly deserve a lot of care with the writing. But see the difference between these two sentences:

‘I attended a meeting in order to discuss my opinion with the leader. I was not given much time but put my views across forcefully.’ [overly formal]

‘I talked about my ideas with the leader at the meeting. It was a shame I didn’t have much time but I had some fun riling him with my opinions nonetheless.’ [formal but characterful]

The first leaves you cold, the second gets you feeling and thinking.

Once upon a time … 

Stories are one of the best ways to keep your readers gripped. There are many reasons for this and some simple ways of writing them that will help your book flow

Imagine your ideal reader buying your book and settling down to read it, just for a few minutes. An hour goes past and their cup of tea goes cold. Their kid comes in to ask for help with homework and is batted away. Dinner goes unmade. The TV is unwatched. Finally they get to the end and can’t believe how much time has slipped by.

That’s what you want for your book, right? And now you know how.

If you’ve written a draft of any of your book, why not go back now and have a look at it with these points in mind? You’ve done the hard bit by getting your thoughts down on paper so now’s your chance to make it shine.