Your Book As A Business

Before heading off to a conference last week, I had the opportunity to teach a session at The BizLynks Center. My session, "How to Tie Your Book to Your Success," is one that I've taught several times. I enjoy sharing with aspiring authors how to leverage their book through repurposing the content, gaining visibility, upselling their expertise and viewing their book as a business; yes, a business. (If you don't believe me, read this!) 

You see, your book isn't simply a stack of bound paper with a pretty cover; it's a resource to help grow your business or brand and to leverage your platform. Whether your platform is your business, your personal image or a cause that you're passionate about, your book should be designed to leverage that. 

Producing a book, I told the audience, isn't free; it costs money. Most often, new authors consider the dollar cost of book production as an expense rather than an investment. The distinction, as I see it, is that an investment suggests an anticipated return while an expense may not. And so it should be with your book project. When you invest in producing a quality book, you should expect a return on that investment in the form of more clients/supporters/advocates, increased media coverage, greater visibility for your products/services/activities, more funds raised for your cause, greater awareness of who you are and what you stand for, and so much more. There are innumerable areas to measure with regard to the return on your investment when it comes to your book project. So what are you measuring?

During the session, I showed the audience an example of how the investment in their book could result in not only book sales, but major exposure, product development and other opportunities that could amount to much more than mere book sales alone. It's a fascinating reality to examine, and I love to see the look on people's faces when they realize that what they're embarking on as an author really is bigger than the book! 

I challenge you to take the time to consider your investment as an author. How can you leverage your book beyond sales alone to help build your platform? If you need help figuring it out, contact me for a laser coaching session and let's get clear on your goals and your expected return on investment. After all, your book is a business; build it!

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Anita Paul, known as The Author's Midwife, coaches aspiring authors to write a phenomenal book and helps current authors use their existing books to leverage their business. She is the author of Write Your Life: Create Your Ideal Life and the Book You've Been Wanting to Write, and is the creator of the Write Your Life program, through which she has created a dynamic system to Write Your Book in 90 Days or Less. She has owned The Write Image for 15 years, and has had her freelance articles featured in over 25 publications in the U.S. and Canada. Anita is also the host of "Book Your Success".