Should you write a nonfiction book?

Writing a book is hard work. It’s an investment of time, money, and creative energy. There are also few guarantees, despite what many publishing consultants tout as reasons for writing a book.

However, there are some real reasons to write a book for both yourself and your business.

Why write a book for your business?

1. It can help build your credibility and establish authority in your area of expertise.

You will build credibility if your book is done well. It needs to be a compelling and engaging read and provide useful information to readers or entertain them. It must be organized in such a way that it takes your readers through your ideas in a logical way. Your book must have a clear focus and transformation for your reader.

Your book must be well-edited and professionally done to build your credibility and authority. If you’re self-publishing, you’ve hired editors, interior designers, and cover designers to help you produce a professional product.

I have personal experience buying short, self-published books off Amazon. They had great marketing copy, but the actual books were poorly written and organized. They didn’t live up to the promise they made on the jacket copy. I read the first few chapters, noted the authors’ names so I wouldn’t purchase from them again, and donated them to the thrift shop.

This does not build an author’s authority.

But, a well-written, engaging, useful, well-researched or argued, and entertaining book absolutely will build your credibility and authority.

2. You can reach a wider audience with your message and create a bigger impact.

A book can be a great marketing tool that reaches ideal clients that you’ve been unable to reach.

One of my clients came to me for support with her second book. She said that writing her first book was one of the hardest things she’d done, but despite that, she was ready for book two. When I asked her what impact that first book had on her business, she said she didn’t get the results she was expecting. She’d bought into what you read online that a book will open up a pipeline of ideal clients banging down your door. That didn’t happen. What did happen is that she started getting invitations to speak at conferences and sell her book at the back of the room.

This goes back to the credibility/authority piece. She’d written a quality book, so she had opportunities to reach even more people through speaking. Her book made this possible.

3. It can create an additional income stream.

If you’ve written a solid book and you’re willing to market it, a book can provide regular passive income which is great. If you’re going to spend all the time it takes to write a book, there’s no shame in wanting to make that investment back, plus some!

You’ll still need to market it in order to create sales, so don’t fall into the trap that just by publishing you will make money. You’ll have to do the work to make sales (which means passive income isn’t a guarantee).

But back to point #1, if you write a well-written, useful, quality book, your initial readers will write solid reviews and recommend it to their friends which can help tremendously with your marketing and sales.

4. You’ll get tons of clarity on your message and even more ideas.

Creativity breeds creativity. The more you create, the more ideas you have. Because writing a book is an incredibly intense creative endeavor, you’ll build those creative muscles and also get so much clarity on the ideas that you are sharing with the world.

Like my client I mentioned above, you’ll find that you’ve got more books inside, waiting to be written.

5. You get to hold a book with your name on it in your hands, knowing that you did a really hard thing!

I know – this one might seem silly, but it’s such a great feeling to open that box filled with your book and hold it. So many people in this world want to write a book, and they don’t.

But you DID!!!

Getting your book out into the world, whether you self-publish or go the traditional route, is a huge accomplishment. It’s hard work, but it’s totally doable. Writing and publishing will bring up all kinds of challenges, from self-doubt to finding the time and putting your butt in the chair to do the work. You’ll learn so much about yourself, about the craft of writing, and about the publishing process.

Holding your book is proof that you can do hard things (like publish a book and build a business)!

Conclusion

Writing a book can absolutely help you build your business and your authority. It can also build your confidence and refine your thinking. It’s a challenge but it’s worth it.

If you’ve written and published a non-fiction book, I’d love to hear in the comments how the process impacted your business or you as a creative?

If you haven’t written one, what’s your biggest hurdle to getting started?