“Most authors give up too soon. They give up before they finish their book, they give up on their publishing plan, because it takes too long. And then if they do manage to get their book to market, they give up on selling it,” shares AJ Harper, editor and publishing strategist, head writing coach for Heroic Public Speaking, writing partner to business author Mike Michalowicz, and author of Write a Must-Read: Craft a Book That Changes Lives--Including Your Own. Today, AJ calls on her years of experience working with bestselling authors to talk about how to write a must-read book.
The first step to writing a book is knowing who your reader is. By knowing exactly who you are writing for, what they need, and what they perceive is standing in their way, you can write a book that speaks directly to their experience. When people feel seen on the first page of a book, they are likely to continue reading. The next step is to get very clear on your core message. This should be a fundamental truth that can create change in the reader even if that message is the only thing they read. Once you have written a book with a specific reader in mind and a clear core message, the most important thing to do is just to not give up! Stay persistent and put the time and work into your publishing plan and marketing strategies for selling your book.
If you have been wanting to write a book that will help other people, you need to first decide who exactly you want to write for. What change are you hoping for the reader to make? How do you want them to feel when they read your book? These are all things to consider before getting to the publishing or marketing steps.
Quotes
- “If you're writing a book that's designed to help someone, you have to know who that someone is.” (8:33-8:37 | AJ)
- “If they can see themselves on the first page where you are honoring their experience and they feel like you get them, they're going to keep turning the page.” (10:38-10:48 | AJ)
- “Knowing your reader is such a huge part of not just writing and editing the book, but how you position it in the marketplace.” (11:50-11:56 | AJ)
- “A book is not about something, it’s for someone.” (12:30-12:33 | AJ)
- “Most authors give up too soon. They give up before they finish their book, they give up on their publishing plan, because it takes too long. And then if they do manage to get their book to market, they give up on selling it.” (28:42-28:56 | AJ)
- “There's very few things on earth that are more transformational than a book.” (35:18-35:23 | AJ)
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anjanetteharper/
Website: https://ajharper.com
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