The book I’m working on now is evolving into something neither the author or I thought it would be at the outset. We had some goals and created a framework/container to work within, and then we began to explore ideas within that framework.

I always say, “The book will tell you what it wants to be. Our job is to listen.” What I am realizing is that while it may have a sense of what it wants to be at first, it’s the job of the author (and co-writer if there is one) to give the book time to become, so it can manifest the highest expression of that desire.

In other words, instead of making the book commit to a direction when none of us really know what it wants to be just yet, we are giving it the time and space it needs to find itself.

2.
I am an early adopter of technology and have invested many hours learning about the nuts and bolts of Ai. I also read constantly. Partly to keep up but mostly because technology genuinely interests me.

Here’s where my thinking is at the moment. The potential for Ai to be truly helpful to me as a book strategist and editor is there but to exploit it properly—meaning without fighting with it or completely abdicating the project to its vagaries—I will need to upskill. Like, a lot. (And you probably do too, but that’s another post.)

So much of writing is saying a lot of different stuff to yourself to get to what you really think. And that takes time. Time to wrestle with ambiguity and try ideas on, and see what connections—related and not—are triggered. A struggle, that left to its most basic mode, an Ai will assume you want removed.

3.
It takes time to unearth all the wisdom a client has accumulated over a long career. That is why I’m so loath to cap the number of interviews on book projects. You have to get through the hyper-sanitized version of the story (problem-approach-result) to get to the reality of what went wrong, the best bad choice that had to be made in response, and how it all turned out in the end. Because, as story master Robert McKee says, “That’s how life is.” If you can do that, you’ve got them (the reader) because they recognize what you’re saying as the truth.

4.
Someone who has spent a lot of time thinking about thinking and Ai, and is way more qualified than I am to opine about it, is Shae O. Omonijo. She has a brilliant Substack, Ai, Humanities, and the Future of Work. I believe, as she does, that now more than ever we need to “strengthen judgement, creativity, and curiosity in a world increasingly mediated by algorithms,” so we can “learn how to live meaningfully in the digital age.”

FWIW: It has taken me six hours over a number of weeks to write this post and it could take even more thought but it’s right to ship it now, especially given the topic! Even so, I’m better for having spent time on it. And hopefully you are, too.

ID 354501271 © Dilok Klaisataporn | Dreamstime.com

You think this is a good idea (and it is) but you have no idea how to get a book deal.

Let me help you. If your business is built on the back of your framework (aka your intellectual property) a book deal actually creates a lot of—issues.

When you sell your book to a publisher—because that is what a “book deal” is—as part of that you will be signing over the rights to the IP in it to them. In exchange, you may receive a lump sum payment in advance and once you’ve sold enough books to pay that back (hence, advance) you may also receive a royalty for each book sold.

However, since they now own your book they can (among other things) dictate what you, the author, can and cannot do with it. All of this is laid out in the book contract.

Uh, if your business is based on your IP then I think we can agree this is a problem.

The reality is, all you need is a high quality manuscript that is worthy of serious consideration by a top publisher, some publishing assistance, and a solid marketing plan.

But HB, if I went through a publisher, wouldn’t they pay for all that? Yes, but let’s think about this. Let’s say you invest $120,000 - $150,000 total over 12-15 months in getting the book manuscript done, published, and promoted. That’s a lot, I know, but bear with me.

Consider that a well-done evergreen business book can become your tireless virtual business development representative. Deployed properly, your book can introduce you to ideal clients, confirm your expertise, establish trust, and inspire them to action—before you even know they’re looking.

Let’s say the book surfaces just two prospects that you convert for engagements of $50,000-$75,000 each.

You get the idea.

My client Joe Crisara said it best:

“The service Helena provided resulted in a book that is now the centerpiece of our business. The thousands of people who have now read or listened to the book have been pre-trained on how Service MVP and its total immersion pure motive service system can change their business and their lives. People come ready to purchase instead of trying to find out more about us—because they already know.”

—Joe Crisara, America’s Service Sales Coach, Service MVP, and author of What Should We Do? How to Win Clients, Double Profit, and Grow Your Home Service Sales

If your finished manuscript is on par with that acceptable to a traditional publisher, and your book’s cover and interior design are first-rate, people will not be able to tell it is self-published—unless they study the copyright page. The key is to make sure the quality is there and you are committed to aggressively marketing the book with the goal of getting it into the hands of as many decision makers and influencers as possible.

So, if the “book deal” myth is what was stopping you from moving forward with your book, and you want to know more about how it all works, I’m happy to chat. You can book a free 30-minute consultation with me here.

ID 36051115 | Book © Costasz | Dreamstime.com

The trouble starts when each tries to use the language and structures of their home discipline to communicate with the other side.

In academic writing, you offer a hypothesis, present all the facts in an objective manner, and then offer a conclusion. The objective is to get your thinking in front of other academics (people thinking about the same topic) who will then consider all of your facts and then either validate or challenge your hypothesis/conclusion. The goal is to demonstrate your knowledge while improving the quality of the collective knowledge and thinking on a selected topic.

In business writing, you offer a thesis about a business problem and provide a prescription for how to solve it that is supported by examples (case studies, etc.), followed by a call to action. So, rather than providing people with all the facts and inviting them to reach their own conclusions, you use your expertise to offer a point of view on specific pain points and then offer a very clear success path to solving them. The goal is to establish yourself as an expert so that when a business leader sees your article (or even better, reads your book) they say, “Huh, this person sounds like they could help, let’s get them on the phone.”

If you’re an executive who is going after your doctorate in a discipline, e.g. marketing, your challenge is going to be in presenting all the facts objectively because you have been programmed from your first job to sell everything, including your ideas.

If you are an academic who is consulting to the business world, you have the opposite problem in that you have to become comfortable claiming a clear opinion about what should be done to solve the client’s pain point and then make a strong case for that approach in your communications (writing and speaking). Your biggest challenge, however, will be reminding yourself that the completeness academia prizes is actually the enemy of the clear and prescriptive communications your clients need from you.

If you’re a business person struggling with academic writing, you need an editor who specializes in that type of writing and who can help you learn to communicate in this specific way. If you’re done with your doctoral studies, for example, and are ABD (all but dissertation) there are coaches who specialize in getting you over that mountain.

If you’re an academic who wants to write a business book, you are looking for a developmental editor who has the ability and desire to read through and convert (with your help) the academic concepts into laser-focused, lean prose that can be easily consumed by your already information-overloaded clients. You also want someone who is obviously energized by this work, (i.e., has done at least one of these books before and is coming back for more!)

In both cases, you would do well to seek and editor who also can serve as a thought partner. In addition to making you sound like the best version of yourself, the editor/though partner will also serve as a reader advocate and original beta reader. An editor/thought partner also can help you identify where ideas need to be baked out more (or don’t work) and in that way will make the end product so much better and the process a lot more energizing and dare I say even fun.

Thinking about writing a book? Why not schedule a free 30-minute consultation so that I can learn more about your project and see how I might help.

I’d plunk down my $24.95 on the amz and wait for the book to arrive. I’d crack it open in anticipation only to notice that by page 25 I was reading the same line over and over. Then, I would skim to the end of the page not remembering anything I read. Eventually I’d give up and add the book—which the media had informed me was important—to my book shelf, telling myself I’d tackle it…later.

I started to think there must be something wrong with me.

Then, I read Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert, which I inhaled. All 304 pages of it. In three days. It was the first book in forever that I wished had not ended.

Big Magic made me realize my inability to stick with the other books wasn’t my fault. That it is the author’s responsibility to craft a journey that not only keeps me engaged but also over-compensates me for my travel time. (Big Magic did both of those things exquisitely well.)

I’ve always been a writer, but I actually didn’t set out to become a book editor. I became one because I knew-in-my-bones I could guide authors to create books that would deliver this kind of reader experience.

Books that people will gladly read cover-to-cover and be left genuinely wanting more and thus look for ways to continue the relationship.

Here’s the thing. A business book (properly deployed) has the potential of being your most effective 24/7 business development representative. The thing to keep in mind is that the experience that book creates is the reader’s first exposure to you and what it would be like to work with you.

• Is the book well-organized or a stream of consciousness?

• Is it written in plain English or loaded with industry jargon?

• Does it reflect a repeatable process or require a leap of faith when it comes to how you might solve their problem?

Your goal: Create a book that not only delivers valuable information but also creates an experience so good that our reader will recommend it to others, if not make themselves known to us as a potential client.

Anyway, the net net is this:

• If you are struggling to get through a nonfiction book, chances are it is not you, it’s the book.

• If you write a book, it has to create an experience so good that it that will compel the reader to take some action, even if it’s just a recommendation.

If you are thinking about writing a business book to use as a business development tool, I invite you to buy an hour of my time so that I can share things more specific to your business that may increase your odds of success.

The AI Marketing Canvas (1st Edition) was my first experience editing a co-authored book, and I know i lucked out because I can also see how having two authors on a book could have gone horribly, horribly awry.

So, here are five things you should think through before you agree to write a book with someone.

• Do you genuinely like and trust your co-author? A book is a huge project and you will be interacting frequently for a year or more. You want someone who is capable of respectful consideration of and iteration on ideas that did not originate with them.

• Is your expertise complementary and on par? If not, it could lead to weird power dynamics down the road. Unless, of course, the two of you have discussed this and one of you assumes the role of “lead” author. Communication is the key.

• Are your writing styles similar? If not, can you hire an editor to create a hybrid voice for the book so it doesn’t come across as schizophrenic? (That’s what I did for the aforementioned book.) If not, whose style is going to win!? For example, I once co-authored a rather scientific article on motivation with someone whose writing style was very different from mine. I did gently push back on what I considered to be wordsmithing of the draft I submitted but she was also the editor of the site it was going on. Guess who won?

• Does your prospective co-author have a reputation for being a collaborative? Or are they known as a control freak who needs to put their fingerprints on every word. (Read: wordsmith.) Conversely, if you are someone who has a hard time giving up control or you don’t really want to share the glory, co-writing a book may not be for you.

• Does you and your co-author both have the bandwidth to devote to the work? Even if you decide to hire someone like me to put the words on the page, the concepts and ideas have to get to my brain somehow and once there, I’ll need access to both of you to bake things out. If you’re really tight for time, you can still get the book done if the editor you select is also willing to do some project management and you’re willing to be bossed around on this.

When you pick the right co-author, the cross pollination of ideas and synergies that occur during the writing process can be hair-stand-up-on-the back-of-your-neck, chill bumps, no one has ever said this before, exciting.

To ensure you create that experience and not the other, choose your co-author and writing partner with care because you will be interacting with them for a long, long time.

Thing is, the song was written and first recorded by Dolly Parton—whose version is also beautiful—but a very different vibe. I read somewhere that you listen to Dolly’s version when your heart is breaking, and Whitney’s version when you want to move on. (Search for the 2007 video of Dolly’s appearance at the Grand Ole Opry, where she sings it to Porter Wagoner, for whom the song was originally written. Wow.)

What if Whitney had said, “You know, Dolly has already done that song—no one is going to want to hear my version.”

Books work the same way. The principles you cover may be the same but your take on them is going to be 100 percent unique because there is only one you with your unique experiences, background, and perspective.

Expertise is essential but it’s your vibe—your choice of words, your phrasing, you being you while communicating your wisdom and expertise—that will allow your readers to connect with and embrace what you have to say. Including readers who have heard a specific business principle 100 times but just don’t “get it” until they finally hear it from the right person.

Write that book! Because that “right person” may just be you.

The first structural edit I ever did was for a book on marketing the life sciences. The client may or may not have known this and I did not volunteer the information.

At that time, I hadn’t yet developed a repeatable process. All I knew was that a book either “worked” or it didn’t. And the whole reason I got into book writing is because I had read—or tried to read—so many nonfiction business books that didn’t work I thought there was something wrong with me! But I digress.

In this particular case, the author was a PhD who was used to academic writing. Academic writing is all about precision and providing the reader, typically another PhD with all the information so they can look at it and come to their own conclusion about what it means. Whereas nonfiction trade books are about providing the information through the lense of your point of view or expertise. Again, I digress.

The content got unnecessarily (I thought) dense in places so I did my best to simplify and define terms. The author expressed concern that I had over simplified in places but as the reader advocate, I did my best to convince him simplification is not the same as dumbing stuff down. Simplification is a kindness!

Then, there was some drama with the publisher who convinced the client to run the manuscript past another editor, who ended up admitting there wasn’t anything he would change. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Still, when I got my signed copy of the book I saw that some re-academic-ization had occurred, which I thought was too bad, but at the end of the day, it was his book and he could do what he wanted!

Here’s the takeaway: The kindest thing you can do for your reader is to spend the time to make sure your writing is as clear as possible.

Key word: Time.

There is a quote attributed to either George Bernard Shaw or Mark Twain, that goes, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” It’s really true.

Case/point I’ve already spent 5x as much time editing and clarifying this piece as I did drafting it! And these missives are meant to be super immediate, more like getting an email from a friend. (OK, I admit edit my emails, too.)

Even if all you do is swap out the $10 words for $1 words wherever possible, it will help. This from someone whose spirit animal is Vocabulary. I adore precision, so this is a battle I fight every. single. day.

Point is, if it takes me a minute to write clear and all I do is write all day every day…it’s going to take you longer. Give yourself grace. But be willing to put in the time!

Recipe: Peanut butter and bacon dog biscuits.

Thinking about what I could write to be helpful tonight and it occurred to me that I am writing this at 8:55pm on a Tuesday after having spent two hours working on my website. (Which promptly fell off the Internet (domain) for some reason. Gah.)

The truth is that for the moment, this is one of three side hustles I’m running along side my main gig which is the book co-writing for founders, ceos, and thought leaders.

Have you ever started a side gig with the intention of growing it into your main gig?

A book is totally a side gig, one for which you won’t get paid until it is done and out there working for you.

It’s hard! And there’s no microwave solution.

Well, actually there is, it’s called ChatGPT. But you’re not going to get the benefit of discovering all that you know and what you really think about it if you hand off responsibility for all that to the machine.

The best thing to do is to get in a rhythm of working on it three to five days a week for 30 minutes or an hour and it will get done.

You can do this!

ID 320343868 | Afterhours © Aaron Amat | Dreamstime.com

My mission in life is to facilitate “more good books by more good people” so when someone reaches out I try to help as much as I can.

A guy emailed me earlier in the year asking for some advice on his manuscript, so I gave it a read and made some general suggestions. He emailed me a couple days ago and it looks like he made an effort to implement it and the manuscript does look a lot better. The problem is it is still in need of editing. Like all the editings—structural, line, copy, and proofreading—and he says he has no money to pay someone to do it.

For my aspiring book editors: There’s a time to work for free, and books are not it. It takes too long to get to the end of the project, and you need to get to the end because the value in working for free is that glowing testimonial.

Even if you’re just getting started with book editing, it is an advanced skill and you should get paid something. I think I got paid $12,000 over six months for my first book, back when I was still doing PR. That was 20 years ago (gulp). My average commission now is 8x that. And no one complains because I understand the assignment and I know the book my client and I create is capable of delivering on its goal.

But, I digress. Back to my guy.

Honestly, his only alternative given where he is in life is to put the whole thing, chapter by chapter, through ChatGPT, preferably the paid version.

To make sure this would forward his agenda, I put in a little bit of the text from his manuscript to see what would come back. And it was so much better than what went in that I felt very confident in recommending this approach.

Will it replace a human editor? No. There will be structural disconnects and inconsistencies but it will be readable. What I know from experience is that if the content is unique and interesting enough it will survive the imperfect execution.

It’ll be done and he’ll be happy and some people will probably buy it. And maybe he’ll discover how he can use ChatGPT to create more stuff he can offer for sale that will allow him to generate revenue so that perhaps one day he can afford to hire a human to take it all to the next level.

ID 218666076 | Book © Andrey Popov | Dreamstime.com

One of the hazards/benefits of my job is that to be able to co-write effectively I have to learn the author’s system. And since I do nothing half way, I end up internalizing it and by the end of the book, I will know it cold.

For example, my last book was a 420-page field guide on selling home services. (So, if you know a tech that needs tips on how to sell services effectively, hmu.) But, I digress.

It’s important that I experience the process of learning the system so that I can effectively advocate for the readers who will come after me, and help the author determine what and how much information is included, how it is sequenced, etc.

I am telling you this because if you are an expert who processes at the speed of light, I urge you to hire someone like me—or phone a friend—to act as a proxy reader. You need to try to teach it to someone who is not the real reader first so you can see where you were unconsciously skipping steps.

ID 94227848 © Pop Nukoonrat | Dreamstime.com

To avoid getting overwhelmed by a book, I lean on the Table of Contents, which I obsessively refresh after I work on a section or chapter, checking the subheads to see if the sequencing still makes sense or if something needs to move, even temporarily, because it’s keeping me from clearly seeing how the book is flowing.

Zoom out, zoom in, zoom out, zoom back in, paying attention only to the section I’m working on. Zoom out. Writing the connective tissue happens later. I need to get the concepts down and sequenced properly for the reader first. Drive all the way through the book without this zooming behavior at your peril. You need to maintain your bearings because it’s really easy to get lost in the weeds as the book grows.

Another thing to know is that as you get more words on the page the stuff that was written at the beginning of the project might not fit anymore or will need adjustment. It’s really important to strategically ignore that stuff until the big pieces are in place and here’s why.

Today, while working on a client’s book, I got hyper focused on some blocks of text that need work. Naturally, it was at the end of the day when my executive function was on fumes. Enter cognitive dissonance: the overwhelming urge to fix it right now combined with insufficient brain cells to do so.

The best thing to do in that situation is to put the document away and go back in and decide what to do with it first thing in the morning when I am fresh. And so that’s what I did.

I’ll figure it out. In fact, the challenge of figuring this stuff out is exactly why I love this work so much!

However, I will say I love it a lot more at 8am than I do at 5pm, that is for sure.

ID 138534399 © Pop Nukoonrat | Dreamstime.com

This afternoon, I had my monthly call with a client whose book we’ve yet to finish because, well, we realized we probably won’t be able to tell the entire story until the end of 2026. So, we’re checking in monthly so that I can create a breadcrumb trail of goings on, since the purpose of the book is to chronicle the author’s journey from double bankruptcy to $100 million business.

It’s a cool story. And the stuff he’s living through now doesn’t usually show up in other books by people in his industry because so few of them have gotten to this point. So, I’m just going to keep fanning the book flame til the time comes to dive back in and complete the project. (Q1 2027 if I had to guess.)

You might be thinking: “Why didn’t you find a way to finish it?”

Answer: Because the first and last time I contorted a book to completion I was gravely disappointed in the end product—even though the book is actually really really good and the author was thrilled with the result (so much so we started talking about doing a second one, which did not go forward, for reasons).

The moral of the story is: The book will tell you what (and when) it wants to be and at the end of the day, as the author, you must be 100% sure that every word in that book reflects your point of view or you may find yourself on stage getting questions about content you forgot was in your book because it did not originate from you #awkward.

ID 32333472 © Maria Dimitrova | Dreamstime.com

My first book coach, Jerry Mundis, who got me through the creation of a first draft of a dreadful novel, (not his fault—I hired him to get me through the process, not to edit), told me at the end of our first meeting that based on my very demanding full time job and extracurricular activities (I was in a band at the time) I was only PERMITTED to write 30 minutes a day.

Jerry is no longer with us but his impact on my writing life—and now hopefully yours—lives on.

If you write for 30 minutes a day consistently, optimally about the same time each day, the book will get done. Like, literally set a timer and stop the minute it goes off, even if it’s mid-sentence. (Your subconscious will catch on.)

If you try this, let me know how it goes.

ID 62663961 | 30 Minutes © Sebastian L | Dreamstime.com

*What? You’ve never had shrub? It’s a non alcoholic mixer you can use to make cocktails or just use to flavor plain seltzer. I was introduced to City Tavern in Philadelphia. Martha Washington’s recipe, so they said. It’s made from fruit, sugar, and vinegar. If you like a sweet/tart profile, you’ll love shrub. Here’s the recipe I use.

Subscribe now

So, today I had a coaching client and we were looking at her manuscript, which is in MS Word. I used to be Team MS Word but have since converted to Team Google Docs because of the ability to link document together and do jump links, etc. That said, I work whatever way my author wants to work, and both active authors I have right now are Team Word.

One of the tools I lean on heavily regardless of the platform is the Table of Contents (TOC). In this case, we already had nailed down the framework and so she was in the process of filling up the different buckets (chapters) with content. That was good.

What was missing was a Table of Contents. A properly set up TOC provides you with a 30K foot view of the entire book so you can work the content back and forth.

For this to be effective, however, you have to use your headings and those headings need to be set up properly, which they never are. So we spent the bulk of our time today getting those tweaked so that she could just highlight the text and click the appropriate button on the tool bar.

I know this seems like a dumb thing but I’m telling you it makes a huge difference. It’s so much easier to look at two pages with three levels of descriptive headings and subheadings and identify where a block of content needs to move some place else or be removed all together.

The best thing you can do for yourself when writing a book is spend a few minutes getting your document set up correctly, including the “Normal” (MS Word) or “Normal Text” (Google Docs).

YouTube is full of tutorials on how to work with a TOC. Check it out. The time you invest in setting this up on the front end will save you a ton of time and frustration as you’re developing the book.

ID 99617183 © Stokkete | Dreamstime.com

How many Substacks are you subscribed to right now? How many subscriptions are you paying for? How many do you read on the regular?

I’ll wait. (Three fingers pointing back at me on this one, to be fair.)

We only have so much executive function available, people. And it’s being siphoned off 10 different ways 3-5-7+ minutes at a time.

If you’re like me, out of that dozen subscriptions (or more) there are 2-3 you look forward to reading because I always take away something meaningful. Like this one. And, this one.

And out of that dozen, there are 4-5 that are perfectly interesting and well-done but not relevant enough to what I’m doing at the moment to warrant my consistent attention. The rest I end up ignoring. (Eventually I’ll unsubscribe.)

All this to say: I understand what I’m asking from you with these daily missives.

My mission is to teach you how to write a book in five minutes a day. You game?

I want to ensure that once people pick up your book they will be compelled to read it to the end because you are rewarding them with a steady stream of serious psychic paychecks along the way.

It can—and must—be done. Especially if your book’s “job-to-be-done” is to befriend your reader and start the process of getting them to know, like, and trust you.

The right book can start that relationship long before you even know they are looking for you, and when it’s done just right, inspire that reader (prospect) to connect with you. Even better, you won’t need to spend time convincing them of your value— because they’ll already know.

So, thank you, literally, for your attention to this matter.

ID 176038865 © Vadym Honshovskyi | Dreamstime.com

I work with two types of authors—the writing author and the non-writing author.

If you know a book would help your business, or you just want to institutionalize all that you’ve learned over a long career but you’re not a writer, you need to know that a non-writing author is a thing. (h/t Claudia Suzanne)

You’d be shocked (or maybe not) at how many great business books exist solely because the non-writing author was wise enough to seek out a skilled writer and editor to help them put the words on the page.

I say co-writer but this role is typically referred to as a “ghostwriter.”

Ugh. Ghostwriter. I despise that word. (I said what I said.) No one should have to hide the fact they are smart enough to hire someone with specific expertise to help them do a huge thing that takes an incredible amount of time, energy, and expertise to do well.

Curious…what’s do you think of when you hear the term ghostwriter or that someone engaged a ghostwriter to help write their book?

Uh huh. Exactly. That’s why I prefer “co-writer.”

The problem is, no one searches on co-writer to find someone like me so I have to use the term ghostwriter, which most people assume means someone other than the author wrote the book.

I mean, it happens. I once had to write way more of a book than I wanted to. Here’s the problem with that. When a writer has to manufacture too much content to flesh out concepts to get the book done, the author better be prepared to study their own book to get familiar with what the writer wrote. Because God forbid said author gets on stage and gets asked questions they can’t answer about what’s in their own book. (So, don’t do that.)

More often, however, the co-writer/ghost relationship is a dynamic thought partnership that leads to a better book than the author could ever write alone. The best of us function as a sounding board and reader advocate and have the writing and editing chops needed to make the author sound like the best version of themself.

If you’re an aspiring author—writing or non-writing—who wants to know more about how this all works, I offer a free 30-minute consultation. Book your call here.

ID 84896120 © Donfiore | Dreamstime.com

So, you want to write a nonfiction business book. Good for you! And, I’m sorry. Because unless you know what you are getting yourself into, there is nothing that will make you feel more guilty than an unfinished book project. (Ask me how I know. And, working on it.)

Even if you are a great writer, if you have never written a book before, I implore you to get some help. Because if you write it wrong, it is tough to fix. There are a number of ways to get help. Here are two:

1. You can hire someone like me (book strategist and developmental editor and co-writer (OK, “ghostwriter”, bleh, see P.S.) to guide you through it. That is the easiest path but also the most expensive (or it should be).

2. You can join a book coaching cohort. I recommend Publish Your Purpose. I know Jenn T. Grace and she’s top notch. Tell her I sent you.

Please, be very careful who you hire. Check references and reviews. Talk to someone who has worked with them. The power of books to drive business has been recognized and there are predators who will take your money and put out a substandard product. I’ve spoken to a couple of people who spent five figures only to end up with a book that with no editorial intervention whatsoever, not even proofreading.

ID 170534 © Carolyne Pehora | Dreamstime.com

There’s no reason to get your heart (or your wallet) broken like that. That’s why, to address this, I am building a network of trusted partners. All the good people know each other.

The very first step is to rat through all your files and collect in one folder all your blog posts, bylined articles, presentations, videos, podcast recordings, consulting frameworks, consulting statements of work (which usually contain some sort of framework).

The next step is to think about the solution you want to offer in the book and boil it down to one statement that follows (usually) this format:

If you do x, y should happen.

I’ll give you some examples, from books I’ve worked on:

• If you put these seven power concepts into place, it will allow you to run your contracting business with less stress and more success. (The 7-Power Contractor, by Al Levi)

• If you implement Pure Motive Service principles in your home service business, you will win clients, double profit and grow your home service sales. (What Should We Do? by Joe Crisara)

• If you follow this five-stage roadmap to implementing AI in marketing at your company, it will 100x the impact of your marketing efforts and create exponential competitive advantage. (AI Marketing Canvas (1st ed.) by Raj Venkatesan, PhD, and Jim Lecinski)

Notice the pattern. If I do (book content) then I will (specific outcome/benefit).

That if/then statement is known as the “controlling idea.” More about that in time. But I want you to notice that the subtitles of many business books are actually its controlling idea!

Here are a few, from books on my desk right now. I’ll reverse engineer the controlling idea from the subtitle. (And you’ll have a new game to play while browsing the nonfiction stacks at your local library or Barnes and Noble.)

• Title: Quit: The power of knowing when to walk away by Annie Duke. Or, If you follow the advice and examples in this book you will know when to quit vs. presevere.

• Title: Upstream: The quest to solve problems before they happen by Dan Heath. Or, If you absorb the information in this book you’ll be better able to identify and solve problems before they happen.

Something to noodle on.

P.S. Yes, technically I’m a ghostwriter, my marketing friends say I have to use that word so people looking for help can find me. They say no one is looking for a co-writer (OK) but I still don’t like the term ghostwriter and here’s why:

I don’t believe people should have to hide the fact they are hiring expertise to help write a book. Creating a book that people want to read all the way through requires a specific set of skills. I’ll write more about that soon. All for now.

This morning, I got some edits back from my current client. He’s having fun making my template copy his own, and he’s doing a great job. It’s been a while since I’ve had a writing client and so I’m reminded of the need to study his word choices, rhythm, and cadence and be more surgical with my edits in a way that doesn’t destroy or dilute that. It’s a good exercise as restraint is generally not my strong suit.

Another cool feature of this book is that we are working together to create a framework for it as we’re developing the content. I love frameworks because they just make the book so much easier to write and the content flows logically and no key criteria are left out.

OK, HB, what’s a framework? So glad you asked.

A framework is a structured approach to analyzing and solving problems. Many consultants develop frameworks to more easily communicate what their problem solving approach is and reassure clients that the process being offered up is proven and repeatable.

When it comes to a book, a framework is a critical tool. The process of developing a framework ensures you are communicating the entire solution to the reader and it provides a rock solid foundation for the book both for content and sequencing.

For example, a book I worked on (1st ed.) “The AI Marketing Canvas: A Five-Stage Road Map for Implementing Artificial Intelligence in Marketing” by Raj Venkatesan and Jim Lecinski, offers a structured approach—aka framework—marketing leaders can use to implement AI in marketing.

Another book I worked on, The 7-Power Contractor by Al Levi lays out seven key “powers” contractors need to run their business with less stress and more success. In this case, it’s a seven-stage framework beginning with planning, operating, financial, staffing, coaching, sales and marketing. Each power has specific things the contractor needs to do for mastery. (Caveat: Al also says you don’t have to be a 10 at all seven, you just can’t be a zero!)

If you are consulting, I guarantee you that there are repeatable processes underpinning your approach. Creating a framework is just a matter of bringing those to the fore.

ID 1531057 © Nikhil Gangavane | Dreamstime.com

My job as a co-writer / ghostwriter is to lead my author through the process of writing a book with as much confidence and certainty as possible. At the beginning of each engagement, however, the only thing I know for sure is that I have no idea what combination of tools and techniques will work best for that particular person—and won’t know until I’ve worked with them for a little while.

This go round, I actually have an author that writes (and well at that), which over the past 15 years has been the exception, not the rule. Most of the time I am taking in information verbally and then converting it to prose.

It had been so long since I’d had a writing author that I may have taken too many liberties in my test edit. Ooops. My bad. And exactly why I always do a test edit and run it by the author before I dig in. Being wrong is…awkward, but necessary. I redid it, he was thrilled, and we are dialed in now. No harm, no foul.

I’d rather just try something and have the author correct me. They know the material lived this approach for years. It’s part of their DNA. I’m coming in cold and trying to wrap my head around the concepts and then articulate them in a way that the reader will be able to easily understand and energize them.

ID 11430346 © Alexstar | Dreamstime.com

Note: This is my “all things co-writing / ghostwriting” Substack. I’m giving it the journal treatment. If you are thinking of writing a book and have questions, leave them in the comments and I’ll address. And, subscribe!

P.S. If you wonder what I write when left to my own devices, check out Running Wild.