Actually, You CAN Judge a Book by Its Cover

Now is the time of year that thoughts turn to summer reading lists. Whether you’re a procrastinating student or a stressed-out professional finally getting some R&R, the dog days of August are idea for finding a cozy hammock or beach chair and delving into that stack of books we’ve been planning to get to all summer.

But, now is also the time of year that many of you are making your Summer Writing lists. I can’t tell you how many of you have promised me you’re finally sitting down to share with the world the book that everyone’s been telling you to write your whole career.

And you should. Our annual CPA/Wealth Advisor Confidence Survey ™ finds that two-thirds of professionals (61%) believe publishing a book/eBook is a highly effective way to become a thought leader.

I wish I could tell I have “6 Easy Steps for Writing a Business Best-Seller”— but I don’t have even one. I’ll leave that up to the vanity press services that I’m sure have hit you up with one-stop instant book writing services.

I can only promise you this: To do it right, there’s going to be some hard work involved along with some serious introspection and mental heavy lifting. Maybe some drinking or binge snacking, too.

But there are ways to make the authoring process less daunting. Before you write Word One, you have to nail down your outline. Without an outline, it’s like building a house without a blueprint. You might be able to throw up a few walls and maybe a room, but sooner or later the structure will collapse on itself without a master plan. And before you put the outline together, always have a clear vision of the finished product in your head.

Exercise: Start with the end in mind

Try this fun exercise. Imagine you have finally published the book of your dreams. Congrats. How will radio shows and podcast producers introduce you? Imagine the host saying: “My next guest is [your name] author of the fascinating new book [Title].”

How would you want that intro to sound?

Then ask yourself the first question of the interview: “{Your Name} Thanks for joining us today. What made you decide to write this book and why now?”

One of the best ways to answer those questions is to noodle around with your book jacket and cover lines. You don’t need to download any apps or install software or start a trial subscription. Just take some blank sheets of white paper and a sharp pencil. Tape the blank sheets of paper to a sturdy hardcover book you have lying around your office. Start penciling in some titles, coverlines and the copy for the spine. Just for kicks, add a few pro forma blurbs from professional colleagues that you’d like to ask to review the book. What would they say about you and your masterwork?

Now put your “dummy” book on your bookshelf; then lay it horizontally on your coffee table. Will the title you’ve penciled in grab people’s attention (along with your author credit) when they have about half a second to notice it?

5 key questions to ask

1. Who is your target audience?
2. What problem does your book solve for the target audience?
3. What will readers be able to do after reading the book that they couldn’t do before?
4. Why are you uniquely qualified to write the book on this topic?
5. Why has it taken so long for someone to finally write the definitive book on this topic?

I have plenty more “thought provoker questions” I’d be happy to send you at no cost or obligation. Just ping me any time.

Conclusion

Whoever said “you can’t judge a book by it’s cover” never had a successful book and wanted to be a thought leader. After all, your mother was right: “You only get one chance to make a first impression.”
 

What’s your take? I’d love to hear from you.

#thoughtleadership #practicedevelopment #selfpublish #wealthadvisorconfidence #authorabook