Congratulations, you finally published your book and you are now a bestselling author. Many small businesses owners and professionals make the big mistake of thinking being published in a book, even a best-seller, is the end game, when it’s just the beginning.
If your goal is to use the book to help build your business, then you’ll have to do some work. Why? Because most books don’t have the sales to make anyone an overnight sensation like the New York Times Best-Seller List can do. Therefore, you need to look at the book differently.
Creating Content and Building Your Authority
First, realize that being a bestselling author has two specific objectives: creating content and building your authority. The content from the book helps deliver your message to your prospective clients. The second objective is to use the book to build your authority to stand out in your marketplace. This second objective is more important to your business success because far more people can become aware that you wrote a book than will buy or ever read the book. Does this mean the book isn’t important? No. It is important. But it’s a lot easier to leverage writing the book than it is to get people to take the time to read it.
Myths and Misconceptions About Being a Bestselling Author
There are a few myths and misconceptions that most professional must address to fully optimize their book. These are mental obstacles that are self-imposed. Overcoming them puts you on the path to becoming a local celebrity.
The biggest Myth is that because a book is published, people will see it, buy it and read it. Evan if you are a bestselling author. This is far from the reality. The competition for the readers’ attention is fierce because of the number of books available and of the number of books published every day. Most books published only sell a handful of copies. If the book gets into the hands of the right person, the impact on your business can be significant. It becomes your responsibility to get the book into the right people’s hands.
This brings us to some Misconceptions that holds back many business owners and professionals. They believe that self-promotion is bragging and that being a celebrity is vain. Because of these misguided beliefs, they reframe from talking about and promoting their achievement. Many HUMBLE themselves right out of their business. When I asked a business owner why she didn’t mention writing a Best-Selling Book, she said, “I just don’t feel comfortable talking about myself, and I don’t want people to think that I have this huge ego.”
I asked her how keeping her story a secret helps the people she wants to serve. She reluctantly admitted that she couldn’t help them if they didn’t know what she did. I also helped her rethink her view of celebrities by asking her whom she thought of when she said celebrities are vain. She mentioned the Kardashians and other tabloid fame seekers. Then I asked, “are there any celebrities you admire?’ She replied, “Yes. I admire Oprah and Justin Timberlake because they are strong leaders who help many people.” How would you like to be viewed as the “Oprah” of your marketplace? You won’t unless people know you and understand how you help your clients. Being a best-selling author is one of the best platforms for getting the message to the people who want and need what you do.
Do You Need Some Help?
As you may know, most people already have a book inside of them, but for many reasons are unable to start writing it, or if they do, to complete and get it published. Does that sounds like somebody you know? If so, let me ask you this… If I could help them to create and publish their own non-fiction book within 60-70 days, without having to invest years of their lives to get it done, do you think there’s any reason they wouldn’t want to know more? Let me know if anyone comes to mind and I’ll take things from there.