Half of all business experts want to generate extra income or enhance their credibility through writing and publishing their own book, but over 90% of those who start a book will probably never finish it, according to a recent survey by The Book Midwife, Mindy Gibbins-Klein.
In the survey of 112 would-be authors of business and personal development books, 26% wanted to publish a book to boost their income, whilst 24% wanted to enhance their credibility in the industry.
However, 31% admitted they had started but not yet finished their book, whilst 40% had not even started to write their book yet. According to Ms Gibbins-Klein, around 90% of people who start a book will never get round to finishing it.
The survey found that the biggest barriers were finding the time, a lack of publishing and marketing knowledge and self-doubt and indecision. But racing at full speed into a ‘best-seller’ without any clear plan or direction can be equally as dangerous if the book ends up being more of a ‘brain-dump’ than a well thought through expression of the author’s values, experiences and beliefs suggests Gibbins-Klein, who has been a success coach for over 18 years.
Gibbins-Klein advises that anyone who is considering writing a book should first consider all the possibilities rather than homing in on one topic too soon. “I’ve had clients in the past come to me and say ‘I don’t know what I’m going to write about but I know the title!’ and this is a classic example of narrowing the focus too early on in the process.”
“Often this can mean the best ideas are disregarded from the onset, hampering the success of the book to really reflect the values and opinions of the thought leader,” says Gibbins-Klein, who is also a highly acclaimed publisher and author.
“Writing books is an extremely underrated exercise these days, and many successful business leaders simply don’t realise the value that it can bring, not only to their organisation and successors, but in raising their profile and credibility with their target audience too,” adds Gibbins-Klein.
The Book Midwife™ has helped over 300 people write and publish their books and twelve of their clients have been Amazon bestsellers. For more information visit www.bookmidwife.com.
I’d like to learn how to get started on writing a book and how to go about publishing it to marketing it as well as marketing it.
how much is the cost for the entire process from start to finish?
If you have no money who can help with the process?
thanks,
Marlene