Ways to be known and visible 4 – Writing a Book

In the last entries of this series, I’ve focused on writing about different was to be known in the business world, something that can be used by both entrepreneurs and workers of all types. In fact the last two entries I’ve written about the importance of writing, in Blogs and traditional media. Today I finalize this part of this series by another writing technique, probably the most complex one: writing a book.

One of the most efficient ways to be known as an expert on your subjects is to write a book. I can testify to this as a year and a half ago I published my first book, currently only in Spanish, called Estrategias de Internet: Cómo Destacarse y Lograr el Éxito (it can be translated as Internet Strategies: How to succeed and accomplish success). This book has had a good commercial success, although it’s far from becoming a best-seller. My objective was never to receive big amounts of money from selling the book, but to make the book a way to be known an open doors for new opportunities.

It’s common that when I make a new commercial visit, by someone who contacted me or someone who was referred, I give them a copy of my book, in either the physical or digital version. People are quite receptive and grateful to this present plus immediately they see you as an authority. I have to say that the book by itself doesn’t sell my services, which are consulting services, but it aids me in making the sale easier. That is why I recommend this tactic.

If you want to write a book there are several things you should take into account and I share this from my personal experience. To start, many years before I started to write the book, I was writing for Blogs and other media outlets. This helped as an exercise for what was coming ahead, which was a long and difficult task.

As a second element, you have to choose an interesting topic that is related to the work you perform. When I selected the theme for my book, I was actually looking for a book about Internet Strategies. Since I didn’t find it, I decided to write my own book.

Finally, writing a book is not easy and requires time and patience. Since I had the idea to write the book until I published it, 4 years passed. Some people will write faster, others will take longer. However my recommendation is that you take your time, because you want to create a high quality product.

Currently with the Internet and many publishing firms, it’s become easier to publish a book. For instance, there are some authors who do their own proofreading, diagram their book and sell it online. A second alternative is to hire a publishing firm that does the proofreading and they give the author certain copies of the book, which he now must market and sell. In my case, I knew I didn’t have the time to market and sell the book, so I went with a publishing firm who believed in the project and they did all this shores. Other options might lead to a greater income for the author, but for me that didn’t work.

It’s clear that many people will not have the time, patience or skills to write a full book. In fact, they will probably feel better writing for Blogs or traditional media, which is just fine. However if you have the opportunity of writing a book take full advantage from this, as the rewards are great.

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