Pictured: a recent Rich20Something sighting at Barnes & Noble. And no, it doesn’t get old.
My company New Wave Press works with busy professionals who want to build their authority and boost their career by publishing a book…but don’t know where to begin. So they just procrastinate for ten years before hiring me.
And the interesting thing is…
Even if they have decades of experience in their chosen field, most people get hung up on how to talk about their expertise. To work around this problem, I’ve found that one of best ways to get the “raw material” out is via interview.
You can work with a colleague, close friend or professional to interview you over several sessions about your experiences. Find someone you are comfortable with who will pull interesting, truthful answers out. If you can’t find anybody, interview yourself and record it.
General topics to cover in the sessions:
- Your key life experiences or expertise relevant to the book
- Challenges overcome and lessons learned
- The core message and passion behind the book
Keep questions open-ended. Speak as long as you want. This isn’t the time for editing, it’s the time for dumping.
You should also Interview relevant family members, friends or colleagues to gain additional perspectives on the story you’re creating. I’d recommend that you record all interviews via video so that they can be transcribed later — you may want to use the recorded footage for marketing and promotion.
You should plan to set aside 5-10 hours of interviews with yourself and others, broken into manageable sessions.
Once you have all this material, you can use it to craft an outline and shape that into a rough draft. Works like a charm!
If you’re a professional, entrepreneur or expert who is ready to become a bestselling author, I’m happy to answer any questions about writing, publishing and promoting your book. Reach out by completing the application on this page and we can discuss how New Wave Press may be able to support you.
