4 Tips for How to Write a Great Business Book
There are hella business books out there—thousands are published every year.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t write one, but it does mean you should be intentional about not just adding to the noise.
So BEFORE you even move on to the meat of this blog post, think about WHY you’re really writing this business book.
→ Is it because you’re dying to share your expertise?
→ Are you trying to create a super credible lead magnet for your business?
→ Do you want another revenue stream?
ALL of these are valid, by the way; the important thing is to KNOW.
One more thing to think about: Are you the best person to write this book?
I’m not trying to shake your confidence, but this is an important question. Because if you’re not either super knowledgeable, super passionate, or both about your book’s topic, you’ll just be adding to the noise.
Okay, good on the prereqs? Dope. Now let’s get into some things to avoid.
Writing a Business Book: What NOT To Do
Use AI 🤮
Seriously. Aside from the fact that generative AI models were trained on stolen work, use hella water, have data centers that pollute the air of Black and brown neighborhoods, and are slowly eradicating its users’ ability to think critically for themselves…
It just creates bad work: soulless and poorly written.
Using generative AI to write your book might help you write it faster, but the speed is not worth it!
I could literally talk about this all day, but that’s not why were here so… moving on.
Try to fit everything you know about the topic into the book
It’s tempting to want to include every single thing you know about business in your book. You might want to share all the advice you can think of and cover a wide array of topics so that no one will ever need to read another business book again.
You must resist! I’ll go into detail in the tips below.
Aim to write a book “everyone can use”
It’s a cliche, but trying to appeal to everyone will lead to appealing to no one. Even if your book ends up being one that lots of different readers or business owners find useful or enjoyable, you should start out imagining you’re writing to one person.
Tip #1: Decide on a Super Clear Point and Use It to Filter Everything Else
Every (good) book—no matter the genre—has a point. The point is essentially the main thing your book is about, its heart. It’s the argument you’re making.
Like, the point of Rachel Rodgers’s book We Should All Be Millionaires is that we (BIPOC and other underrepresented people) should all be millionaires. Atomic Habits by James Clear argues tiny changes can have a big impact. *The Antiracist Business Book* by Trudi Lebron makes the point that if we build our business with a focus on equity, we can support the wealth of all people.
Having a clear and specific point is important because it acts as a guide post for every section, chapter, and line in your book. Keeping your point in mind while you write helps you determine what to put in your book, and more importantly, what to leave out of it.
If you’re having trouble deciding what your point is, here are some other ways to think about it:
Imagine you’re giving a TEDx talk—what’s the title?
If this book was a term paper, what would the thesis be?
What exactly are you trying to teach your reader?
What do you hope your reader says/thinks/feels when they finish your book?
Tip #2: Relate to Your Reader as the Main Character of Your Book
In fiction, there is a main character who goes through some change from the beginning of the story to the end; this is their transformation arc.
Your book is here to solve a problem for your reader—they’re looking to learn something, and it’s your job to teach them, to give them what they need. That makes them the main character, and they are going through their own transformation arc.
For your reader, there is a “before” (your book), when they know nothing or not enough, and an “after,” when they’re equipped with the knowledge you taught them. This means you need to take them by the (metaphorical) hand and lead them from the starting line to the finish, giving them the info they need along the way. This is what transforms them.
Tip #3: Craft the Table of Content Like a Well-Planned Itinerary
Okay so that transformation arc I was just talking about? Let’s dive deeper into it.
If there is a starting line (before) and a finish line (end), there are also milestones along that path. They are the incremental steps your reader takes along the journey to… wherever you’re taking them: a leaner business, a more efficient team, a 7-figure revenue year. You’ve gotta use those to inform the content of your book (and your table of contents (TOC)).
Each milestone might be a chapter, or maybe one chapter cover multiple—think about what your reader needs to know at this point in their journey, and use that to decide what goes where and in what order.
Everything in your TOC should be connected, so chapters and sections build off the ones that come before; they pick up where the previous ones left off.
And remember to filter all the content through your point! Ask yourself: Does everything you included fall into the overlap between what you want to say and what your reader needs to hear? If not, cut it or change it so that it does.
Tip #4: Write Like YOU
That’s right, like YOU. Don’t try to sound “professional” or like what you think a writer is supposed to sound like. It might help to imagine you are speaking or writing to a specific person, either your ideal reader, or just someone you know who would be interested in what you’re saying.
Part of the reason people will like your book is because of YOU. Your experience, your personality—it all informs the words and ideas they’ll read. And the more you filter your voice through some arbitrary “should” (you should be professional, you should be objective, etc.), the less your reader will be able to connect with you. And the less impact your book will have.
Writing a great business book is about more than having a good idea and a decent grasp of the language you’re writing in.
Tell a story, make it matter, and remember that your business book is really about your reader and what you can do for them, not about you.
If you want some guidance while you work on writing your business book, check out my private book coaching services. I might be able to help!
Note: There may be affiliate links this blog post. If you use them to purchase anything, I’ll receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
