Julie Broad (Book Launchers) explains how podcasters can transform podcast episodes into a nonfiction book that grows audience and revenue. She gives a five-step, culinary-themed process: (1) decide the book’s goal and hook (the "outcome of the outcome"), (2) create an outline/TOC and map episodes to chapters, (3) identify and fill content gaps (new episodes or written material), (4) rewrite and edit for readable voice and handle interview permissions, and (5) engage professional editors/designers and polish subheadings/flow before publishing. The video emphasizes that repurposing is easier than starting from scratch but still requires substantial work to make a compelling book.
Chapters
Are you a podcaster? If you are, you've probably already had the thought that you're sitting on a gold mine of content and that you should repurpose it into a book. And you're right. A book bringing more listeners to your podcast. Draw in sponsors, any of it, whip up a whole new income stream. The good news is that you might already have a veritable pantry full of content ready to cook up that book. But. And this is a big but. No, not that kind of a but. This kind of but. You don't want to just take the transcripts, get them edited, and turn it into a book. Well, you don't want to do that. If you want to have a book, people want to read. So if you want to know how to cook up a great book from your podcast episodes, well, good news. This video is for you. Hey there. I'm Julie, the book broad from Book Launchers. We're a professional self publishing team. Much like all the folks in a kitchen yelling, yes, Chef. We're the folks in the kitchen, the that do that. Menu creation, prep work, dishwashing, front of the house, service and marketing for a book. In other words, we're a team of book professionals here to help you write, publish, and sell a nonfiction book that could grow your podcast, your income, and so much more. So you've recorded tons of great episodes, and you've had them transcribed, and you know there's a book there. They're like the raw ingredients in your pantry ready to be turned into a culinary masterpiece. But you wouldn't just huck all those ingredients in a bowl and see how it turns out, would you? And that's not what we're going to do with your podcast episodes either. First, we want to start with your goal. What are you trying to achieve with this book? Do you want it to lead to more podcast listeners, or do you want to become known as a thought leader in a particular industry? Or are you trying to expand or start a speaking career? Make sure you know that big picture so you know who the audience is for your book. Like, is your audience all about Italian food? Well, if they are, you're not going to serve them up a burger with poutine, are you? Okay, this is too much food talk. Well, what I mean is that you need to know that your audience is a woman who started a business so she can be at home with her kids, but now she's gotten so busy, she either needs to slow the business down or hire help. Your book has to help her continue to enjoy the Income and still keep the time to be with her kids. So once you know the who and the why, you're ready to create that winning recipe. All right, so number one, determine the theme or the hook of your book. For us at Book Launchers, the hook is the outcome of the outcome. It's the main flavor that's going to go through every chapter. Much like the star ingredient of a dish, it's that special thing that your reader is looking for. Whether it's money, popularity, happiness, a more fulfilling career, time with family, the recognition of their industry peers. It's something that your unique approach, your story, your expertise, your lens your can offer. And it's ideally the theme of your podcast or extracted from the theme of a series of podcast interviews or episodes that you've recorded. Once you have this, you consider what content needs to be shared in order to create that hook of the book. Now, special note, we're not pulling anything from your podcast at this point. We're considering the content in the podcasts. But first we're establishing what the hook and therefore the book must be to achieve your goal and what the reader will want from your book to achieve that outcome of the outcome. And then number two, you get organized. This is where you write your book outline or create your table of contents. Every topic, just like an ingredient in step in a recipe, should enhance and support the overall message. If it's steps that need to be taken or concepts that need to be understood, then and only then, when you know those, go through your podcast episodes and see which ones align with your table of contents, maybe you find some cool additions to throw in there as well. Go ahead. Just so long as you deliver on the core of what must be there and you don't put things in that aren't related. Going back to our food example. Wait a minute. Are you getting hungry? I know I am. Hang on, let's have a snack. That's better. Alright, so just as a chef carefully selects ingredients that complement that main ingredient, you should select podcast episodes that fit and enrich your main theme and and then take your reader through the journey they need to experience to fulfill the promise. That's your hook of your book. Step three, fill in the gaps. You will likely find areas lacking in the content that you need to really give the reader the full experience. And you'll find places that you might be able to just record more podcast episodes or you'll do some additional writing to fill in those flavor gaps. Then number four, go through the entire book from start to finish and edit it this is a great place to bring in a writer if you'd like to have someone do this for you. Most authors think this will be faster and easier than it is, and it is less work than if you started with nothing. But it's not as easy as doing a quick edit. You have things to decide, like how do you handle different voices of different interviews? You don't want the content to all be dialogue either. Some dialogue excerpts can be interesting, but reading an entire book of dialogue is the opposite of reading a noteboringbook. I find the best approach is to rewrite the content to share the core messages from the episode that need to be covered in order to deliver on the promise of the chapter. Keep some dialogue as quotes or even boxed out content, and then add some supporting materials or references. This is work. It's not as easy as you thought repurposing was going to be, and this is also what will make your book great and make your interviewees thrilled to be a part of the book. It's also ideal that you've got a signed release from each of your guests so that you can take their interview and repurpose it. This way, if you don't, you can reach out for permission after the fact as well. And while you don't have to do this, it's a nice professional thing to do, it's best practice now. Number five, now that all this is done, it's ready for those professional editors, designers, and more. Your podcast episodes can be turned into a great book, and it is much less work than starting from scratch. But also please know that it's not as fast or as easy as taking the transcripts of hiring an editor to polish them up and then, voila, you've got a book. Well, it's not that easy if you want the book to be a great read that people read and then tell other people about. Even things like drafting compelling subheadings, finding compelling and interesting ways to grab attention as you introduce each chapter and smooth out the read to guide your reader from one concept to another takes time, effort, and some skill to do. It's just like perfecting the dish's presentation. You also might need to add a final chapter to neatly wrap it all up, just like you might need a garnish to finish a dish. Okay, I'm done with the food and chef analogy for today. But I mean, think of the satisfaction of seeing your podcast episodes, your ingredients turned into a beautifully presented and appetizing book. Your finished dish. Okay, now I really am done. And with a reminder to hit that like button and subscribe to the channel and turn notifications on. I promise this is the only video where I've been so cheesy. Okay, that's even a food reference. I can't stop. Oh, and remember to mention your podcast in your book to let your readers know where they can get more. If you're looking for a skilled team that specializes in helping podcasters write, publish, and sell captivating nonfiction books, contact us@book launchers.com application. Now for a food analogy free video. I do recommend this fabulous find on three mindset shifts to become a successful author, and this one on 20 publishing terms to know as an author. I've got my coffee in my hashtag noboringbooks mug and my apple, and I'm waiting for you on the next video. See you there.
