Peter Winick argues that writing a book isn't a business model. A book builds your brand and credibility, but consulting, advisory services, and training are what actually generate revenue. Plan how readers will pay for your expertise before you finish writing.
Hi there, it's Peter Winick. I'm the founder and CEO at Thought Leadership Leverage, and here's the thought that I'd like to share with you today, and that's this: a book is not a business model. Where does this come from? Well, this comes from my conversations that I have basically on a daily basis with a wide variety of authors, speakers, thought leaders, consulting firms, academics, etc. Early on in the dialogue, I'll typically ask, well, interesting, I understand what your work's about, what it does, etc. What's the business model? And sometimes, not all the time, but oftentimes I'll get, well, I'm in the middle of writing a book. Great. Being an author or writing a book is not a business model. A business model is how someone is choosing, or an organization is choosing, to pay you to do what you do, right? So that could be in the form of consulting, advising. It could be variations of the ideas that may live in the book that are ported over into a validated assessment tool, a video-based training system, whatever the case may be. But a book is not a business model. A book is really important, and books are great places to show your ideas, to market yourself, to brand yourself, to get exposure. But again, not a business model. The other side of this conversation that I hear that's related is, well, I'm working on the book now, and then the book will come out, and then I'll worry about the business model. And that to me is really backwards. When you are in the process of writing a book, and certainly before you launch the book, you should be thinking about what is the impact that you'd like it to have on your business. Do you have the products and offerings and solutions already set up so that when someone gets exposed to you through the book, they can lean in further and bring you into their organization at scale? So anyway, love to hear your thoughts, love to hear your reactions. Thank you.
