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There’s a lot of pressure on entrepreneurs to be not just great business owners but also great business minds.
Writing a book seems like a logical path to influencer status. But is it? by ADAM BORNSTEIN
Sandberg, and many of these
books have led to new busi-
nesses or increased reach and
prestige. In some cases, writing
a book becomes a calling card,
a feather in the entrepreneur-
ial cap. It can bring more
opportunity, speaking engage-
ments with hefty fees, even the
opportunity to writeanother
book—this time with a larger
advance.
But those reasons? They’re
not really valid. Well, OK,
Branson and Sandberg have
written wildly successful books.
But most of us are not Branson
or Sandberg.
Let’swork backward.
While it’s true that you might
have wisdom to share with
the world, are you willing to
undertake this project at the
risk ofharmingyour business?
Because writing a book is very
much like launching a startup.
It’s a labor of love and pain and
late nights and early mornings,
with endless rewriting and
editing. (You could hire a ghost-
writer, but that can be expen-
sive and doesn’t guarantee the
book will be published.)
If you are lucky enough to
sell the book, you have to pro-
mote it. The publisher won’t
help you as much as you might
expect or need, and promoting
a book is a huge investment of
time and energy—exponentially
more so if you self-publish. I’ve
watched many entrepreneurs’
books fail because the author
can’t detach enough from their
business to do the promotion.
I’ve also seen businesses fail
because the entrepreneur gives
too much attention to the book.
And those speaking engage-
ments you’re dreaming of? Tough
to come by unless you’ve had
huge success. Your book must
sell. A lot. And that’s hard.
Take my experience. I’ve
received zero dollars for a book
advance, and I’ve received
more than a million dollars
for a two-book deal. I’ve sold
a few thousand copies and a
hundred thousand copies. The
success I had occurred because
I invested more time (in writ-
ing), money (on marketing and
PR), and effort (in promotion).
Like anything, success is not an
accident. And the amount of
muscle you have to put into a
book is the biggest surprise for
most first-time authors.
Here’s what it comes down
to: You’ve got to love writing
and really believe in your book.
You have to have an idea that
doesn’t exist on the market and
would add value, a book that’s
worth the immensity of labor
that will go into creating it and
promoting it. If you have all
that, by all means, go write!
If not, and you’re doing it
only to have a calling card,
or to achieve some sort of
amorphous status that may or
may not help your business,
or you’re hoping to nab some
speaking fees, you’re probably
going to be disappointed. Stay
in your lane. Spend that time
and effort on growing your
business. I’m confident the
returns will be so much greater.
Adam Bornstein is the
founder of Pen Name
Consulting, a marketing and
branding agency.
PETE,let me clear the air and
admit a few biases: I’ve writ-
ten five books, including a
New York Times best-seller.
I’ve ghostwritten three other
best-sellers, and my consulting
company has marketed two
books that both hit number
one on the New York Times list.
Books are my business, so I see
how it’d be easy to expect me to
recommend that route.
But most of the time, I sug-
gest that an entrepreneur not
write a book.
Which isn’t to say I don’t
understand the appeal. I do.
Plenty of successful leaders
have written them, from
Richard Branson to Sheryl
As an entrepreneur, is it important
to write a book and become an
influencer in order to take my business
to the next level? —PETE, AUSTRALIA
32 / ENTREPRENEUR.COM / January-February 2018