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Unless you have been living on a desert island, you know that during the past ten years there has been – and continues to be – a revolution in the publishing industry. One positive effect of these sweeping changes is that professionals – lawyers, CPAs, management consultants, doctors – can now publish their own books at an affordable cost. They no longer need to go through either traditional publishing houses (which are inaccessible) or vanity presses (which are expensive). Today, the wide range of media choices makes it possible to publish and distribute a real book.

Getting Started with a Ghostwriter

I’ve had the pleasure to ghostwrite or edit dozens of books for professionals; many of them are featured on this blog. When I speak with a new client, one of the first things we do is establish the client’s goal. There are usually two reasons why professionals want to publish a book.

1. To educate the reader. The best professional self-help books provide real information. The topic of the book may be how to invest; how to save for retirement; how to live a happier life; or even how to choose a liposuction provider. The topics are endless, but the bottom line is that the reader gets real information that can change their lives.

2. To establish the author as a leader in his or her industry. A professional book is usually not a direct sales tool, although the reader may certainly contact the author for his or her services. The book instead serves to validate and enhance the author’s credentials. When the author speaks at a gathering, it sends a powerful message when the author can offer copies of  his or her book to audience members. A book can be a powerful door opener, and can help the author appear on TV or in the media as an expert.  For example, a few weeks ago I was delighted to see my client Ellyn Enisman appearing on CNN to discuss her book “Job Interview Skills 101.”

Professional self-help books should be concise; the ones that I write or edit are generally around 30,000 words. That’s about one hundred pages in an average paperback book. I call them “airplane books.” This is because you want the book to be something that a busy person can read in one sitting. You board your flight in New York, and by the time you land in Chicago you’ve read the book.

Professional Book Formats

At a very low cost, books can be published as pdfs that you offer on your website. These ebooks should be shorter – no longer than 20,000 words – because people read them on their computers. Many of my clients release their books on Kindle or another ebook format; there are many from which to choose. Probably the most common choice of format is print on demand (POD), in which the POD provider stores the book files on a server. Whenever anyone orders the book, a single copy is printed. It’s a real book with a full color cover. This is an economical solution for the author; the only drawback is that the price of the book tends to be higher than average for the reason that there is no economy of scale.

Professionals today have many options for publishing their own books. I invite you to contact Thomas Hauck editing and ghostwriting in Gloucester, Massachusetts to find out more about how you can be an author and elevate your reputation in your industry.