How writing a book has changed my life!

On last month’s Ask The Book Mentor webinar, we were asked the following question:

How does writing a book change your life as a business owner?

Wow that’s a hard question to answer. If you listened into the webinar, you’ll have heard mine and Sheryl’s responses towards the end of the recording.

In my view, there are various ways writing a book can change your life. Of course there’s the tangible in terms of credibility, authority and expert status, but I also believe that there’s more to it than that.

I was speaking to two clients this week who are writing a book together. They recently spent a few days away to work on their writing. What they found was talking it through crystalised their thinking and took it to a much deeper level, so now they have a perfect one-liner that sums up their book – as well as a developing the framework that they offer. They’re already getting great feedback from their clients, they’re clearer about their offering and feel much more confident about their book.

I’ve also spoken to clients recently who have told me about how they feel when their book has made a difference to someone’s life, and that person would have never had come across them had they not written and published it. And then there are the opportunities that are often presented when you step out of your comfort zone and are brave enough to share your stuff with those who can benefit from your wisdom.

So how will writing a book change your life as a business owner?

I recently asked this question in our Author’s Journey Facebook group and I thought that you’d love to hear some of the inspiring comments from those who have written and published their books:

“Writing a book has completely changed my life! When I wrote my book, I didn’t set out to be a coach, it was more an expansion of my blog at that time. After being interviewed about the book I was invited to be a Columnist for the Yorkshire Post, and happened upon my soon to be coach and mentor Ali Campbell as my awareness of ‘coaching’ became more heightened. Once I’d made the decision that I should be coaching, everything snowballed, and I became Ali’s apprentice. I am now writing my second book and looking forward to my first Change Your Life seminar at the Opera House in York – and still writing my column which I would never would have had without my Feel Good Factor in 30 days book!” Andrea Morrison

 

“My life has taken a very unexpected turn since I published Pure Human City. My writing is becoming central to everything that I do. I never thought this would ever happen. So many opportunities have come up that sometimes I have to pinch myself to believe it is true, and jump up and down in excitement!” Claire Miller

 

“Since co-writing Making Sense of Learning Human Anatomy & Physiology, we have had the opportunity to give workshops, talks and events which we certainly would not have had before. Publishing in the UK with Lotus Publishing and in USA with North Atlantic Books has been quite an adventure. Strangely, it seems that I am more believable because I have published a book. I say strangely, as I am still the same person as before, and talk about the same stuff, but being an author has given credibility. We have won the runner up award for Best New Product at the Holistic Health Magazine awards in December 2017 too” Jane Langston

 

“Writing a book has changed my life in so many ways, but I think my favourite has to be how it has touched the lives of others and given them the confidence to change their own lives” Emma Heptonstall

 

“My first book certainly helped to give a new level of kudos. It helped to get speaking engagements both paid keynotes and unpaid as well as the opportunity to sell my book. I hadn’t anticipated getting clients directly from readers who were inspired and wanted me to coach them to ‘win through their own redundancy’! It was also the start of becoming an internationally acclaimed author and gaining clients from around the world.

My second book Winning Through Career Change helped to get interviews on radio shows and podcasts around the globe. I also gained my first Canadian client which has opened up new opportunities for me in Canada. My latest book Portfolio Careers – How to work for Passion, Pleasure and Profit again received interest around the globe, really positioning me as a global thought leader in portfolio careers and the world of work. I cannot profess to be earning a fortune in royalties but the regular monthly payments are always a pleasant surprise!

Being a published author has changed my thinking and business focus on my personal brand as The Career Catalyst. I have also increased my coaching fees for the last few years without any loss of business so achieving my goal of doing less for more. It’s also such a great feeling when someone you don’t know sends you a message of thanks on how your book has helped to change their outlook on life, and how they have transformed their career and life! And it’s even better when it’s an unexpected review on Amazon!” Steve Preston

 

“One entrepreneur I’ve worked with had potential clients queuing up outside her exhibition stand to get a signed copy of it, leading to new business; another has had random people coming up to her at conferences telling her how much it’s changed their lives. It’s the combination of increased income and emotional satisfaction that makes a book so powerful” Ginny Carter

 

“I wrote & published Cosmic Ordering Made Easier – how to get more of what you want, more often in 2012. So what has changed since writing it?

– Confidence in my subject – writing my book got me very clear on my own subject, it made me join the dots, and ask myself the questions I thought my readers would ask – I went from being an amateur to an expert in my own mind and realised I really did have a formula that worked not just for me but for everyone who used it.

– Confidence in my own step-upability to make something happen – which I have drawn on again and again since and now teach on – I wrote the book in a week and was published and launched 3 months later.

– Recognition and credibility – this was instant – with top companies inviting me to speak at product launches with weeks of the launch, radio interviews, podcast interviews, and all sorts of speaking and book signing opportunities.

– Awards – winning Author of the Year in the 2014 Women Inspiring Women awards, the global Expert Authority Challenge in 2014, and being named as one of the top 10 specialist coaches in the UK in 2015 was pretty cool and didn’t do my street cred any harm either.

– Financially – I never really intended this as a financial boost. I have a corporate training company (still do) and this book was outside of that. I was wrong and now the income from my book and the business I have built around it far exceeds the income from my training – plus most of it is royalty or residual income – such as membership programmes. Last year I was invited to do some global telesummits and I launched my first global membership club – called The Co-Creator’s Club – this is another new and unexpected turn – that I am now creating something so outreaching and none of that would have even started without first publishing the book.

– Reaching more people – through the books, programmes, speaking, videos and coaching – that’s the best bit. The feedback, the successes people have, the people you can touch that perhaps no-one else can touch – that’s what really makes it worth it. There’s not a day goes by that I don’t get a really special email with a story that starts “I read your book” and it’s very humbling and beyond awesome at the same time.

– The author connections – it’s like something that binds you together. I didn’t know ANY authors personally when I started this little journey and now I have a tall bookcase in my office especially just for signed first editions with beautiful personal messages all from lovely people I know and think of as friends – those conversations, collaborations, inspirations and motivations are priceless treasures” Ellen Watts

 

“It has made a massive difference to me personally and to my business. I have greater credibility, people understand more about what I do and why and I’ve also made more money in my business since writing it. I love people coming up to me saying that they have my book and the feedback from them shows just how much it is making a difference. Whilst my book has a very wide audience (there is a business and consumer edition), it gives different results to different people. It gives people many lightbulb moments, that are saving lives, marriages, improving finances, and changing perspectives about mental health. I’m very proud of my book. Can you tell?!”  Liz Almond

 

Please join the Author’s Journey Facebook group for more inspiration and ideas like this here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/authorsjourney.

How will writing your book change your life?

If you’ve already published your book, please do add your comments to this post on how your book has changed your life, and if you haven’t yet finished your book, what would you like to have happen when you publish?

And if you’d like our help to change your life, then please click here to find out how we can support you to write, publish and market your life changing book.