Do I Still Have to Write a Book?
Introducing "Book Plus" and Why It Should Be Your Paradigm
Eventually as a public expert you will have an idea a) for a book, or b) that you need to write a book, or c) that your insights and/or the issue you care most deeply about would benefit from the kind of attention that only publishing a book would provide.
So you will start thinking about a book. In fact, you probably already are.
And then you remember that we’re a quarter of the way through the 21st century and wonder: Is a new book really still the best way to introduce and spread an idea? Or is it more like trying to “do math on an abacus,” as a colleague recently put it? Why agonize over a 60,000-word book—which will take at least 24 months to write, pitch and publish in the traditional way, somewhat less if you’re self-publishing—when you can today launch an idea instantly?
Because—assuming you actually have an idea and a narrative to support a book-length treatment—nothing that displace a book as the cornerstone of a strategy to promote a big idea. Especially to policymakers and decision makers. Done correctly, it is superb ideas marketing.
But the choice isn’t book vs. getting busier at some digital things. To succeed—indeed, even to get published—you will have to have a plan to combine the book with content in these more immediate, digestible and interactive formats. A plan to pave the way for the book with your audiences and turn them into ambassadors, and also to promote the book and its core ideas.
I call this strategy book plus, and it is the most fruitful way to approach launching both a book and launching a big idea.
“Book plus,” though, requires something before book (in addition to the plan for the plus). Before you write the book — regardless of whether you’re pitching to an agent/publisher or self-publishing—you need to already have a robust platform or platforms where your audience is gathering around your insights. You can’t publish the book and then start throwing out content and hoping people see it. You need to create a warm room.
Why a book? Five reasons
Let’s touch briefly on five reasons that, yes, you still want to write a book today:
It’s the best content peg to get you invited to external platforms. From media interviews to podcast guesting to talks to panel discussions, there’s still nothing that gets you invited more than a new book.
It frames the issue for everyone. A book is an emphatic frame around the chaos. It helps us see something we didn’t otherwise see—with a great title as the headline for that new way of seeing.
It can become synonymous with its big idea—and associate you with the idea. It can be amazingly good ideas marketing—again, especially if the book title or a key phrase from the book is memorable, even meme-able.
It’s durable. Certainly more durable than a report or a series of pieces on LinkedIn. It’s a flag in the ground that can change the cognitive landscape.
It’s a statement of your intent and authority as well as of the issue’s gravitas. Writing a book signals an urgency (no matter how long it took to write) and seriousness of purpose about the issue you’ve addressed. This is a bit of a tautology—but being able to write a book about something signals to many that, in fact, it’s a serious issue worthy of book-length consideration. And it’s a big statement of intent on the author’s part, especially if they’re an advocate on the issue.
A sample Book Plus
What would a book plus strategy look like? Maybe some combination of
A talk for conference keynotes, ideas festivals, etc.
A video explainer series of key concepts from the book.
A newsletter series with excerpts from the book.
Outreach to podcasts and newsletters whose topics and audiences match up well with yours.
Private roundtable briefings for foundations, policymakers, philanthropists, etc.
An executive summary of the book for policymakers ahead of these briefings.
A Reddit AMA (for that SEO goodness).
An infographic series pegged to book themes to prompt discussion and build awareness among media and social.
Any/all of this could be attempted without the book—but I’m hoping you see how a book can be the peg for all of these things, making it much easier to launch each of them and link them.
Author platforms, or: How do you warm the room?
Jane Friedman, an indispensable expert in strategies for getting books publishing, says definitively that you shouldn’t bother pitching a book proposal to either an agent or a publisher unless you can outline a credible marketing plan, rooted in your author platform—which she defines as “an ability to sell books because of who you are or who you can reach.”
(Why do you have to sell your book? Because publishers don’t do that anymore.)
Books reach two groups of people: Those you already reach, and those you can reach because of who you are + what your book is about. And here’s something heretofore undisclosed: The platform you build to reach both—the author’s platform—is identical to the platform you build to become a public expert.
Which is NOT, Friedman hastens to add, about marketing or making a ruckus on social. It’s “about making waves that attract other people to you”—which, she writes, includes steps such as
Publishing or distributing quality work in outlets you want to be identified with and that your target audience reads.
Producing a body of work on your own platform—e.g., blog, e-mail newsletter, social network, podcast, video, digital downloads, etc—that gathers quality followers or a community of people who are interested in what you have to say. This is usually a longterm process.
Speaking at and/or attending events where you meet new people and extend your network of contacts.
Finding meaningful ways to engage with and develop your target audience, whether through content, events, online marketing/promotion, etc.
Partnering with peers or influencers to tackle a new project and/or extend your visibility.
All ways of sharing your expertise regularly and beneficially for others. All ways of deepening your impact as a public expert.
You write a book to write new audiences. But the irony is: You’ll only reach those new audiences—you should only bother starting to work on a book—if you’ve already proven you can reach a significant audience now.
In a way, the only reason not to write a book is similar to the only reason not to be a public expert or improve as one:
Because you can already reach everyone you need to reach already.