| You've finished your speaking engagement. You're | | | | to include sparkling new examples. Nothing gets a |
| being mobbed by eager audience members. And | | | | point across like great stories, so use them |
| then you hear the question: "Do you have a | | | | liberally. |
| book? I'd like to read more about what you said." | | | | - Write for the eye. Your talk was written for the |
| It happened to me, and it's why my first book | | | | ear. Writing for the eye is more formal and |
| was born. I went the traditional way: writing, | | | | requires that you pay attention to the rules and |
| finding an agent who sold the manuscript to a | | | | conventions of writing. Write as if you were going |
| publishing house, touring a little, and making radio | | | | to present your book to an editor or author. Of |
| and television appearances. | | | | course, many print on demand houses have |
| Because of the growth of print on demand | | | | editorial folks who can spruce up your prose (for |
| publishers, speakers who want a book of their | | | | an add-on cost), but not all the editors are that |
| own don't have to wait so long to see their | | | | good, and it's better to do it right yourself. |
| words in print. But no matter what the publishing | | | | - Be respectful. Write the best book of which |
| route, a book is a large and serious undertaking, | | | | you're capable and proofread it relentlessly. Have |
| and if you're a high-quality speaker, your book | | | | someone else proofread it, preferably more than |
| should be of equal quality. A haphazard collection | | | | one someone. Check the details. Do the page |
| of unrelated, boring anecdotes, which is what a lot | | | | numbers in the table of contents match the page |
| of back-of-the-room books are, cheats your | | | | numbers in the text? Are the headlines and |
| audience and dilutes your effectiveness as an | | | | subheads free of errors? It's amazing how many |
| agent of change, which is what most speakers | | | | mistakes creep into heads, subheads, call-outs, pull |
| hope to be. | | | | quotes, and other features that are often set in |
| If you're going to write a self-published book that | | | | large type. Have you checked for easily confused |
| will enhance your reputation and not be just | | | | words? For example, does your text say "laying" |
| another way to wring a few more bucks out of | | | | when you meant "lying" or "regiment" when you |
| your audience, here are three things to consider: | | | | meant "regimen"? Have you dragged out the |
| - Make the material new. Don't just rehash your | | | | dictionary to be sure of spelling? Don't waste |
| presentation. Of course, you'll want to emphasize | | | | readers' time making them read through your |
| certain points you've made in your talk, but use | | | | errors. They have the right to expect a good |
| fresh, interesting examples, not the ones the | | | | book for their money |
| audience already has heard. In a book, you have | | | | Make both your speaking and your writing great |
| the space and time to embellish and expand what | | | | experiences for your audience. |
| you said in person. Take advantage of that luxury | | | | |