The Top Five Challenges All Business Authors Face (and How to Overcome Them)

It doesn’t matter if you’re writing your first book or have already published multiple titles—you’ll encounter the same challenges all business authors face. A well-written business book can help you stand out as a thought leader and catapult your business to the next level. As long as you equip yourself with knowledge about potential obstacles and find the right publishing and marketing services for business authors, you’ll already be ahead of the game.

Sometimes, though, just starting your book project is a major challenge. Here are the top five stumbling blocks authorpreneurs must conquer before they can publish a powerful, impactful business book.

Turning professional experience into a great business book

One of the first things every business leader needs to know about writing a book is how to effectively transform their expertise and experience into a compelling story that people want to read. You’ve earned your professional experience throughout your career, but writing about it is an entirely different ballgame.

There are a few steps here. First, identify your purpose by writing down your book’s overall theme and a crystal-clear thesis statement. Second, identify your target audience and figure out what tone and voice will resonate with them. After that, you can start formulating your outline, performing any necessary research, and diving into the actual writing process.

Creating—and sticking to—a realistic writing timeline

It’s no secret that business leaders have hectic schedules. Between running a company and enjoying life with your family and friends, scheduling time to write your book might seem like an impossible task. Fortunately, there are time-squeezing hacks to help you get into the habit of writing and surefire ways to create a manageable timeline for your book project.

Here are some go-to tips to overcome the ever-present scheduling challenge:

• Work around your company’s busy season. Many industries have an ebb and flow throughout each year. Try to figure out when you’ll be working longer hours and acknowledge that you might have to set your book aside during the busy season.
• Give yourself the benefit of time. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and very few successful business books were written in a year. Don’t try to rush the process and finish quickly  just to publish by a certain date. Give your book the time it needs to become the best version of itself.
• Build writing time into your schedule. You’re probably used to reserving time on your schedule for client meetings and strategic sessions with your stakeholders—and you can use the same method to make time to write. Add blocks of time to your schedule to work on your book, and let your employees know that you’re off-limits during those periods.
• Set attainable writing goals. Not hitting your goals can be discouraging, so set targets you feel are truly attainable. Maybe you want to write 1,000 words per day or spend ten hours per week on your book. Whatever benchmarks you put into place, make sure you can meet them.

The timeline is one of the biggest challenges all business authors face when writing their books, and considering their hefty professional and personal responsibilities, it’s no wonder. However, you can leap over this hurdle by creating a realistic writing schedule.

Tailoring your book to the right audience

Fiction and nonfiction writers alike have to tailor their books to their specific audiences. Writing a business book presents a unique challenge because you want to create a clear message without getting bogged down in industry buzzwords or jargon.

Before you start writing, reflect on who your audience is, what problems they’re facing, and how your book can help them. Consider the tone they want to read (for example, should your book read as strong and authoritative, or more friendly and approachable?), then think about how your personal brand and voice fit into your readers’ needs.

After that, of course, comes the content itself. In addition to the prose, there’s a good chance your book will benefit from visuals like data charts or infographics to reinforce your message and give the reader a short break. Make sure your overall business story flows well and consistently focuses on your main point.

If at any time you’re unsure about whether you’re on the right path toward publication, consider a professional manuscript evaluation before you get too far down the road.

Determining when to bring in professional editors

You’re a business leader on your way to publishing an impactful business book that will solidify your thought leadership. However, most authorpreneurs have at least some limitations, and it almost always involves editing. Great editing leads to great books, and knowing when and how to partner with professional book editors is vital to your title’s success.

Throughout your writing project, you’ll encounter multiple times when an edit is necessary. For example:

• You want a professional opinion on your outline, rough draft, or fully written manuscript.
• You’re stuck or unsure about whether your book communicates a clear and cohesive message.
• You’re struggling to pick the most powerful and impactful words or phrases.
• You’ve read your draft a hundred times and aren’t confident that you’ve caught all the typos, misspellings, or grammatical errors.
• Your book is formatted, and you need fresh and professional eyes to proofread it before you hit the “Publish” button.

Basically, it’s never a bad time to get assistance from professional editors. No matter what state your book is in, it can always benefit from the critical attention and constructive feedback these experts offer.

Designing and executing an effective book marketing strategy

After you’ve published your book, your job isn’t quite done. You still have to overcome one of the biggest post-publishing challenges all business authors face: your book marketing strategy.

Without effective book promotion, your title won’t reach your target audience, and the book could fall flat. And although cross-marketing with your company is a great idea, it takes a bit more work to promote your business book and grow your audience.

Promoting your book doesn’t have to break the bank. You can start with free or low-cost marketing methods like posting on LinkedIn and other social media platforms, creating an author website showcasing your expertise, and finding podcasts and other speaking engagements where you can spread the word.

If you do have a book marketing budget, your title can go even further. You can maximize every promotional dollar with visibility-enhancing efforts like genuine book reviews, video trailers, marketing copy, and optimized retailer listings. When you’re supported by a book marketing team that understands the challenges all business authors face—and how to overcome them—the sky is truly the limit for you, your book, and your thought leadership.

We’ll help you overcome the challenges all business authors face

Writing a business book isn’t easy. It takes time, perseverance, and a team of experts…and that’s in addition to your valuable professional experience and raw writing ability. As the gold standard in self-publishing and marketing industry-shaping business books, we’re here to support you from your first developmental edit all the way through to promoting your publication.

Imagine holding the book that defines your leadership legacy. That journey starts with a conversation—fill out a quick form and expect a warm, no-pressure note from our team to learn more about your goals.