As the founding CEO of Your Bestselling Book, decade-long Forbes contributor, and a 2x New York Times bestselling coauthor, I’m incredibly passionate about helping CEOs and executives like yourselves write high-quality, impactful books.
Now, you might be thinking: “I’m a CEO, not a writer. Why write a book? And how can I possibly find the time?” These are valid questions we’ll explore.
The truth is, you have a story to tell—a story filled with valuable insights gleaned from years of experience leading, innovating, and overcoming challenges in your field. And sharing that story can be transformative, both for you and your readers.
A book can:
- Establish you as a thought leader, enhancing your credibility and influence.
- Attract higher paying clients and customers, opening doors to exciting opportunities.
- Cement your legacy, leaving a lasting impact on your industry and beyond.
But let’s be realistic. Writing a book, let alone a bestseller, is a daunting task, especially with the demands of an executive schedule.
Luckily, you have 3 options for accomplishing this task:
Write it yourself
Set aside a few hours each week to do a deep dive into your life experience. You can begin by culling your digital archives. Chances are, as a leader, you have a library of articles you’ve written, speeches you’ve given, podcast interviews you’ve conducted, and even posts to LinkedIn and other social media platforms. You can draw on all these sources to begin to shape your book.
But in the end, if you’re going to write your book yourself, it’s “butt in the chair” time for you! You have to put serious effort into your creation. The good news? It’s well worth the time you invest. I guarantee you that you’ll learn a great deal from this experience, and grow as a person.
Use generative A.I.
In the past year, I’ve had two clients come to me with manuscripts written, asking me to “elevate” their books to NYT bestseller status. But when I took a quick glance at their books, I realized what a Herculean task this would be. What they delivered was what I call “A.I. Slop.”
If you ask ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or numerous other tools to write your book for you, I guarantee you: It will not be good. And no way will it ever become a New York Times bestseller! AI-generated writing is boring. It’s akin to reading a user manual aloud. Where are the personal anecdotes? Where is your unique voice? Where is the vulnerability?
That said, I’m a huge proponent of using A.I. as a tool in crafting a book. I’ve been leaning heavily on it myself since I first experimented with ChatGPT in the fall of 2022.
What is A.I. good for? Helping you organize your notes (check out Google’s latest release, NotebookLM – it’s amazing). Generating a structure and table of contents. Giving you a bunch of great ideas for titles. Offering a rough draft for you to work off of, as long as you dive in yourself. Editing your spelling and grammar when you’re done.
But please don’t use it to write your book!
Hire a ghostwriter
If the entire prospect of writing a book sounds daunting, take a deep breath. You don’t have to do the heavy lifting yourself. You can hire a ghostwriter!
When I first entered the world of New York publishing back in the late 1990s, I had no idea that celebrities of all kinds – whether they be politicians, actors, singers or athletes – rarely write their own books. They use ghostwriters.
A doctor friend who was 15 years older than me asked if I’d like to write a book with him, so I wrote a proposal and sent it to all my friends, asking if anyone would give me feedback. Miraculously, a friend of a friend, who was very junior at Penguin Putnam, showed it to her senior editor, who bought the book and published it. Not only that, but that publisher took me under her wing and mentored me. “You can do this for a living, you know,” she said.
Here I am, 25 years later, still helping people bring their books into the world!
When you work with a ghostwriter, you run the show. You determine the target audience, topic, and tone you want to use. But the experienced professional you hire does the heavy lifting for you.
Usually, we begin by asking you to cull your digital archives, so that we can get a sense of your authentic voice. Then, we conduct a series of interviews with you over Zoom. This is helpful in collecting your stories, which serve as the real meat on the bones of whatever the topic it is you want to address.
Once we piece everything together into a rough draft, you have an opportunity to review it and offer feedback. We do another version and, assuming everyone is happy, boom! You’re done.
And you can feel confident that the product you’re holding in your hands is of the highest caliber – no A.I. Slop for you!
Writing a New York Times bestselling book is an ambitious goal for anyone. You must already have a high profile in the press, and you must be willing to invest in marketing and promotional support. That said, it is achievable with the right mindset, strategy, and investments.
The world is eager to hear from leaders like you. If you want help, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at Your Bestselling Book. Share your story, offer your wisdom to the world, and inspire others to achieve their own versions of success.
