Blog - News and Updates from the World of Ghostwriting and Self-publishing

NaNoWriMo is Over! What’s Next?

Posted on December 13 2023 by Mark Graham

Earthly Worlds, an exciting fantasy book, is a collaboration between Billy Wright and Mark Graham Communications.

Did you participate in NaNoWriMo in November? If so, you’re not alone. According to the official NaNoWriMo website, in 2022 (the last year for which stats are available), 413,295 writers participated in the program that year. That’s a lot of novel writing!

What is NaNoWriMo? Begun in 1999 by a handful of New York City-based writers, National Novel Writing Month, often shortened to NaNoWriMo and generally pronounced “nan-no-RYE-moe,” is a commitment to write a 50,000-word draft of a novel during the month of November. Now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, NaNoWriMo offers community, challenge, and competition to inspire writers of all abilities and in all genres.

For writers in some genres, 50,000 words is close to a completed novel. For others, it’s a bare-bones start to a longer work. Either way, completing the challenge means NaNoWriMo participants put an average of over 1,600 words on the page every single day during the month of November.

Perhaps you were one of these writers. If so, hats off to you! Writing a novel requires discipline, focus, and the ability to power through the all-too-frequent moments of doubt that every writer experiences. It’s something to be celebrated!

But for some aspiring novelists, there’s an underside to the NaNoWriMo challenge: What if you discovered that while you love your story idea, you don’t particularly love writing?

First, take heart. This happens more often than you’d think. The reality is, being passionate about a story idea does not necessarily go hand-in-hand with completing a novel based on that idea. If participating in NaNoWriMo showed you that novel writing might not be the right fit for you, you’re in good company. The same thing happens to many, many people who are great at coming up with story ideas but don’t have the time and/or skills to turn those ideas into a full-fledged novel.

So, what can you do? In this scenario, a professional ghostwriter can help. The ghostwriter will discuss the project with you and review your draft (regardless of how many pages you’ve written). Subsequent, in-depth interviews will take place, designed to ensure that the completed novel fits your vision. The ghostwriter will then outline the novel from start to finish. Next, using a voice and tone that you and the ghostwriter determine together is the best fit for the novel, the ghostwriter will complete your novel chapter-by-chapter, providing the chapters to you for review and input. Before long, the completed novel you dreamed of, with your name on the cover, will be in your hands.

NaNoWriMo is, above all else, a process of discovering who you are—as a person, a creative, and someone with a story to tell. Astute storytellers, whether they write their own books or use a ghostwriter, recognize that the most important thing is that the story be told in the best manner possible. If your NaNoWriMo experience has demonstrated that having your novel ghostwritten could be the way to go, then let’s talk. We’d love to help get your novel to the finish line and out into the world!

A Conversation with Bestselling Author Todd Saylor

Posted on November 6 2023 by Mark Graham

Wired Differently is a collaboration between Todd Saylor and Mark Graham Communications.

What’s it like to write a bestselling book using a ghostwriter? To answer that question, we turned to Mark Graham Communications client Todd Saylor. Todd is the author of the Wired Differently series: Wired Differently: Leveraging Your Favors on Fulcrum Principles (2018); DriftAgain: 8 Traits of Supremely Purposeful People (2021); and Your Will Be Done: How To Become Wired Differently (2023). For all three books, Todd worked with the same Mark Graham Communications ghostwriter.

Mark Graham Communications (MGC): Please tell us about your business model, Wired Differently, and about what you do.
Todd Saylor (TS): Wired Differently is a mindset, mission, movement, and ministry. I’m a Christian-mindset business coach, speaker, and author. In my Wired Differently role, I coach clients and hold workshops to elevate spiritual, personal, and profitable growth.

MGC: How did you get into that line of work?
TS: I’ve been successful in most everything I’ve done, so I decided to write about it, in hopes of sharing my model with the wider world. That evolved into my becoming an author, speaker, and Kingdom-inspired business coach. My first book was published in 2018, and I’ve been coaching since 2022.

MGC: What made you decide to work with Mark Graham Communications?
TS: Soon after I began writing my first book, I realized I wasn’t skilled at organizing my thoughts in book form. I Googled “help me write a book” and found MGC. I liked what then-owner Mark Graham proposed, and we began working together. With my first MGC ghostwriter, the ghostwriter-author relationship wasn’t vibing for me. Rather than give up, I asked Mark if there was another writer I could work with. He introduced me to a different ghostwriter, Mario who ended up being a great fit. Initially, what he wrote felt too “Godly,” but when I met with Mark and Mario face-to-face, there was a breakthrough. The process was constructively painful and educational after that face-to-face meeting, but it was worthwhile. By the time Book One was drafted, my ghostwriter was inside my head. Mario never got impatient with rewrites. He helped shape my thoughts and the book’s flow, but I was always the director of the story. Mario was brilliant.

MGC: You’ve since written two more books with MGC, both times with that same ghostwriter. How was the process the same and/or different in these subsequent books?
TS: The process became easier each time. For Book Three in the series, Your Will Be Done, I wanted to lift up God in the title, but my pastors and motivational teachers didn’t want to cross mindset with Christianity. The process nearly broke me emotionally, but in the end, I feel the book has a powerful message about how to grow and become a better person.

MGC: Tell us about marketing your books. How do you get the word out and find new readers?
TS: I use three marketing segments: 1) in-person appearances; 2) social media such as Facebook and Instagram; and 3) my website, Google ads, podcasts, and click funnels. I also coach one-on-one and in group settings, including my Tikki Hut Retreats. To date, I’ve sold more than 15,000 books, which is great for my own spirituality and growth.

MGC: Anything else you’d like to add?
TS: MGC changed ownership between my first and second books, but under Christopher Short’s leadership, the process for Books Two and Three was straightforward, attainable, and successful. But the war is when I’m sitting still! I’m a man of action, and authorship is work for me—as it is for most people who attempt writing a book. If I had a nickel for every time someone told me, “I’m writing a book,” I’d be wealthy. Most people never finish the books they start. If you don’t have the discipline and organization to write your book, then get help. I’m grateful for the help the MGC team provided.

Thanks, Todd, and congratulations on your success! If you find Todd’s story inspiring and you’d like to talk with us about your book idea, please get in touch.

Book Two: The Ins and Outs of the Sequel

Posted on October 3 2023 by Mark Graham

Surreal Estate – this captivating thriller, was a collaboration with Sugar and Mark Graham Communications

So you’ve written a book. Congratulations! It’s out in the world, and the reception has been positive. It’s so positive, in fact, that you might be thinking about a sequel.

What is a sequel? Simply put, a sequel is a subsequent book featuring characters, circumstances, and/or topics already familiar to readers of the first book. This could mean a continuation of the original story—i.e., the second, third, and subsequent books in a series. However, a sequel might also build upon the original theme but use new circumstances or material. For example, in fiction, a sequel might focus on a much-loved secondary character from the first novel. A second memoir might be about the same individual, this time overcoming different obstacles than in the first book. For business books, a sequel might build on the business advice offered in the first book, perhaps addressing a more specific audience or taking an alternative approach to the professional challenges discussed in the first book.

For authors with ideas for a second book, the biggest question about writing a sequel might be when to do it. In our experience, particularly for ghostwritten books, the best time is as soon after the first book comes out as possible.

Why? Consider the following:

Readers are hungry for more. You put a lot of work into promoting your first book. You likely have spent marketing dollars, and you’ve certainly invested a great deal of time. Reviews have come in, emails arrived in your inbox, and you’re starting to build a fan base. All of this means that the time to get another book in your readers’ hands is now—as soon as possible.
The material is fresh in your mind. You spent considerable time on your first book. If you worked with a ghostwriter, you know the process is time-intensive, but the more you and your ghostwriter “lived” in the story, the more both of you discovered about the book’s theme, structure, primary players, and other narrative elements. In the sequel, you can build on this. In many cases, you’re able to work with the same ghostwriter, ensuring a smooth process with a known professional.
Sequels build credibility. Even if it’s successful, a single book (in any genre) can feel to the reading public as if it might be a fluke. Readers are more likely to trust authors who have published more than one work. Your second book (and subsequent books) show your audience that you’re serious and passionate about your genre and the topics you write about.

If you’re thinking about having a sequel ghostwritten (whether you worked with Mark Graham Communications for your previous book(s) or not), please get in touch. We’d love to discuss the project and help you get that next book into your readers’ hands as soon as possible.

You Won’t Believe This Story! Writing the Exposé

Posted on September 5 2023 by Mark Graham

The Aware Leader – collaboration with Richard Metheny and Mark Graham Communications

Has something big happened to you? By this, we mean truly BIG: the sort of story that, if you told it at a party, would have everyone’s mouth hanging open in shock, would have people saying, “You have to write a book about this! You just have to!”

If such a story is part of your personal experience, perhaps you’ve considered writing an exposé. Also known as a tell-all, an exposé is “is a movie or piece of writing that reveals the truth about a situation or person, especially something involving shocking facts” (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/expose).

Before you begin your exposé, here are a few things to consider:

Personal satisfaction. It can be therapeutic to get a harrowing experience onto the printed page. Nothing can completely take away trauma, but seeing the story in written form can help with the healing process.
Key players. Does the story involve anyone famous? If so, are you portraying that person positively or negatively? A story associated with a celebrity undoubtedly has the potential to attract many readers, but it’s important to consider the risk involved in exposing a celebrity, especially if they will be portrayed in a negative light.
Audience. Again, this is easier if the story involves someone famous. Nonetheless, exposés about particular circumstances or locations—a story set at a Fortune 500 company, for example, or one about something that happened at an Ivy League university—can also be big sellers, even if the key players are not household names.
Possible litigation. Whether your story involves celebrities or everyday folk, someone is bound to recognize the circumstances of the story—and possibly themselves in it. This is often true even if you use pseudonyms rather than real names. Depending on how the person(s) is portrayed, you’re opening yourself up to a potential lawsuit. For this reason, it’s highly recommended that you seek legal counsel before publishing an exposé.
Levels of support. Hopefully, your friends and family will be supportive of the project. You might find support in surprising relationships. One tell-all author reported that an octogenarian relative became her biggest supporter!

In addition to the above, it’s important to recognize that your story, while interesting party conversation, might take on an entirely different (and often more challenging) quality when you have to relive every detail as you write the book. You might find the writing process extremely taxing. It can be difficult to power through.

In this situation, a professional ghostwriter can help. The ghostwriter will interview you, going over details and letting you take as much time as you need to discuss what happened. The ghostwriter will then organize what you said into a compelling, evocative narrative that unveils the story in a way that can be understood and appreciated by your audience.

Is it time to tell this story? If you’d like help, please contact us. We want to hear what you have to say, and we’re here to help you reveal your big story to your chosen audience.

Can AI Write Your Book for You?

Posted on August 1 2023 by Mark Graham

Twin Flames is written by Charles Quinn as a collaboration with Mark Graham Communications

Chances are you’re aware of AI (artificial intelligence) and its rapidly expanding usage. Everything from college essays to song lyrics to architectural renderings can—and are—being created by AI. Given that, it’s no surprise that many people are exploring the idea of writing a book using AI.

The temptation is understandable. ChatGPT, created by OpenAI, costs no money to use. Microsoft and Google are also developing AI tools that presumably will be free. To use an AI tool, all you need to do is enter a few prompts, and the tool generates content. Given enough prompts, an entire book could be written this way. AI is highly intelligent, and if appropriate prompts are given, chances are the resulting content will be coherent, readable, and engaging.

For would-be ghostwriting clients, this probably sounds too good to be true. After all, content generated via AI—unlike ghostwritten content—is fast and free. Who wouldn’t choose such a path over the traditional ghostwriting process?

If you’re pondering it, here are a few points to consider:

Can AI create the nuances that a successful book requires? Last month on the blog [The Author-Ghostwriter Relationship], we talked about the relationship between Prince Harry and his ghostwriter, J.R. Moehringer, as they worked together on the prince’s memoir, Spare. In writing this book, Moehringer did not take Prince Harry’s words verbatim and use them to generate pages in a book. Rather, Moehringer’s years of writing experience helped him shape a compelling and discerning story. Key moments are highlighted. Details are powerful and pitch-perfect. Scenes end where an experienced writer knows they should. Much of this happened because of the very human relationship that developed between Moehringer and Prince Harry as they worked together on the book.
Where does the material come from? ChatGPT generates content based on material it finds online. But there is no sourcing—which means the content that ChatGPT creates could come from anywhere, and there is no way to cite it. Your AI-generated book could very well be full of plagiarized content. If that occurs, after your book is out in the world, there’s a possibility you’ll find yourself the defendant in a copyright infringement lawsuit.
Will publishers and book retailers accept the book? Whether you decide to self-publish the book or seek an agent and a traditional publisher, the opinions of those in the book industry about AI-generated books will likely be in flux for a long time to come. What isn’t acceptable today could eventually become acceptable. Conversely, as more is learned about this tool, what is now accepted might in the future be rejected. Because so much is still unknown, an AI-generated book runs the risk of having a very short shelf life.

These questions and others will continue to arise as more AI tools are developed and more people use them. The short answer to whether AI can write your book is this: Yes, it can. But the more important question is: Do you want it to?

If you’re unsure, please get in touch. We’d love to discuss your book idea, the possibilities for getting the book written, and how our team of seasoned ghostwriters can help you tell the unique story that only you can tell.

The Author-Ghostwriter Relationship

Posted on July 3 2023 by Mark Graham

In Waiting on Pins and Needles, a fertility acupuncturist weaves heartwarming and heartbreaking tales of clients’ paths to motherhood. Written by Rachel Blunk, LAC. FABORN with MGC.

Recently, J.R. Moehringer wrote an article for The New Yorker about his experience ghostwriting Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare. The piece explains Moehringer’s professional history (he also ghostwrote memoirs for Andre Agassi and for Phil Knight, the founder of Nike), as well as his relationship with Prince Harry.

The article begins by relating a disagreement between the author and the ghostwriter. Moehringer is trying to dissuade Prince Harry from including a line that Moehringer feels is unnecessary. Moehringer wants to craft a scene that closes out impactfully, leaving the reader stunned at what occurred. But Prince Harry wants to include the words he spoke that actually ended the scene—words the prince was proud of himself for saying.

The two go back and forth, and eventually Moehringer understands why the words are important to Prince Harry. But just as significantly, Prince Harry understands why the words aren’t an impactful way to end the scene. Moehringer helps his author understand that memoir isn’t only about its subject (a significant event or events in the author’s life)—it’s also, and perhaps more importantly, about creating a story that engages a reading audience.

This type of situation might give many potential ghostwriting clients pause. If you hire a ghostwriter to help you tell your story, is the ghostwriter going to try to convince you that the story should be told their way? In the end, will you feel like your book is more about your ghostwriter than about you or your subject?

It’s a legitimate concern. However, we can view this scenario differently. What happened is that Moehringer, as a professional, gave Prince Harry his professional opinion. Prince Harry had an amazing story to tell, and Moehringer’s job was to help him tell it. But the ghostwriter’s job was also to ensure that the story was told in a way that the author would not have been able to tell it, had he chosen to write his book on his own.

This is the power of ghostwriting. You have an amazing story, but you know it’s not within your skillset to tell that story in the most impactful way. As an author (if you have a book ghostwritten for you, you are an author), you want readers to continue thinking about your book long after the final page is turned. You want them to rave about it to their friends and in online reviews. Word of mouth sells more books than any paid promotion ever can—which means the more readers who love your book, the more you will engage additional readers.

A talented ghostwriter will help you do exactly that. The ghostwriter will, first and foremost, listen to you. Just as Moehringer listened carefully to Prince Harry’s reasons for including the prince’s desired final line, a seasoned ghostwriter will listen to everything you have to say about your story. The ghostwriter will take detailed notes, ask questions, and thoroughly review every conversation you have. Then, as the ghostwriter crafts your story, they’ll work with you to ensure that the story is told in your voice and that key details are included. Just as importantly, the ghostwriter will make sure your story is written powerfully—in a way that only an experienced storyteller can write it.

Thinking about working with a ghostwriter is a brave step to take. If you’re considering it, please get in touch. We’d love to get to know you and pair you with one of our knowledgeable ghostwriters, who will help you tell your unique story and maximize your audience. We look forward to joining you on this journey!

How Can Your Story Help Others?

Posted on June 1 2023 by Mark Graham

Soul Tracker is a collaboration between Nicholas Crabtree and Mark Graham Communications.

Soul Tracker is a captivating book following a doctor’s investigation of life’s energy written by Nicholas Crabtree with MGC.

If you’re considering writing a memoir, a vital question to ask yourself is, “Why do I want to tell this story?” If the primary reason is, “Because the world needs to know it!”—this is a good time to step back and reconsider your motives, particularly if you hope to draw a wide audience to your book.

But wait. You have a great story to tell. Everyone should know it, right?

Perhaps. But not because the story is great. (Even if it is.) Instead, the reason to turn your great story into a memoir is to demonstrate how YOUR transformation can inform the READER’S transformation.

Specifically, this means your memoir should:

Have a starting point and an endpoint. Unlike autobiography, memoir is not about the author’s life from birth until the present moment. Rather, a memoir discusses something specific that changed the author. This, in turn, opens up possibilities for readers to experience their own transformations. It’s important to note that this might be trauma related (much of a memoir is), but that’s not always the case. The story of how you went from living paycheck-to-paycheck to running a successful business provides motivation for aspiring entrepreneurs. The story of how you rescued and learned to train a stray dog, then went on to become a professional canine behaviorist, could inspire others who want to follow this or a similar path.
Show what you learned. This is a moment for demonstrating what happened and what you learned from it. You’ve heard the age-old writing advice: show, don’t tell. The key is to highlight your transformation in specific, emotion-packed scenes. For example, if you’re a recovering alcoholic, don’t simply tell readers that you’ve learned to stop drinking. Instead, paint a picture. Maybe you’re at a party, everyone is drinking alcohol, and for the first time ever, you select a soda instead. How did that act make you feel? By showing the reader your transformation, you provide inspiration for readers to undergo their own transformations (whether sobriety or something else).
Be relatable. This doesn’t mean every reader has to experience what you did. Let’s say you want to write about your experience summiting Mount Everest. Not every reader will do that, of course. What’s important is not that readers share your specific experience, but rather that they understand its transformational properties. What did this experience teach you that others can apply to their own experiences? How to be a better planner? What does it take to persevere? How, when, and where to ask for help?
Avoid preachiness. Even if your story contains valuable lessons, it’s not your job, as an author, to lecture the reading public. Rather, your story can serve as a caring, definitive example of what’s possible. Again, this goes back to showing, not telling. When readers experience specific, vivid emotions alongside you, they’re more likely to feel empathy for your experience and draw inspiration from it, rather than tuning it out (which, in the reading world, means deciding not to continue reading your book).

Are you ready to share your story and help others, but you’re not sure to start? Please get in touch. Our team of professional ghostwriters and editors can help shape your story into a memoir that has the potential to change lives—starting with your own!

Giving the Gift of a Book

Posted on May 4 2023 by Mark Graham

Under The Orange Blossoms: An Inspirational Story of Bravery and Strength written by Cindy Benezra with MGC.

Did you grow up listening to your parents’ and grandparents’ stories? Many of us did. We’ve been regaled with tales of the “good old days,” which are generally remembered with nostalgia and often focus on happy over not-so-happy events. This might lead us to wonder if life really was as great back then as our elders would have us believe.

If you’re curious about whether a propensity for remembering positive circumstances is common, you might find it interesting to note that research data validates this tendency. An article from the American Psychological Association discusses, “the ‘socioemotional selectivity’ theory that, as people get older and become more aware of more limited time left in life, they direct their attention to more positive thoughts, activities and memories.”

That being said, most of us know that our family members’ pasts also include struggles and painful memories. Stories of this type are often expressed as teachable moments—but they have the added value of giving our relatives’ history dimension and authenticity.

Have you recorded a family member’s stories? Many people either write down an elder’s stories or record their family member relaying stories orally. We often do this with the idea that “this would make a great book.”

If you’ve had this thought, you’re right. It would make a great book.

This is not to suggest that your family member’s story will become an overnight bestseller. In fact, if the story was made into a book, you and/or your relative might choose not to sell the book at all. Some families simply want the story put into book-length form, with the ability to print copies to share within the family and among friends. Others, in contrast, plan to publish the book, sell it online, and possibly look into avenues for selling additional print and/or electronic copies.

Whichever path you choose, a book based on your elder’s life story makes an incredible gift for the elder. And while most of us are currently enjoying warmer weather and springtime flowers, the timing is perfect to get started on a book-length project. With at least 4 to 6 months required to write and produce most books, a book that’s begun soon can likely be completed before the holiday season.

There are several possibilities for writing the book. These include the elder writing it, you or another family member writing it, using a storytelling app to automatically generate a book, or using a ghostwriter.

If no one in the family is able to write the book, you may have considered a storytelling app. These are common online and have become popular in recent years.

However, using a ghostwriter provides distinct advantages over a storytelling app. Unlike an app, which only collects recorded stories and binds them “as-is” into a book, ghostwriting provides a customized, professional experience. A seasoned ghostwriter will conduct interviews, organize your relative’s stories in a cohesive, logical sequence, and edit the material appropriately.

If you’re looking for something beyond “getting stories down on a page,” ghostwriting is an excellent option. Interested in learning more? Please contact us. We’d love to discuss transforming your relative’s stories into a professionally written, compelling book to be enjoyed for generations to come.

“Based on a True Story”: Should Your Book Be Fiction or Memoir?

Posted on March 30 2023 by Mark Graham

The Hotel Nantucket is a satisfying page-turner about a summer scandal written by Elin Hilderbrand and MGC.

We’ve all seen them (and probably read some of them): novels based on events that actually happened. These books are wildly popular and often very successful. In fact, Oprah Daily recently posted an article titled “25 Novels Based on True Stories” that includes such esteemed titles as The Christie Affair, by Nina de Gramont (based on an incident from Agatha Christie’s life), Anon Pls., by DeuxMoi with Jessica Goodman (about social influencer DeuxMoi), and Salvage the Bones, by Jesmyn Ward (based loosely on the author’s experiences living in Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina).

If, like Ward, you’re considering writing a book based on your personal story, you might be wondering whether the story is best told as fiction or a memoir. There are several advantages to either approach.

A memoir allows you to:

Tell the story as it truly happened. In a memoir, your story is yours—every bit of it. You might choose to omit scenarios that aren’t relevant or are overly painful to yourself or someone else, but the events described in the book actually happened.
Focus on a particular event or series of events. In contrast with autobiography, memoir generally doesn’t cover your life from birth to the present moment. Rather, memoir is about a personal journey with a particular, thematic focus: overcoming an illness, struggling with infertility, coping with a painful divorce, and so on.

What about fiction? What advantages does a novel based on the truth offer the writer?

The story can be told using greater creativity. The story is based on truth, but a novel allows you to embellish that truth, adding events and characters to drive the plot forward while omitting those that may be authentic but don’t enhance the overall story. As we all know, life unfolds in both interesting and mundane ways. A novel lets the writer forgo the mundane and focus on what (and who) is most compelling.
Novels are generally more marketable. Novels, especially in a specific genre, tend to sell better than memoirs. For example, transforming the true-life fairytale about how you met and married your spouse into a romance novel is likely to generate a higher readership than a memoir on the same subject.
Privacy is safeguarded. The situation you want to write about very likely involves many people, quite a few of them near and dear to your heart. Fictionalizing the story protects both your own privacy and that of your loved ones.

Still not sure? A professional ghostwriter can guide this decision—and help you write or edit the book. If you’re considering writing either a novel or a memoir and you’d like help, please get in touch. We’d love to hear about your project and help you get your story out in the world, whichever form it ultimately takes.

Your Author Brand

Posted on March 7 2023 by Mark Graham

Dark Vengeance is a magical, thrilling book written by Billy Wright with MGC.

“COMING SOON.”
These words follow the book title on the website of a current Mark Graham Communications client. The client’s website also includes inspirational photos, a book trailer, author information, and an inquiry form.

So what doesn’t exist? The book.
Not yet, anyway. But that hasn’t stopped our client from generating excitement about his upcoming release.

What he’s doing is establishing his author brand. What is a brand? In traditional marketing terms, “branding” refers to the visual aspects of a company or product: its logo and symbols, its packaging, and its general graphical aesthetic. These elements are still considered part of branding, but with the ever-evolving online world enabling companies and individuals to reach wider audiences, the definition of branding has likewise expanded.

According to Brandingmag.com, branding is “…the perpetual process of identifying, creating, and managing the cumulative assets and actions that shape the perception of a brand in stakeholders’ minds.” For authors and aspiring authors (whether they’re planning to write their own book or have it ghostwritten), this means establishing the reasons why readers should turn to this book specifically.

Amazon carries over thirty-three million book titles. Brick-and-mortar bookstores have access to nearly as many. (Some books are published only online and are unavailable in physical stores.) For a book to stand out, potential readers must have a clear idea why they should invest their time and money in it. There’s no better way to achieve that than to ensure your author brand is well-defined, succinct, and consistent.

What are the elements of a great author brand?

Brevity. Some authors bog down their brands with too many details. Such authors want their book to be everything to everyone—but this overwhelms readers and is likely to cause them to seek other resources and/or forms of entertainment. To avoid this, begin by defining the key points you want your audience to know. What, exactly, are you offering? What value will your book bring to readers’ lives? Instead of starting with the idea that “Everyone will want to read it!” begin by assuming that only those to whom you provide great value will read your book. (Harsh, we know—but true. Rather than deterring you, let that inspire you!)
Your (or your company’s) experience and personality. What makes you stand out from the crowd? What wisdom does your book contain that readers won’t find elsewhere? What aspects of your personal story, your book’s story, or your business make you an expert and/or someone who holds a unique view about the book’s topic?
Professional, consistent messaging. Regardless of whether your book is personal or business-related, everywhere you display or discuss your brand, the message should be the same. Reiterate your message each time you talk about your book, your company, and/or yourself. Use a consistent graphical style, streamlined visuals, and other elements such as music and sound, as appropriate to your brand.

What if you have a great idea for a book, but you haven’t yet written the book? Like our client, you can begin defining your brand at any time. And, like our client, you may find that having the book ghostwritten is optimal for getting your book into the world in a timely manner. If you’d like to learn more, please get in touch. We’d love to get to know you, your idea, and your brand—and we’d love to help you get your book into as many hands as possible.