“The collapse of one’s character begins with compromise.”

The above quote has truly become my North Star in and out of the matrix. Throughout my adventures in celebrity affairs, making concessions in my career at the expense of my values and morals is definitely not how I go about playing the game. However, there isn’t a full day that goes by where I’m not at least subtly pressured to do so. Having a foundational narrative of where I stand on topics of discussion that matter the most to me is what’s helped me keep my character intact as I navigate the complicated world of big paychecks and even bigger egos. And as a result, my businesses have yet to stop growing.

My idea with respect to words is that they make the world go ‘round. Think about it. They’re behind our favorite TV shows, movies, songs, and books. They have the potential to break systemic barriers and bridge understanding across cultures. And when we use them appropriately, they can persuade and move people in incredible ways. That’s why I believe that learning to use words powerfully is a definite way to get people to buy into our passions.

Humans have been telling stories for as long as we’ve had language. Our ancestors created a means of building emotional connections through what they could articulate as a way to make sense of the world and themselves. This was through the use of broken languages and what they could draw directly onto cave walls. Van Jones once said, “You have to change hearts and minds before you can change business and policy.” Storytelling is an interactive way for us to do such a thing. Over time, stories can take their own shape. They can become more meaningful the more they’re told, and that’s important when connecting brands and communities. So if the goal for your brand is to growth and reach, then a book is the exact tool you want in your toolbox.

WritersBlok saw a significant surge in ghostwriting services for client books during the pandemic. Many were hoping to share their stories with audiences they’d missed online. Believe it or not, not every author aspires to make the best sellers list. Over time, every client I’ve encountered has had a different reason for sharing their story. Some want to build a legacy, while a few have aspirations to start a speaking or teaching career or launch an online course. Others are thinking of long-term brand positioning opportunities where they can use their writing to demonstrate their capabilities as an expert or thought-leader.

Many people feel overwhelmed by the idea of writing a book, so utilizing ghostwriting services to help simplify these steps is common. At WB, we are an aid, a human diary, a confidant and advisor. Clients often find comfort working alongside a writer who can help field their ideas as a sounding board. Our team has been able to curate content for our clients by strategically weaving meaning into their memories and shared experiences. And said content not only converts but can also be repurposed for future use across several separate mediums.

I’m fortunate because I listen to stories for a living. One commonality between clients is whether or not their story is worthy of sharing with the world. As a communications advisor and ghostwriter, I’ve learned that you genuinely cannot help someone you do not understand. Stories help bridge the gaps in understanding between writer and reader. Memoirs are the perfect vehicle for packaging these stories for curious readers invested in your growth.

Believe me, not everyone will read your social media content or visit your website. Let’s be real; some people will never have heard of you or what you do until your story is in their hands. So before you’re standing on a stage in front of readers at your book tour, sharing your story beforehand tells people you know your business. Even those who already know what you do will get a chance to see you in a whole new light. Several celebrities and influencers’ recent announcements and publications of memoirs include Viola Davis, Mattie James, Julia Haart, Fat Joe, Tarana Burke, Lilly Singh, and Selma Blair. Memoirs have become almost a non-negotiable marketing item for personal brands of a certain stature.

As opposed to autobiographies – they are fact-driven and emphasize dates and details surrounding the author’s birth and ending around the time of writing. On the other hand, memoirs can be written at any time (an author may write multiple in a lifetime) and narrow in on the author’s specific experiences and shared perceptions. Memoirs tell stories driven by emotion, personal affairs, and introspection, weaving an overarching theme throughout the book.Readers often purchase with the intent to understand a specific theme or subject matter as related to the author’s experiences rather than the author themselves.

The goal of any best-selling book is to catch readers’ attention and keep them interested. Therefore, a good starting point for deciding what you’ll write about is by asking: What is my proximity to the topic? A good rule of thumb for answering this question: If it isn’t something you are passionate about, or you simply don’t know shit about it, then don’t touch it. I started telling my story to better connect with millennial women of color, women in transition, and young people struggling with their mental health. I completely understood those lanes and wasn’t afraid to occupy or dominate them. The basis of my present content revolves around these buckets. As a result, my books and content have taken on similar characteristics and have gained comparable support from varying audiences.

Building a content library of your own — such as leveraging LinkedIn, Medium, or blog site posts — can help you start to warm up the audience who will eventually buy your book. To start, think of your social media channels as a newspaper, where you focus on:

Niche and loyal audiences
Relationship-driven interactions (involve others, reach out and build relationships with others, interview series – ask someone to be a guest)
News-driven interactions (calendar-driven media — what are your followers currently concerned about and paying attention to)
You-driven interactions (sharing of methodology, framework, personal stories)
Newsjacking (wrap your article in a title that everyone is talking about at the moment). A good example article would be ‘How To Talk To Your Daughter About Kim Kardashian,’ where 80% of the piece revolves around how to have a tough conversation

In preparation for your next book, there will be several critical decisions you’ll have to make. The very last thing you want to be left considering is what you have to say, how you’re going to say it, or why. Asking for help on these parts before leaping into action will save you time, headaches, and so much marketing manpower you’ll be making more connections in no time. So continue reading below for some pointed advice on penetrating the world of books, and please do not hesitate to reach out to our team for a conversation about how to better share and illustrate your narrative.

Narrow Your Niche

Some people are surprised to find out that launching a book actually starts before the book is even written. That’s because before you ever write a single word to an audience, you have to know why you’re doing it. It’s easier than ever to find platforms for our voices, and everyone feels they have something to say. But we can’t be adding to the noise without good cause. That means money and recognition aren’t reason enough to break into writing. It’s got to be more than that.

Selling millions of books should never be your goal because it’s simply not realistic. There are about 500,000 titles published per year in America. Yet only 200 books per year sell 100,000 copies, and less than 24 sell a million. A more realistic approach is to reach a narrow audience and go deep/far with them.

Rather than focusing on the content itself, focus on why the content will benefit the reader. Or, more specifically, why the reader will actually care. Why does what I’m trying to say here matter? What needs will these stories fulfill? Remember, you don’t want a book as much as you want what it gets you. A book is a marketing tool for more efficiently building your brand. As you discuss the content concerning the reader’s needs or society’s needs, other more realistic goals will begin to reveal themselves.

Raise Visibility/Profile
Increase Authority/Credibility
Get New Clients/Opportunities
Secure Speaking Engagements
Leave a Legacy
Make an Impact

In many ways, if you’re writing a book and want it to be successful, you’ve got to do it for a cause, not the applause. Researching what your potential readers are looking for is key. Studying the authors and influencers who write/talk the most on your chosen topics will help tremendously if you’re still struggling to ideate and communicate these goals. Dig deep into their platforms and think about how you fit among them, how you will set yourself apart from them, and how you might build upon their efforts later.

Finding the information to better narrow your niche can be as easy as peeping into your DMs and making note of the most occurring topics and subject matter. Emails and texts can work in the same way for probing your existing audience to tap into a much larger, future one.

Remember Books As Businesses

When you think of your book as its own business, you’re more likely to feel better past launch day when you’re still marketing. As much as I’d like to tell you that pre-launch campaigns handle the heavy lifting of connecting your book to its audience, I can’t lie to you like that. No matter how much you directly push your book, everyone won’t know about it. Furthermore, you and your book are brand new ideas to many people and will continue to be years after its initial release. Not everyone who learns about it will be interested in immediately exploring what it has to say. Nonetheless, keeping a narrow niche and a keen launch strategy is extremely important for your ROI.

The shelf life of a well-written book is never-ending, so a memoir is unquestionably a wise investment for any founder of an eclectic brand portfolio. I wrote my first book, Everything I Couldn’t Tell My Mother, in 2014, and I still receive deposits in my accounts to this day. As a result, I’ve gained an everlasting vehicle for my overall mission, vision, and narrative that I fully control.

Memoirs are excellent for connecting with your audience in more profound, more lasting ways. Contrary to popular belief, everyone isn’t online. There are still people out there looking for the exact information you share on your social accounts daily. Still, they’d prefer to receive it written and in long form. Of course, it can be a dream to imagine what sales would be like if each social media handle bought just one copy. If this were the case and I promoted a new book, I’d move at least 9,000 units from my Twitter alone. But it’s smart to beware of social media counts as you factor in marketing strategies. Followers don’t always equate to readers.

There’s a reason why Michelle Obama’s Becoming outsold Billie Eilish’s self-titled debut, and it’s not because Mrs. Obama has more followers on Instagram. Eilish has more than double the following on the social media platform than the former First Lady. Yet, in its first six months, as reported by NY Times, about 64,000 hardcover copies of Billie Eilish were sold in the United States. On the other hand, Becoming shattered expectations and sold an astonishing 750,000 on its first day. Although Obama’s sales numbers indicate metrics across platforms (hardcover, ebook, audiobook) and countries (the US and Canada), and also include pre orders, Eilish’s do not. The differences in the niche value these marketing tools brought is vividly apparent.

As reported by The Hill in 2020, Kristen McLean, executive director of business development at NPD BookScan, revealed that sales of political nonfiction had surged during the Trump administration. Further adding that 2020 would almost certainly be the “biggest” for political books since tracking began in 2004. That same year, Former President Barack Obama’s memoir, A Promised Land, sold 887,000 units on its first day and 1.7 million by the end of its first week. Targeted audiences wanted behind-the-scenes secrets from the White House. Therefore Obama’s books over-delivered in their retelling of crucial moments before, during, and after the inauguration.

Always Weave In Your Why

There’s a branch of psychology called narrative psychology. This is the idea that your life experience isn’t a simple accumulation of objective facts and events. Instead, your life is how you can weave the essence of its events with meaning. So essentially, how you think and being able to determine meaning in your life’s events, is what makes your story unique.

If you’ve considered writing a book but you’re too afraid or don’t think you should, I’m here to tell you that you can and should. You’re here because you already have something to offer. And yes, your business is fantastic, and it speaks for itself (trust me, I know how easy it is to use that as an excuse to stick to what’s comfortable). But with the help of a clear narrative, there’s no telling how far-reaching it’ll become or how much more impactful it will be.

And okay, so maybe you aren’t ready to sit down and begin writing your book today, but that doesn’t mean you should hold onto your story. Start small. Tell your story across different mediums in smaller digestible chunks.

A recent WB client-partner had this to say about a speech our team wrote:

“The speech WritersBlok wrote for me was educational and motivational, to say the least. I have also leveraged various parts of the speech in podcast interviews, ebooks, sales calls, courses I teach, Instagram posts, any and everywhere. Their words have made it possible for me to truly connect with and inspire my audience. I have made back the return on the investment many times over.”

She further shared that “Marketing is an investment in your business. People need to see you, understand you, and trust you.” I couldn’t agree more. And it’s not just because of her kind words. Honestly, I talk a lotta shit, but I practice what I preach. Last week, I posted a story about how to build mental toughness on my Instagram, and the stats were astounding — 20,500+ accounts reached, 8K+ views, 1200+ likes, 300+ shares, 250+ saves. Once again, I was able to connect with my audience on a deeper level and gain meaningful interactions that I’ll be able to leverage later on as warm leads.

Obviously, there’s a lot to sift through, but let’s keep it simple. Whatever your topic (or medium), your ultimate goal for sharing your story should be impact. Impact boils down to three essentials: Purpose, Authenticity and Strategy.

Purpose: What drives you? What cause(s) are you promoting?
Authenticity: How can you be more distinctly yourself?
Strategy: How will you authentically communicate your purpose?

Figuring out each of these essential elements is simpler when you’ve become clear on your ‘why’ and have decided to let it lead all of your interactions. Strategically weaving this information throughout your content library is a masterful execution of storytelling and will always pay off as long as you know that your audience will relate.

3 Important Rules To Help You Write Your First Book

Narrow Your Niche

Remember Books As Businesses

Always Weave In Your Why