What CEOs should know before writing a book

Many experienced business leaders have learned at least a couple of valuable lessons throughout their career, lessons where they look back and think, “I wish I’d known this before I started.”

This is one motivation for CEOs who author books: sharing their wisdom with aspiring business leaders and other people searching for inspiration or motivation. If you’ve thought about publishing some of your best career advice, industry insights, or the story of your professional journey, make sure you’re adding something unique to the collective conversation. These tips will help you get started.

1. Determine Your Goals

Before writing anything, ask yourself why you want to write a book. Book publication is a long process, and there will likely be a few frustrating moments during a project of this scope. Understanding exactly why you must write this book will serve as a much-needed reminder when times get tough. Here are a few questions to consider when defining your “why”:

Do you want to provide inspiration for other entrepreneurs in general, or specific to your industry?
Do you have a set of guiding principles that translates to other leadership positions or markets?
Are you writing a book that would have helped you at a key moment in your career?

Also consider who would benefit from this book: founder-CEOs, seasoned business executives, small-business owners, or aspiring entrepreneurs? The more clear you are about your ideal audience, the easier it will be to tailor your message in a way that will resonate with them.

2. Have Something To Say

Think about your favorite books in the genre you’re hoping to write in. What compelled you to pick them up, keep reading, rereading, and referencing? Sometimes it's the writer's public persona and a larger-than-life presence that piques your interest, but what holds the reader's interest is a compelling core message.

Writing a book for the sake of being published will be apparent to readers, who might stop reading because they’d hoped to really learn something from your experience. Work with an editor or trusted mentor to determine if your ideas offer a unique enough perspective to generate a book’s worth of material, or if you should consider a different medium.

3. Consider Your Content

You might start out thinking you know what you’ll write about. While some people do end up publishing their original idea, just as many CEOs-turned-authors find that a completely new theme emerges once they begin putting ideas on the page.

Remain open to this evolution because it could be the path toward your truly unique take. Review your other writing to see if any patterns emerge. LinkedIn posts, tweets, newsletters, written speeches — all of these can be studied for subjects you’re passionate about.

For comedian and actress Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, life experiences provide her with plenty of material for her stand-up sets. But when developing her set, she found she had more stories to tell that weren’t necessarily right for her on-stage material.

“It doesn't work on stage, but it's worth telling, so I'm going to save it for a book,” she explained. “I started this document of stories that I would tell if I ever wrote a book, chapters that I would have if I ever wrote a book.” After adding to the document for 10 years, she had a solid foundation when her agent called in 2020 with the idea of her publishing a book.

4. Know When To Ask for Help

Even the best writers have tough writing days. CEOs trying to write a book while also running their company are bound to have their share of tough moments, too. Seeking assistance from professionals can help to ensure that your business and book are successful.

One business coach and consultant told Forbes, “Having already written a book myself, I would recommend hiring a ghostwriter. I absolutely love to write, but it’s incredibly time-consuming. If the purpose of writing a book is to share your story and your wisdom, let someone else do the heavy lifting. Leading the company should be your priority, and writing a book can quickly become a full-time job.”

5. Plan on Making Promotion Your Second Job

Your business acumen alone won’t put your book into the hands of millions. Self promotion, particularly via social media, is one of the go-to methods for book promotion today. Use your goals to help direct your promotion efforts. If the goal is to sell millions of copies, plan on extensive promotion plans. If you’d be happy for your immediate audience to read your writing, you might not need the same promotional blitz.

Promotion is a big undertaking, which is why relying on experts here could be the best option. Work with your publisher to determine the best plan. Planning to self-publish? Social media is still your friend, but also plan on reaching out to publications and podcasts for further promotional opportunities.