Executive Book Publishing and Authority Guide
Executive book publishing is the process of turning a CEO’s, founder’s, or business leader’s expertise and experience into a professionally produced book that supports larger professional goals.
The best executive books do more than generate book sales. They can help establish authority, support speaking and media opportunities, strengthen professional reputation, create business conversations, and turn years of experience into a lasting professional asset.
The process can be broken into several key steps.
Define What You Want the Book to Accomplish
Before thinking about publishing, decide why you are writing the book.
Do you want to build authority in your industry? Support speaking opportunities? Explain your leadership philosophy? Generate business opportunities? Preserve your professional experience?
The answer should guide every decision that follows.
The most important question is not, “How do I publish a book?”
It is, “What do I want this book to accomplish?”
Choose the Right Subject
An executive does not need to write an autobiography.
The strongest business books often focus on something the executive knows unusually well, such as:
A leadership philosophy
A business strategy
An industry transformation
An entrepreneurial journey
A problem the executive has repeatedly solved
Lessons learned from building or leading a company
An area where the executive has developed a distinctive point of view
The subject should provide useful information to a specific audience while demonstrating why the executive is qualified to address it.
Identify Your Audience
A book needs a clearly defined reader.
Ask:
Who needs this information?
What problem does the book solve?
What does the reader already believe?
What should the reader understand differently after reading it?
A specific audience usually produces a stronger book than trying to write for everyone.
Gather Your Existing Material
Most executives already have substantial material that can become the foundation of a book.
Look at presentations, speeches, interviews, articles, client conversations, internal documents, lessons learned, successes, failures, and questions you repeatedly answer.
You may already have the raw material for multiple chapters. The challenge is organizing that experience around one central idea.
Develop the Book Concept and Outline
Once the subject and audience are clear, develop a central idea and basic structure.
A useful outline might begin with 10 to 15 questions the book should answer. Those questions can become chapters or major sections.
Don’t worry about creating a perfect table of contents on the first attempt. The structure can be refined during the editorial process.
Decide Who Will Write the Book
Executives have several options.
You can write the manuscript yourself, work with an editor, or hire a ghostwriter.
A ghostwriter can interview you, extract your ideas and experiences, organize the material, conduct research, and develop the manuscript. You provide the expertise and point of view. The writer provides the writing expertise.
For busy executives, this can significantly reduce the time required to create a book.
Choose the Publishing Model
The three common approaches are traditional publishing, self-publishing, and hybrid publishing.
Traditional publishing can provide editorial resources and publisher-managed distribution, but the process can take longer and the author generally has less control.
Self-publishing provides greater control over timing, content, design, pricing, and production, but the author must coordinate more of the process.
Hybrid publishing varies significantly from company to company. Don’t choose a provider based only on the word “hybrid.” Review the actual agreement, costs, rights, distribution, services, royalties, and ownership.
Edit and Produce the Book
A professional book typically requires more than a manuscript.
The process can include developmental editing, copyediting, proofreading, cover design, interior design, formatting, publishing setup, printing, and distribution.
The level of support you need depends on whether you write the book yourself or work with a ghostwriter and publishing team.
Develop the Marketing Strategy Before Publication
Book marketing should begin before the book is published. In fact, it should start many months before its published or even before it’s written. Build your market first and then release your book. It will be more successful.
For executives, the goal should not be limited to selling copies. The book can support:
Speaking engagements
Podcasts
Media interviews
Industry publications
Conference appearances
LinkedIn content
Guest articles
Professional organizations
Strategic relationships
Business development
A book can also become a source of ongoing content. Individual chapters and ideas can become articles, podcast topics, presentations, videos, newsletters, and social media posts.
Connect the Book to Your Professional Platform
The book should reinforce the reputation you want to build.
Your website, LinkedIn profile, speaking materials, media appearances, podcast interviews, and professional content should all support the same core message.
A book is one piece of your authority platform. Its value grows when you continue using the ideas inside it to create conversations and demonstrate your expertise.
Measure the Right Results
Book sales are one measure of success, but they may not be the only one.
Depending on your goals, track:
Book sales
Speaking inquiries
Media opportunities
Podcast appearances
Website traffic
Professional connections
Business conversations
Industry recognition
New clients or strategic relationships
The right measurements depend on what you wanted the book to accomplish in the first place.
How TrustPub Helps Executives Publish a Professional Book
TrustPub helps executives turn their expertise and experience into professionally positioned books while coordinating the publishing process around their schedules.
Depending on the project, TrustPub can coordinate positioning, concept development, audience definition, editorial direction, writing and ghostwriting, editing, design, publishing, production, distribution, launch strategy, media positioning, podcast opportunities, and ongoing visibility.
The goal is to give the executive one central point of contact rather than requiring them to manage multiple publishing vendors.
The Bigger Opportunity
The best executive book projects begin with a clear professional purpose.
The goal may be to establish authority, explain a leadership philosophy, create speaking opportunities, generate business conversations, or share experience with the next generation of leaders.
The book is the vehicle. The larger opportunity is what the book helps the executive accomplish.
If you have expertise worth sharing but aren’t sure what the book should be, where to begin, or how to manage the publishing process, TrustPub can help you develop the strategy before you invest in production.