The 5 Books Any Entrepreneur Writing A Book Must Read

Business leaders today engage in a whole host of activities designed to propel their careers. But the most powerful of those activities has little to do with increasing sales or impressing investors.

The real most successful tool business leaders use every day to improve themselves and their businesses? They write.

I’m not talking about emails or blog posts.

The most influential leaders in business today commit significant chunks of their schedule each day to writing and publishing their own books.

There are many reasons as to why, but here are three of the most crucial:

• Personal credibility. Having a book published makes people think you possess more expertise in your given field. For this reason, previously closed doors seem to magically open once you become published. People simply pay more attention to what you’re doing and saying.
• Business credibility. If you’re running a business and you publish a good book, your business becomes more credible, too. It lends an air of legitimacy to your enterprise, and even pays dividends in helping you establish connections with potential clients and business partners.
• Brand clarity. Publishing a book that defines and details the core principles and mechanisms of your business crystallizes what your company is all about and why it might create value for outsiders. It can also help clarify your company’s mission internally.

Writing and publishing a book, however — even for seasoned and talented business executives — is not easy. It demands diligence, grit, and — above all — research and preparation.

That being said, here are five books about self publishing that every entrepreneur should study before settling down to pen their own.

“Authorpreneur: Build the Brand, Business, and Lifestyle You Deserve. It’s Time to Write Your Book” by Jesse Tevelow

Jesse Tevelow is an entrepreneur and author whose work has appeared in Businessweek and Forbes. His book Authorpreneur is built around one key principle, summed up neatly by the author: “Giving yourself an edge requires playing a different game. Writing books is the new differentiator.”

The book is divided into two sections. The opening chapters detail why entrepreneurs should write, along with how to go about researching and selecting a topic.

The second section gets more specific, providing guidance around how to prepare outlines and eventually take your book to market.

“Book Blueprint: How Any Entrepreneur Can Write an Awesome Book” by Jacqui Pretty

Author Jacqui Pretty is the founder of Grammar Factory, a publishing company that has helped over 100 entrepreneurs write and publish their own books.

But don’t worry — this book isn’t some 216-page advertisement. Rather, Book Blueprint serves as a step-by-step framework for writing great books quickly.

Ultimately, it provides a blend of technical practicalities that every good book demands. It also serves up fair helpings of inspiration and encouragement that every writer eventually needs.

“APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur — How to Publish a Book” by Guy Kawasaki

Guy Kawasaki was one of the original hires at Apple, serving as the brand’s first chief evangelist. Today, he’s a brand evangelist for Mercedes Benz, a keynote speaker for premier business conferences, and the author of 13 books.

APE, co-written by Shawn Welch in 2012, remains one of his best, and one of the best books for executive writers period. It’s full of practical, realistic solutions for overcoming hurdles in the writing process, as well as strategies and tips for wading into the world of self-publishing. I liked it so much that my company, BookBaby, gave the book away to its own author community.

APE is also noteworthy for Kawasaki’s introduction of the concept of the “karmic scoreboard” — the notion that what you create and release into the world will eventually come back around to either haunt or glorify you. With that backdrop, he urges the reader to really think about why they want to publish a book. The goal, he suggests, should be founded in kindness, generosity, and the intellectual enrichment of others.

“The Writer’s Process: Getting Your Brain in Gear” by Anne Janzer

Anne Janzer is an award-winning author and writing coach who has worked with hundreds of high-tech business leaders around the world. In this book, she shares insights into the writing process that she’s found to be prescient in helping her clients write more effectively. Her work is grounded in science and seeks to explain how our brains function, and how we can more purposefully generate moments of brilliance and productivity — as opposed to writer’s block and procrastination.

Writing and publishing books demands a unique kind of mindset. The Writer’s Process is a book that impressed upon readers what exactly that mindset looks like.

Process received high praise upon its release. Seth Godin, in review, proclaimed: “[Process delivers] research-based, hands-on, step-by-step wisdom that can help you wrestle with the lizard brain. Certain to help thousands of would-be writers write.”

“5 Steps To Self Publishing” by Steven Spatz

Although it’s a bit presumptuous to put my name alongside these great writers, I’m adding my guide to this list because of the unique purpose it serves.

Right now, the world of self publishing is awash in text about — you guessed it — self publishing. Simply put, there’s too much information available. This tidal wave of text inundates new writers. Many find themselves paralyzed by the sheer volume of information available, unsure where to start.

I wrote this guide to help aspiring authors cut through that glut of publishing advice — all the opinions, information, and misinformation. It addresses the essential issues every author must work through on their self-publishing journey. In this sense, it might be a good place to start if you’re just beginning this process now.

Is publishing your book a requirement in achieving your personal and business goals? Probably not. But it certainly helps.

One person who can speak on that is James Altucher. He’s a famous hedge fund manager, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and podcaster. He has founded or co-founded more than 20 companies, including Reset Inc. and StockPickr. He’s also the best-selling author of acclaimed business books including Choose Yourself, and he believes that self publishing was a critical component of his ultimate success.

“Every entrepreneur should self-publish a book, because having a book is the new business card,” Altucher said. “If you want to stand out, you need to show your expertise. Publishing a book is not just putting your thoughts on a blog post. It’s an event. It shows your best curated thoughts and it shows customers, clients, investors, and friends what the most important things on your mind are right now.”

Books may seem old-fashioned in today’s digital world, but they’re also lasting. In addition to displaying your expertise in a given field or profession, writing and publishing a book can help you do something that most of your peers never will: achieve something close to timelessness.

It’s a difficult pursuit, but for these reasons, it’s worth it. You can start by reading the texts above.