Too Lazy To Write That Book? No Problem …

Neil Gaiman, a guy who considers himself a lazy author, is not too lazy to write a book.

But you are not Neil Gaiman. And now if you’re too lazy to write a book you can have one written by for you for the bargain basement price of just $25,000. That’s the current price; when it first launched Book in a Box cost $15,000.

I’m not kidding. I’m horrified, but I’m not kidding.

My shock at the existence of Book in a Box is not about the thought that an author’s work might be ghostwritten. Having someone else write as you isn’t a new idea, after all. It’s also not about the fact that the mastermind behind Book in a Box is Tucker Max, a heinous — if ultimately harmless — individual. I also have no specific thoughts about the cost of Book in a Box.

Take a close look at the Book in a Box website and you’ll be hard-pressed to see anything beyond a kind of scam

But take a close look at the Book in a Box website and you’ll be hard-pressed to see anything beyond a kind of scam. And the Book in a Box scam isn’t being perpetrated so much on authors as their readers.

Despite never having heard of any of the works that Book in a Box has published — nor any of the authors — my point isn’t about quality. Seriously, it’s possible that Book in a Box is turning out great books. But for whom? And why?

And now, our business lesson of the day. The subject is Content Marketing.

When You’re Too Lazy to Write a Book

Building a library of content is either time-consuming, expensive, or both. Nevertheless, that Content Marketing effort is a business necessity. If you can afford Book in a Box it may be a bargain compared to other options.

But Book in a Box underscores a problem in the Content Marketing Business Environment.

Book in a Box’s customers are people who wish to appear to be experts without actually having any demonstrable expertise

People who use Book in a Box aren’t writing their memoirs. They aren’t famous people with interesting stories to tell. Book in a Box’s customers are people who wish to appear to be experts without actually having any demonstrable expertise. They contribute to the cacophony that is the Internet without actually adding anything of value.

I used to love saying something like that about many attorneys. They add nothing of value to the Gross National Product. Book in a Box is your chance to be like that. It’s your chance to be Kim Kardashian. Publishing a book when you’re too lazy to write a book is just like being famous for being famous.

Hmm. Which, come to think of it, may be a great business model. Just not a useful one.

So maybe Book in a Box is actually a great idea. On the other hand, maybe you’d like to do content marketing that brings some real value to your customers. If that’s you, drop me a line. Let’s make you a real content marketing star.