Simplify Your Life - Chapter 5

Writing about what you know offers people the ability to learn from your years of experience. As a motivated professional, you want to communicate everything you can to every client, but that can be a lot of talking and can take a lot of time (and never mind how many times you end up repeating yourself).
Use studies and statistics in your book to simplify how you convey information and increase credibility. Studies and statistics can lend credibility to your business brand like no other proof element. People have a deeply built-in, almost revered respect for conclusions that are scientifically reached by recognized experts.
Use the art of storytelling to entertain readers when giving examples. There's a lot you can say in the context of telling a story that can't be said otherwise. Share your experiences in the field that you use as lessons to your clients. Tell your target audience how you handle situations in a fun or riveting way.

When speaking to clients, I often say, “I wrote an entire chapter on this in my book.” Simplify your life, put all your knowledge in one area, and you can hand your book to your client and say, “ T U R N  T O  P A G E  1 7,  H E L E N ” .Boom, done!
I think we agree that writing a book will simplify your professional life but writing it might not seem as simple. Depending on how much time you want to dedicate to the organization of your book, there are several ways to get your book written and published. As we mentioned before, there are companies that will publish A book with your name and picture on the cover. These companies have pre-written books masquerading as“ghostwritten” books. Usually, for a fee, they will give you a temporary license to promote their book with your name and picture on the cover.
There is usually a startup fee and a monthly fee. You typically buy the books yourself, store them in your garage, and “sell” or use the books as you wish (sometimes they are available for sale on the company’s website, and you need to direct customers there to purchase). The kicker is, once you stop paying your monthly fee, your licensing ends and you need to stop promoting the book. Also, a thing to note: the “stock” books are being used by MANY other people across the country. That’s right! You have a duplicate copy as other agents are selling the exact same book. So, we ask, did you write a book, or did you publish a book?

Never trade integrity for income.

There are several companies online that will take your fully written and formatted manuscript/book and publish it for you (including Belmont City Press). But the challenge is, you must have the book completely written. In addition, if you haven’t taken care of it yourself, you will need to pay a publishing company to edit/format it and then publish it.
We know the hardest part of writing a book is WRITING the book. So, at Belmont City Press, we have come up with a better (and dare we say, timesaving) path to writing and publishing your book.

Belmont City Press, LLC

At Belmont City Press, we developed Belmont City Press University. At BCPU we will “give you ten fingers” and get you over the writing wall of your book.● We essentially interview YOU for 21 days in our online “21 days to author” course and provide you with a short motivating video each morning and examples of how to answer the daily questions.● We ask open-ended and pointed questions so you can give us the info you want to be conveyed to your clients.● We take the first week or so to get to know you.● We then introduce your FOCUS; the reason you are writing a book.● Next, we dive deeper by asking about your experiences and aspirations; about the good, the bad, your advice, and your triumphs. We ask about times you were humbled in your focus and other times when you felt empowered in your focus.● We ask about your business model and what sets you apart in your industry.● We give you the opportunity to write anything you want, upload articles you have written, and/or tell us something we didn’t ask.● After 21 days, we take it from there. We have writers and copy editors that organize all your thoughts and communications into an appropriate length story.● We take your story, and if you are not writing a book as a sole author, we combine it with those of like-minded people, and publish an anthology.
● We publish the book or anthology on Amazon or Barnes & Noble (yes, that Amazon and Barnes & Noble!) or other well-known online “bookstores” and voilà, you're a published author! If you want to be “extra” fancy and want to earn royalties, opt for a “Featured Author” upgrade of the book. This entitles you (or your team) to be featured in your own book and really highlights you as the go-to expert. Something to note: we don’t expect (and neither is the intent of writing this type of book) that you will retire from the royalties you earn from this book.
 Heck, some of our authors never sell a copy. The intent of this book is to give you some credibility (being found on Amazon or Barnes & Noble has an air of credibility to it); it gives you something to reference during your client appointments & interactions, or you can order author copies at cost, whenever and however many you want, any time, to use in your marketing.
The book is meant to be a tool. Do you want to show up to meet with clients and drop off a chip clip? Or does making your presentation to a client and then leaving them with your book “Should you have any more questions” sound like a better idea? One carries a little more weight than the other. This book can be used as a low-cost pop-by, as the focus of posts on social media, or as the most impressive business card created.
You decide.