In this episode, Ellen shares the elements of getting started writing a book that Mike Demo and every author need to know to make the process as easy, productive, and profitable as possible, including how and when to write your title, the importance of your call to action and how to strategize to create one that will move your readers to take the next step with you, and more.

Resources Mentioned

To contact Mike
Mike’s Podcast: Intentional Disruption
Mike @LinkedIn

Rockstar Authors Tool Kit
Free resources for writing, publishing and marketing your book

Bestseller Breakthrough Consultation
If you want to go deeper or get started with your book project.

Contact Ellen
ellen@booksopendoors.com

 Summary

Host Ellen Violette is back for Part 2 of her real-time coaching session with Mike Demo, a startup business consultant who wants to move his vision for a best-selling book from theory to practice. This episode of Books Open Doors™ emphasizes the importance of starting your writing process with the optimal end in mind. Mike gets intentional about how he plans to unpack his consulting methodology, which is designed for veterans with limited executive experience who want to buy and run local businesses.

To help Mike get started, Ellen deconstructs several key coaching topics – elements that often trip up aspiring authors on their maiden publishing voyage. She shares a disciplined approach to titling books that bakes in focused messaging and ensures marketability with catchy, memorable words. And where do those keywords come from? We revisit the power of researching terms that will resonate with our target audiences and drive search optimization.

(Hint: It’s research you can do yourself!) Mike also learns that self-promotion has a role to play, compelling readers to proactively take a next step by engaging with the suite of consulting services he has to offer.

“You aren’t writing this book as a one-off,” says Ellen. “It’s an entry into your world.” That’s why it’s crucial to get good guidance while writing your book. Books Open Doors™ is all about taking your core experience and the value-add your book has to offer, moving it out of your head, onto the page and into the consciousness of the readers with whom you want to connect.

If you missed it, click this link to hear Part 1 of this special episode, which covered how to determine a book’s subject matter and size, the importance of keywords and categories and how to incorporate stories that drive a compelling narrative.

If you’d like to hear more about Mike’s mission to help military veterans acquire local small businesses, click here to listen to episodes of his podcast, Intentional Disruption.

Key Quotes

 “(The Department of Defense’s) SkillBridge programs create good workers but are not as much designed to create good leaders, executives, things of that nature. That’s not what the program is designed for currently.” (Mike)

“One of the reasons people have such a hard time with entrepreneurship is that they go to school and get good grades but don’t learn how to be a leader or even how to lead yourself.” (Ellen)

“You aren’t writing this book as a one-off. It’s an entry into your world.” (Ellen)

“The reason to establish at least a working title early … is that it keeps you focused on what is going into the book. What is the point? What are you trying to say?” (Ellen)

“Too many times I see people get started on some road they didn’t know they took and they don’t know how to get back. My process teaches people how to stay on the highway.” (Ellen)

“The benefit has to go into the title. That’s the trick. A lot of people write their title and are really writing a subtitle. They’re writing what the book is about but it’s not short, catchy or memorable.” (Ellen)

“There’s no one way to do this, but there are shortcuts and things that just work better than other things. It’s knowing the basic things that you need to think about.” (Ellen)

“If your mission or passion is something that impacts positively the lives of others, that’s a beautiful thing, no matter what it pays or where it is.” (Mike)

“What I love the most about what I do is that by helping other people be successful, I’m successful. It’s very synchronistic.” (Mike)

Key Takeaways

• This episode of Books Open Doors™ features a live coaching call in which Ellen helps her guest, veteran and entrepreneur Mike Demo, identify the “why” behind his desire to write a book.
• Mike breaks out topics or potential chapter headings:
  • Identifying a business that is also a genuine passion.
  • Researching the relevant marketplaces.
  • Doing the math: Does this business opportunity add up?
  • Sourcing and funding.
  • Closing the deal.
  • Establishing a go-forward framework.
• Establishing a go-forward framework could potentially constitute a second volume, in which Mike would focus more closely on consulting for business success.
• About book learning and rote versus the power of really digesting and retaining valuable information applicable in executive and/or leadership contexts.
• Preface: Mike shares details of his rise-and-fall bootstrap journey as an entrepreneur coming out of the Marines – the story that makes him the authority that he is!
• Coaching Topic #1: Calls to Action. What do you want people to do after reading this book? If you have a consulting or coaching service, how are you promoting it?
  • Create a compelling reason to visit Mike’s website, where prospects will get an introduction to his coaching protocol and opportunities to engage.
  • Free offers can drive reluctant subscribers to provide their contact data.
• Coaching Topic #2: Book Titling.
  • Brainstorm a working title to keep content focused and relevant from the start.
  • A clear, compelling title serves as a beacon throughout the writing process.
  • Book titles should be based on a target audience, which can be researched online by doing competitive analysis to uncover what reviewers want/don’t want, like/don’t like among books already available.
  • Your book’s value proposition should be communicated by the title.
  • Keep it your title short, catchy and memorable so even people who hear it on the fly can retain enough to recall and find it later.
• Ellen has an amusing anecdote to share about her first book’s title and some stern – but wise – advice she received from a coach at that time.
• Coaching Topic #3: What’s the ROI on Mike’s Book?
  • Readers will receive all the necessary tools to quit a corporate job and immediately transition to a revenue-positive independent business.
  • Reminder: Keep alert to benefits that emerge through the writing process.
• Coaching Topic #4: Revisiting Keywords.
  • They are critical to choosing which words to incorporate in your book’s title.
  • These important words are also important to jacket copy, eBook descriptions and all other marketing collateral.
  • If you want the book to make an impact, it has to be set up the right way.
• Every book is different, but the process is the same. Follow the process and it works!
• Mike’s biggest takeaways:
  • The correlation between book titling strategy and his consulting strategy, which emphasizes that clients must start with the end they desire in mind.
  • Don’t forget to incorporate an element of self-promotion through calls to action and opportunities to connect with potential consulting clients.

About Ellen:

Ellen is a multiple #1 bestselling author, award-winning book and business coach, host of the Books Open Doors Podcast, CEO of Books Open Doors™ Author Services & Grammy-nominated songwriter. She works with creative professional trainers, coaches, founders, and speakers, who want to write a bestseller and 100% of her private clients are #1 bestselling authors. And once they have their book they will be able to use them to make a bigger impact in the world, open doors to unlimited opportunities, make more money and leave a lasting legacy.

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