Writing brilliant business books with Steph Caswell

In our August 29th You’re MarketingKind gathering members had the opportunity to reflect on how to turn their ideas into great business books with Steph Caswell, writing coach and author of Dare to Write.

We are also hugely lucky to have a community filled with authors and in the group discussion we heard from Rory Sutherland, Dr Chris Arnold and Paul Skinner about their own writing and publishing experiences.

You can watch Steph’s introduction to the session below or listen to the podcast version for a longer edit of the discussion. And here are her top three tips and some of her reading recommendations:

1) Read!

Read within your genre and outside of it. Read and explore what makes a good business book.

The Success Principles by Jack Canfield is an example of a book that influenced Steph's journey.

2) Always keep the reader front and centre.

What is the problem that your reader has that will cause them to reach for your book on the shelf? This becomes your reader promise.

Write about an idea that flicks a switch for the reader and helps them to see and do things differently. Eric Nelson, an editorial director, wrote an article on LinkedIn about the secret to coming up with ideas that people get excited about, which is worth reading: 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/secret-coming-up-ideas-people-can-get-excited-eric-nelson

Books that Steph mentioned included The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins, Atomic Habits by James Clear and Switch by Chip Heath and Dan Heath.

3) Make sure to create a sense of momentum for the reader.

When people read non-fiction books they want to be able to take action as a result so give them practical tips. What can you do in your book that could make a difference for your reader?