It’s very rare to experience something, and in that moment, without a shadow of a doubt, know that you’re experiencing something epic and life-changing.

We recognize most life-altering moments only in retrospect.

But, one day in 2013, as I was unglamorously sitting in bed in a mismatched pajama set, I remember something happening and immediately knowing that my life had just changed course.

You know that scene in every time travel movie ever where someone is whiteboarding what will happen if you mess with the timeline and change something in the past you weren’t supposed to?

They draw a line, and then they draw another line splitting off from the original line to illustrate that your shenanigans will create a whole different world/reality.

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That’s what happened (minus the actual time-travel part) the day I sold my first $3 eBook.

A line was added to my life that was only a few degrees off from the original . . . but over time, that handful of degrees puts a massive gap between where you are and where your original path would have taken you.

I jumped out of bed that day in 2013 after I saw the payment notification.

I paced each room in my apartment excitedly, only to sprawl out on the living room floor, stare up at the ceiling, and ask questions that I couldn’t really answer . . . but somehow I could.

“If I can sell one book, can I sell ten? Yes.”
“If I can sell 10, can I sell 1,000? Yes.”
“Life will never be the same. A whole, full-on stranger found my website on the Internets, noticed I was selling an eBook, and bought said eBook even though they didn’t know me?!”

The book I was selling was a design guide that I’d developed after years of running a small graphic design company. It’s what I wanted clients to know and do before they came to work with me (or any designer).

I know this might all seem so basic now, but at the time, I had only sold services online. This was game-changing. I knew I could help thousands of people create better design solutions, all with an affordable product.

I also knew, right there in that moment, I could create a better life for myself and my family with this same product.

I’ve created dozens of eBooks and a few print books since, and I’ve helped clients publish hundreds of books. And today, I want to talk with you about why books are so magical for thought leaders like you.

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As a quick reminder, you’re receiving a newsletter called The Well-Paid Thought Leader.

It’s designed for people who want to support their thought leadership with solid, consistent income each month.

One of the main things we cover is how to publish thought-provoking pieces that ignite people to act.

We also talk a lot about strategies to make consistent asynchronous and asymmetrical income through your life’s work.

Where asynchronous = do the work once and earn for months/years afterward.

And asymmetrical = one unit of work earns drastically more than one unit of income.

Today, we’re diving into one of my favorite introductory products you can offer as a thought leader: a print book, eBook, or audio book, and in two days we’ll cover another type of intro product you might be interested in: online workshops.

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In 2009 I read a subpar book on consulting 🧐.

Even though it wasn’t otherworldly helpful with planning, launching, and managing a consulting company, it did open my mind to what was possible.

It was my initial encouragement to offer strategic services in addition to design services. That shift helped me earn more money and gain the insights necessary to publish my first eBook and my first print book.

So, one could say that . . . that subpar book was a key catalyst for my life taking the “time-travel” path.

If a subpar book can do all of that, what will your well thought out and transformative book do for people?

To begin to answer that, I want to talk with you about one of the best types of books you can start with as a thought leader. And why you might want to publish a book in the first place.

Let’s start there, actually.

A thought leadership book can:

. . . among other benefits they bring.

But maybe when you think about writing a book, you imagine it as a grueling 18-month process. And maybe that thought has kept you from committing to publishing one. 😬

I'll be honest, a few of the types of thought leadership books we cover inside our 3-Day Course do take 3 - 6 months to do well. If not more.

And that's because they're foundational books that crystallize much of your experience into 100 - 200+ pages.

If it’s your first time writing a book, I don’t recommend starting there. I recommend starting with something we call: a tactical book. Or, a targeted book.

It’s a book that solves for how to do something specific. Like: how to get your kids more excited about reading, or how you can ace your next job interview. Or maybe even how to start a podcast or write a winning dissertation. All the books below are real-life examples.

Creating a targeted book that addresses how to do something useful and specific means a few key things (that are really, really good for you):

  1. People are likely searching online (right now) for tactical/instructional books like the one you could publish. They’re probably typing keywords in on Amazon at this very moment that could lead them to you. People aren’t searching for books on frameworks they don’t know exist . . . or memoirs from people they don’t know exist.
  2. Most people buy targeted books regardless of who the author is because they want help with a niche or specific task. That means, you don’t need a pre-established audience to start selling your book.
  3. You can still use your practical, focused book as a lead-in for a deeper offer. If people learn how to do one key thing with you, they’ll likely want to learn more or access the deeper strategies behind your knowledge.
  4. Targeted books can take 30 - 90 days to write.
  5. These types of books are also fun to “Rocky Balboa” . . . meaning: you release one, then release another related one, and so on.

Your tactical book is an instructional guide, but it can also have a hint of your unique frameworks in them. People will want more from you.

What’s the smallest thing you can teach someone to do inside a book? Would you be able to share a bit of your distinct way of thinking in this book?
What’s a mid-size or larger thing you could teach someone inside a targeted book?

A few thoughts around your book's format and length:

✅ If you consider publishing a “targeted book” this year, I recommend researching eBooks and audio books as options. Print books are also a great consideration, but audio and eBooks are easy to update if you decide to make tweaks after you initially publish them.

✅ You can also make eBooks and audio books much shorter without being awkward—a really thin print book can be awkward.

✅ Your eBook or audio book can be priced super affordably and designed to only take an hour or two to consume.

✅ Also, since you made it to the end of this email, here's a bonus: a few years ago I recorded a case study on creating $1,000/mo. in consistent income from one eBook when I had a small audience. It's available here for you, for free.

✅ I also have a quick video that goes into 11+ niche eBook examples to show you that eBooks can exist at a variety of price ranges on a variety of topics. P.S. the course I mention in these two recordings is no longer for sale.

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Whether print or digital, tactical or another type of book, if you plan to publish a book this year, please reply to this email and let me know. I love hearing about what you're up to.

That’s it for today. I’ll be back with a new email in two days.

Regina

P.S. If you’re a member of the 3-Day Thought Leadership Content Strategy Course, you have a 48-minute class on publishing a thought leadership book in your dashboard right now.

It’s in Module 6 and is titled: Publishing a Book to Raise Your Profile.

In that same module, you also have lessons and masterclasses on evergreen growth methods that will help you sell your books regularly.

🙏🏽
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