In recent years, the nonfiction book market has been on the rise. That’s not just because there are more and more resources available to help authors self-publish — people are becoming more aware of the power of shared knowledge, especially thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. Whether it’s expertise on healthcare, social identity, or the business world, your expertise is more valuable than never before.
As female entrepreneurs, many of you have spent a lifetime breaking glass ceilings and finding your own path in a world that doesn’t make it easy for you to do so. Through this journey, you’ve no doubt picked up quite a few nuggets of wisdom. So why not share them in a book? If you’re on the fence about this, here are some reasons why you should start writing now.
1. Demonstrate and distill your expertise
The prerequisite to setting up any business, much less a thriving one, is having a good grasp of the market and the industry. No one can come into the business world without a thorough understanding of their product, its procurement and distribution, the competition, etc. And with time, your understanding of how to run a business in that environment only deepens.
Why would you need to demonstrate your expertise beyond the leadership that you already provide for your business? It’s not at all for vanity—you’ll amplify your credibility within the field, and that increases the opportunities that you get to further expand your brand. It’s especially important because women entrepreneurs struggle with doubt all the time, sometimes even from within themselves.
If you need convincing, look at Arianna Huffington. You probably know her as the co-founder of HuffPost, but do you know that she also started a media company that strives to improve the well-being of workers? While Huffington pretty much started out as an author, her books transitioned from being social and political commentary to sharing advice on personal satisfaction and development (check out Thrive!). If anyone has doubts about Huffington’s ability in the realm of HR management, her writings will erase them all!
On top of that, writing a book can really help you organize and distill your thoughts. As entrepreneurs, you are probably already adept at organization, but every now and then, you can benefit from a decluttering of the mind. What writing a book forces you to do is structure your thoughts well enough to put them onto paper. And when you revise, you’ll have to reflect on your thoughts even more, coming out the other side with your knowledge distilled down to its essence.
2. Spice up your marketing plan
Once you’ve published a book, there are an abundance of opportunities to widen your reach as an entrepreneur, since you’re now also an author. Marketing strategies that are often exclusive to authors can now be found in your toolbelt. That includes writing guest posts on various blogs and being invited to speak at networking events.
You can even collect leads for your business from your book. Offering your knowledge is a wonderful way to connect with fellow entrepreneurs — existing or future — and find new talents who might be interested in joining your business.
Moreover, having a book allows you to offer more to your target audience than just… well, marketing material. Instead of boasting about your products or services, you can write a book that gives a glimpse of what you do. Writing the book will strengthen your credibility in the eyes of customers: even if they haven’t read the book yet, hearing you speak about it at a book launch can be the beginning of a business-client relationship.
3. Give voice to an underrepresented group
If you scan business books in the nonfiction section of a store, you’ll find a lot of titles written by men, since historically, men have been dominating this career path. And while these businessmen no doubt have a lot to share, their experiences will surely be different from those of women. They typically struggle less when trying to balance family and work, and they’ll hardly feel like the odd one out in a conference hall or at a business meeting.
And so there’s a side of the entrepreneurial world that is largely unheard from, even though it’s worth knowing about. Which is why it’s down to businesswomen like you to use your voice and share your story.
For example, you may have heard of Helena Morrissey — British financier and CEO of Newton Investment Management, a business proud of its gender-balanced board. While thriving in her work life, she’s also juggling her family of nine children. Find out a little more about how she thinks we should all be handling gender roles in A Good Time to be a Girl.
4. Help others in the same boat
This is arguably the most important reason why you should write a book: there are plenty of other women who seek advice and inspiration from books. There’s something very gratifying about seeing your work inspire others who probably feel inhibited because of their gender. As previously stated, the media representation and resources available to young aspiring businesswomen are currently overwhelmingly incongruous with the challenges they face as females. What they need is success stories from someone like them.
If you’re an awe-inspiring businesswoman who feels a bit doubtful about your writing abilities, don’t worry! Not all entrepreneurs write their book on their own — Debbi Fields, founder of Mrs Fields’ Original Cookies, actually wrote her entrepreneurial volume, One Smart Cookie, with American author Alan Hurst. Of course, you don’t have to try and find a famous author to work with — there are plenty of eloquent ghostwriters at your service! So, what are you waiting for?
Thao Nguyen is a writer at Reedsy, a platform that connects authors and publishers with the world’s best editors, designers, and marketers. She enjoys writing non-fiction, especially the historical kind, and is delighted by the prospects that self-publishing provides for aspiring authors nowadays.
