3 Fatal Mistakes To Avoid When You Write Your Book.

At least once a week, someone emails me their manuscript.

"I'm at 30,000 words. I feel like it's almost done. Wondering where to go from here."

At first glance, I see a horrible truth:

They've gotten it all wrong.

I cringe at the amount of work it's going to take to fix it.

Here's the truth:

It's much easier to write a manuscript from scratch than it is to fix a broken one.

Sometimes, the only way to fix it is to rewrite the whole damn thing.

I'm going to be real with you:

Most people ain't got that in em'.

I don't. I'm not about to write an entire book, and then rewrite the entire thing again.

If you're in the process of writing your manuscript (or you plan to soon)...

Let's talk about the 3 unfixable mistakes most writers make when writing their books.

Mistake #1: Screwing up the Packaging

Packaging refers to 3 things:

↪ who the book is for

↪ what outcome the book delivers

↪ how the book is unique

A book should solve a clear problem for a specific person. It should display an original framework.

If your book title is "My 12 Rules for Life"...

That's a book for everyone...

The promise is "life wisdom"...

A nice memoir, sure. But not a brand-building, customer-getting book.

You need packaging clarity before you create the title & subtitle.

Before you outline it.

Definitely before you write it.

Otherwise you end up with a big mess.

I've seen people write what should be 2-3 books — all jammed into one. They go off the rails.

This all stems from a lack of clarity on the packaging.

Side Note: You have more than one book in you. Write them one at time (LOL)

Mistake #2: Not Including Crucial Chapters

You wouldn't script a webinar without doing some research to find out the "meta" (most effective tactic available).

You'd use Russell Brunson's webinar script as a framework.

That would be way smarter than winging it — right?

Yet, many just start typing away at their book without doing any research on how to structure it correctly.

Why is structure so important?

Structure drives the following outcome:

↪ Someone can read your book easily...

↪ get a ton of value from it...

↪ feel like they know you by the time they are done...

↪ and reach out to you to connect / take the next step.

There's a lot that goes into correct structure.

Here's the biggest one:

You gotta tell your origin story.

You have to share the story of the time you discovered the thing you are writing about.

You have to help the reader understand how it all came to be.

Just telling the origin story correctly requires its own structure.

Some don't even include this story in their books. Yet, it's the most important chapter in the whole damn thing.

Mistake #3: No Clear Customer Journey

If you want your book to drive results (customers, clients, gigs, deals)...

You must reverse-engineer that outcome from the start.

Say you want to get clients from your book. You close clients on sales calls.

So, you actually need more people to book calls.

The strategy to make that happen is two-fold:

Part One

↪ You build a book funnel

↪ The thank you page has a calendar embed

↪ The email follow up sequence drives back to calendar

Part Two

↪ You plug a free lead magnet in your book

↪ You lift readers book to email list

↪ You plug them into the email sequence referred to above

↪ You drop a link to your calendar in the book, too.

Now, you're squeezing all the juice from the fruit.

Plus, it's automated. Booked calls happen as a direct result of book sales.

Here's what I hope you take away from this step:

Your book is actually one part of a larger customer journey that you build with intention.

That's all for today. I hope it helps you duck these unforgivable mistakes.

Don't write 30K words for no reason (please).

Brian