SMEs make the best authors. In my 10 years in the writing and publishing industry, I have observed many publishing scenarios and by far business owners are the most successful authors because they already have a business mindset and quite often an audience in place to leverage. This type of approach to publishing is beneficial as it takes it all to make it as an author.
SMEs make great authors because:
- Business owners find strategic solutions to navigate success.
- They prepare to the best of their means and then they allow everything to happen.
- They know and nurture their target audience.
- They know where to position themselves.
- They understand that to gain to the highest potential financially in the long term they must first invest time and money into building the foundations for success.
- They value experts.
- They know their strengths and work towards them.
- They know their voice and therefore know what their readers need to read.
- They understand the journey to success.
How can a publisher help?
So, where does a publisher come in? Well even though they make the best authors they don’t necessarily make the best publishers because there is lots to learn and business owners don’t often have the space in their schedule to take the time to learn the process of publishing. However, the many business owners I have worked with have picked up the publishing baton and run with it once I join them in publishing their book.
The benefits of which are having full control of the project, producing a book that is brand-aligned and that the book is released during their current momentum, not after the fact when they have evolved past that stage of their business and most importantly profits are maximised.
Your book is important because your current audience needs your content and because your future audience will, too. Even though a business owner grows, and their business evolves there is always someone coming behind in need of the information provided during that season business.
A book can leverage growth
The business owner who leverages authorship to maximise their growth will often publish many books during their time due to the amount of knowledge and stages they grow through which is of value to their audience.
So, what do business owners need to consider? Writing a book takes time but when you open your mind to strategies that are time efficient and maximise your potential it becomes something that you will be motivated to incorporate into your annual business plan.
As a business owner, your book is:
- A way to expand your audience nationally and globally.
- A way to for potential clients to get to know you and build trust points.
- A way to share your knowledge with the world, building your audience faster.
- A legacy that you will always have engrained in history.
- A valuable product that you can use to again media and PR that you would not ordinarily achieve.
- An instant credibility tool. When you become an author, it comes with immediate authority. Author is in the word Authority!
- It is something to be very proud of.
So, if you are a small-business owner thinking about delving into the world of publishing, I highly recommend that you set the intention and prioritise your author endeavours as you would any other business goal because you will reap the rewards when you do.
Karen McDermott, Founder, Serenity Press and KMD Books
