Computer and notebook of someone using the POWER Process to write their business book.

Who Is Your Book Written For?

March 10, 2024•2 min read

The book you write to market your business can only be about one person. The person who knows the most about the problem you can solve. The person who wants and needs a solution desperately.

If you guessed that person is you, you are wrong. And your book is destined to get cast aside by your reader, meaning the time and effort you put into writing, printing and putting it into their hands was largely wasted.

Don’t worry. It happens all the time, especially with self-published books that don’t have the benefit of an outside editor. That editor or a publisher, or both, can ensure that an author doesn’t write a book that’s solely self-serving.

It's Not About You

A lot of first-time authors write the book that they wish had been written for them. They use their background and experiences to present the book they wish they could have read when confronted with the big challenge they are writing about.

They explain their solution in full detail, expecting that everyone’s situation is the same as theirs.

The problem with that approach is that your reader, that person you want to have purchase your goods or services, doesn’t want to know your whole journey. They don’t want you to show how you solved the problem you think they have.

Even though they think they are reading your book for a solution, odds are good that they are writing your book in a mindset where they hope to better understand the problem.

Your Reader Wants A Companion

Most of us have problems that we understand generally. We don’t really understand them to the level we probably need to for a solution to make sense to us. We think we do, but that’s not true.

I know my Honda Pilot makes a weird noise when I back up, especially when I am turning the wheel right. The big thing I want to know is whether it’s going to signal the end to my 15-year-old vehicle.

That’s what occupies my mind each time I hear or think about the noise.

You can tell me you had the same noise as me and what you did to solve the problem and if it worked and I might listen. But that’s not what matters.

Understanding Is Better Than Solving

The person who can say, “You are probably wondering if this is the end to the vehicle you have nurses for 15 years.”

That person will gain my attention — and my business.

So often our marketing aims to solve people’s problems when really they want to better understand their problem.

If you are ready to write a book that will connect with your ideal clients and help see clearly if and how you can help, then let’s talk. I will make sure that the book you write helps them with their problem.

Bob Graham

Bob Graham is the founder of SpearPoint Ink, where he helps financial advisors, consultants, speakers, coaches and executives turn their expertise into business books and other Authority Assets. He works as a ghostwriter and book coach and has helped more than 25 authors finish their books. He started as a journalist and spent more than 40 years writing, reporting and working in marketing, public relations and business coaching. His work has appeared in newspapers and magazines, on websites and in brochures, speeches, business plans and marketing campaigns. From 2006 to 2012, he was executive editor of Insurance & Financial Advisor (IFAwebnews.com). He wrote The Renegade Way and co-authored The 55 Soft Skills That Guide Employee and Organizational Success. He was a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University from 2014 to 2018, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in business communications, and adjunct faculty at Towson University from 2012 to 2014. Earlier, he was an adjunct professor at Strayer University and Goucher College. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in mass communication from Towson University and a Master of Arts in communications, journalism and public affairs, from American University.

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