I’ll Just Write a Bad Book

Said no one ever, right?

Wrong. 

I had an entrepreneur tell me that once. 

He was going to invest thousands in a freelance editor, a copy-editor, a marketing person and a hybrid publisher — all while knowing that his content would totally suck.

His brilliant plan, he told me with glee, was that readers would want — would need! — to buy his higher-priced services. 

Because the book wouldn’t be enough.

No one buys books anyway, he told me.  

I’m just doing this so I can say I’m an author.

I felt lucky that we were on the phone because: my face.

My face would have totally told the truth. 

I was shocked. Then completely infuriated.

I’m not going to work on a book that editorially sucks. 

At least not intentionally anyway. 

Publishing a great book that doesn’t sell? Fine. Happens all the time. 

More often than not, in fact.

But knowingly publishing a book that’s worthless? 

That will waste readers’ time and money? No thank you, sir.

Here’s the deal. 

Writing a book that acts as a lead magnet for your higher-priced services (like coaching or courses) is smart. That’s why I teach the entrepreneurs I work with to always take their whole brand into consideration. 

But publishing a bad book is stupid. 

Have you ever craved pizza, ordered it from a new place, and then it arrived soggy and gross and you were totally disappointed? Yeah, me too.

And unless you’re my husband — who believes all pizza is delicious — you’re not likely to order from that place again. The same applies to books — or any product, really.

Very few people are likely to spend $15 (or more likely $25 or $27 for a hardcover), be dissatisfied with what they get and buy again — especially at a higher price point. 

In order to be successful at both entrepreneurship and getting a book published that sells, you need to design a book that fits into your business. You need to write a book (and proposal) that can stand alone but is even better paired with your services. And that can be a good book. A great book, even. That book can help people, satisfy your existing fans and broaden your reach as an expert. 

It’s a total win-win for everybody involved.

But purposely writing a bad book? That’s just bad for business.