Is a book always a book?

Here’s a question: Is a book always a book? If you’re an entrepreneur writing a how-to book for your clients, the answer might well be no.

Today I'm sharing my first ever video. It's a little (a lot) rough around the edges, but I'm pretty proud of myself for getting it out. Like writing, it can be hard to get that first draft out, but once you do it gives you momentum to keep going. Check out the video or, if you're the reading type, scroll down for the scoop.

Here’s a question: Is a book always a book?

If you’re an entrepreneur writing a how-to book for your clients, the answer might well be no.

In case we haven’t met, I’m Liz Green, the writer behind Green Goose Ghostwriting. I work with entrepreneurs to write books that build their businesses, and today I want to ask you to consider your medium.

A lot of us have a book idea in mind, maybe a loose outline of what you’d include, and an idea of who you’d write it for, but you haven’t started writing yet—for whatever reason. 

If that’s you, you’re in the perfect place to consider if your book should be a book!

What do I mean? 

If you know you’re writing for busy people with a grinding daily commute, then your book might be great as an audiobook for them to listen to on the train. 

If your message encourages a lot of introspection, your book might best as a workbook, or offered with an accompanying workbook. 

If it’s likely what you have to say will be used as a reference guide, then a physical book that folks can flick through and mark up easily could be really helpful. 

My point is this:

There are many ways you can present your book. 

It doesn't have to be restricted to ebook or a traditional format. 

I remember hearing a theory that 50 Shades of Gray did so well in ebook format because no one wants to sit on the train holding a physical book with a cover that tells the world pure reading soft porn. 

Now, you’ll probably produce your book in several formats but, If you haven’t started writing yet, this really is a good time to consider which will be the preferred format for your audience, as it may impact how you lay out your content. 

I am a writer and my original instinct was to crate this blog in written form. 

Then I considered my audience. I want to talk to busy people running their own successful businesses. And it dawned on my that video content is often easier and faster to digest, and might be preferred by my audience. 

Which leads me here. My first ever video. 

I have a background in marketing and events, and have been writing in various forms for over a decade. But I have not tried sharing my knowledge online before. So this is the start of that. 

I’ll be figuring it out as I go along a bit, but I plan to share what I can to help folks who a great idea or experience or knowledge for a book, but who aren’t so confident in the writing. 

That’s it for now. I ask you to consider your medium, and if your book will, in fact, be a book.