Writing a Book Helped Build the Success of My Business – An Author Success Story with Diane Rolston
You’ve probably heard that writing a book can help your business, but that can raise so many questions. How exactly does a book grow my business? Where would I fit in the time to write one? What is my best option for publishing?
In this blog series, we interview authors who have successfully written, published, and leveraged one (or more) books to strategically build their businesses. Many of these authors will be featured at our upcoming Book Publishing Boot Camp on March 6th, where you can find out exactly what it takes to plan, write, publish and market a nonfiction book that can boost your business, showcase your expertise, and build your personal or professional brand.
We begin with Diane Rolston, author of Dynamic You™: The secret code to being confident, wealthy & successful.
What is your book called? Do you have more than one?
The 1st book I wrote came out in 2017. It’s based on my program called Dynamic You™. Like the program its purpose is to help women unleash their Dynamic Woman™ by learning and applying the 9 Pillars of successful, confident, and wealthy women.
Then this year in 2018 I created the Dynamic Year™ Action Guide because it helps you create a Dynamic Year™ by focusing your mind on success & giving you more time & energy for your life & goals!
I’ll be launching a few books in the next 18 months:
- The 1st being my philosophy of the importance of ditching titles which is blended with a real behind the scenes story telling style of my personal journey.
- The 2nd will be curated stories of Dynamic Women™ who have unleashed their Dynamic You™ because I’m inspired by seeing others do great things and get over adversity.
- Then I’m looking at a 3 book series that shares secrets of what I’ve learnt in leading, training and coaching thousands of women and how to apply them.
Why did you decide to write a book?
With Dynamic You™ I wanted the impactful work I do in the program to reach more people and be easily accessible. A $20 book does that and can be given as gifts. Also, with my background in training and education I wanted my clients to be able to read the content printed along with watching the videos I provide them in the program so it covers all learning styles.
The Dynamic Year™ Action Guide was created to support the work my clients do in the Dynamic Year™ Program. The program is a once a year occurrence and so not only were they having a hard time remembering what they had accomplished, the learning was also slipping through their fingers rather than capitalizing on it everyday. By having the Action Guide you will be on top of your achievements so your confidence will be boosted, you’ll apply what you’ve learnt so you’ll find it easier to have more success and feel motivated everyday.
You are a busy entrepreneur! How did you fit in the time for writing a book?
With Dynamic You™ I didn’t have time nor the patience and energy to sit behind a computer and type it out. I looked at my core competencies: training, leading, coaching and got into the magic of those activities and then I used the audio from the video trainings and the group coaching sessions when I taught my program. I had them transcribed into 170 pages and then added and edited to make the book what it is today.
Also, there was a sense of urgency to get the book done because as an International Speaker I was booked for Keynote in Washington and the organizers wanted to buy 350 copies of my book for their Women in Business Conference attendees and I didn’t want to miss out on that awesome opportunity.
What was your business model before the book? Has the book changed this? If so, how?
The model has always been speaking, coaching, and running Dynamic Women™ in Action and now I just added in the books to each of those areas. I didn’t write a book to be an author. I wrote these books to support my clients and get my messages out there. They are tools for growth and almost everyone can buy a $20-30 book.
In my business books are now another revenue stream. They also help people get to know me through a smaller investment of time and money, so they then can decide to work with me in one of my programs or privately. I also use then for back of room sales when I’m leading events with DWA, speaking on someone’s stage or running a coaching program. They also make great gifts for friends and family along with appreciation presents for companies to give their employees and clients.
How has the book leveraged you and/or your business to greater success and increased its reputation? If so, how?
Having a book adds another level to your expertise because if you know enough that you can write a book about it you must be an expert on that topic. I am an expert on being a Dynamic Woman™ and living a Dynamic life so it makes sense that my book is about being Dynamic and it fits with my branding.
I believe everyone is capable of writing a book, but not everyone has done it so it puts you in a class of your own. As I said earlier, books are another revenue stream, but not only that they are also another marketing stream, social impact stream, tool for my customers, PR magnet and many other benefits. They’re also an important philanthropic part of my business because it’s how I give back. I created the “More Than One Campaign” where women in shelters and transition houses receive my books. They can feel the love of those who donate the books and receive support and coaching from me in the words they read.
What advice would you give to a business owner or professional who is sitting on the fence about writing a book?
JUST DO IT! Here are three secrets to get you there:
- Change your mindset! Writing a book is not as hard of a process as you think. What I’ve found is that what is unknown is scary and putting yourself out there can cut into your confidence, but when you are led by someone who has done it and you break it down into manageable parts you can get it done.
- Get creative! Don’t think you have to sit behind a computer and write it. There are other options; such as, dictating a book, having a ghostwriter, compiling articles and blogs you have already written – it’s not that hard.
- Get help! Hire people who have done it and also who know how to pull out of you a vision for what it is and hold you accountable to the process. Recently my client who wanted to write a book for years just handed her manuscript to her publisher. After she did she said to me, “Diane thank you for helping me do in a few months what I wasn’t able to do for years! The clarity, confidence and accountability you gave me really made the difference.”
BONUS TIP: Stand in what you know and understand you have a job to do in sharing your knowledge, information, story and gifts.
I’d love to know or help you figure out, “What’s the message the world needs to hear from you?”