Ep 123: How to write a book

Subtitle:

How to write a book. So many want to, so few do. Though it might seem lofty, unrealistic, or daunting, you CAN write a book. Everyone in our world has a different experience and perspective and something unique to say; the challenge is putting it into book form. In the last episode, we dove into Bob Hutchins and Jenny Black’s book, Our Digital Soul, breaking down the solution to media trauma and collective anxiety. In today’s episode, we continue our three part discussion of Bob’s book, but we focus more on the behind the scenes of how to write a book as well as the processes and some practical tips. We highly encourage you to check out Bob and Jenny’s book on Amazon or ourdigitalsoul.com and let us know your thoughts or questions in the comments below. 

 

Summary:

In this episode, we continue to discuss Bob Hutchins and Jenny Black’s book, Our Digital Soul. In our last episode, we talked about how to heal and be part of the solution to the collective anxiety and media trauma we as a society have endured and continue to bear. If you haven’t yet, please go check out the previous two episodes to get the full scoop of our three part series breaking down Bob and Jenny’s book. This episode is different from the past two because instead of breaking down the content of Bob’s book, instead, we dive into the processes involved in writing a book. Bob talks about his motivation behind writing this book and his previous three as well as the role writing has played in his business and life. He also talks about his process behind picking a topic, doing research on it, and deciding if it is something the public is interested in. Bob discusses the opportunities he’s had because of his book as well as his top tips and advice for anyone thinking about writing a book. He also talks about the importance of writing everyday, finding your unique perspective, and making your book authentically you. If you enjoyed today’s episode and feel curious about media trauma and how to heal, don’t forget to purchase Bob Hutchins’ and Jenny Black’s book, Our Digital Soul: Collective Anxiety, Media Trauma and a Path Toward Recovery. 

 

Top 3 Curtain Pulls in this episode: 

 

• Write everyday. Whether it’s a journal, notes of things you learned, or simply an idea you thought of, it makes a huge difference to write something everyday. These writings don’t have to be groundbreaking ideas, just little snippets that you can reflect on later that can help you when in the process of writing a book. “I’m just writing everyday.”

• Find your unique perspective. This may sound cliche, but everyone in this world has their own perspective and something to say. Find what you’re passionate about and talk to people about it to see if there seems to be a public interest in it. Do your research and see if and what other authors have written about the topic. Don’t get discouraged by what you may find, keep an open mind and continue writing and researching. “My test is always, when you talk to people about it, does it resonate, do their eyes light up and say, ‘Oh, I've never thought about it that way.’”

• Make it book authentically yours. Don’t retell someone else’s story or filter your passion or perspective through someone else’s lens. Even if you think your book is the most boring book on the face of this earth, it will resonate with and impact someone because true connection happens through authenticity and honesty. Tell the story you want from your unique, authentic perspective. “The most important number one most important thing is make sure it's authentically yours.”

For more tips, discussion, and behind the scenes:

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• Join our closed Facebook community for agency leaders

 

About The Guys: 

Bob Hutchins: Founder of BuzzPlant, a digital agency that he ran from from 2000 -2017. He is also the author of 3 books. More on Bob: 

• Bob on LinkedIn
• twitter.com/BobHutchins
• instagram.com/bwhutchins
• Bob on Facebook

Brad Ayres: Founder of Anthem Republic, an award-winning ad agency. Brad’s knowledge has led some of the biggest brands in the world. Originally from Detroit, Brad is an OG in the ad agency world and has the wisdom and scars to prove it. Currently that knowledge is being applied to his boutique agency. More on Brad:

• Brad on LinkedIn
• Anthem Republic
• twitter.com/bradayres
• instagram.com/therealbradayres
• facebook.com/Bradayres

Ken Ott: Co-Founder and Chief Growth Rebel of Metacake, an Ecommerce Growth Team for some of the world’s most influential brands with a mission to Grow Brands That Matter. Ken is also an author, speaker, and was nominated for an Emmy for his acting on the Metacake Youtube Channel (not really). More on Ken: 

• Ken on LinkedIn
• Metacake - An Ecommerce Growth Team
• Growth Rebel TV
• twitter.com/iamKenOtt
• instagram.com/iamKenOtt
• facebook.com/iamKenOtt

 

Show Notes:

[0:32] Bob opens this episode with a chat about old tv shows, inflation, and how the 

[6:34] Brad says, “the thought of writing a book is very daunting to me. So I would love to break down some myths of writing a book… I'd like to get to the heart of like, your motivation for book writing,”

[7:31] Bob talks about his love of writing and how he’s built his business and marketing on content and how those things helped him become familiar with and comfortable with the idea of writing. 

[9:49] Bob discusses the importance of identifying your reasoning behind why you want to write. “Depending on what your reasoning for writing is, also should drive how it's done.”

[12:10] Bob talks about his motivation for writing this book and his overall motivation to write. “The motivation was certainly thought leadership. And so that's a lot of my drive is thinking deeply about things and having a voice in the environments that I found that I find myself in my career.”

[13:05] Ken asks Bob, “what was your process like in just deciding your topics?”

[14:09] Bob says that there isn’t just one way to write a book and that one of the most important things is to just write something everyday. He also talks about the way he identifies if his topic is interesting to the outside world and would make a good book. 

[17:53] Brad asks Bob, “How do you figure out if your book is unique? What’s the process?”

[18:38] Bob talks about the importance of research, outlining ideas, and identifying the target demographic.

[21:22] Brad asks Bob, “what kind of things does your book allow you to do that you maybe wouldn't have been able to do?”

[23:37] Ken talks about how in any type of business and marketing, “you have to have a formula for success.”

[29:02] Ken mentions that one of the values of writing quality content is that it can be used to write a book. He also talks about his secret to writing effective articles and blog posts. 

[34:40] Bob breaks down the most important thing to remember when writing a book. “The most important number one most important thing is make sure it's authentically yours.”

[36:11] Brad asks Bob what the cost would be to write a book.

[37:13] Bob says that the price depends on what you’re looking for but it could be between a few thousand dollars to twenty thousand. 

[39:49] Ken asks Bob if he writes the title first or last and if he recommends finding a publisher or not. 

[47:04] Bob closes today’s episode by telling the listeners that they can find his book on Amazon. “It's called “Our Digital Soul: Collective Anxiety, Media Trauma, and a Path toward Recovery. You can just Google my name or Jenny black, my co author or just Our Digital Soul.”