It’s become very trendy to get published. The promise of a passive income stream and an instant reputation as an expert has always sound very tempting. But whilst there’s nothing wrong with wanting fame and fortune; there is a danger in people producing masses of printed material for the wrong reasons that could go out at the wrong time, in the wrong format and to the wrong people, argues executive communication strategist Mindy Gibbins-Klein.
Think twice about what you are putting out there into the market. You want to write and publish books, articles and blogs that will build your reputation, not destroy it. Here are some serious mistakes I have seen people make over the past few years.
Unprofessional image created by disjointed articles and books that were not proofread thoroughly – I have seen at least ten examples of this in the past few months. There is no excuse for it. Use spell-checking software, ask someone else to proofread your work and if you are publishing a book, you absolutely must use the services of a professional editor. I don’t care how pushed for time you think you are or how much money you are trying to save, failing to get your work edited will almost certainly re?ect badly on you.
Vague, boring and contradictory material. This has usually been because the author has not thought through his/her point of view and therefore is unable to articulate it in an intelligent way. As coaches and consultants, we need our written material to be our spokesperson and to do the sales job for us in many cases. So what do you think of someone who can’t put their thoughts together on the page? Do you think they would be able to help someone sort through an issue or outline new ideas when face-to-face? Probably not.
Publishing and posting from an extreme emotional state. Bloggers tend to be the worst offenders, by far. Blogging can be great to build your reputation and quickly get your ideas published, but it can be too easy to write without thinking. If you have a professional blog, i.e. not a personal online diary, please remember that it is your face to the outside world. Not only that, but many blog entries are indexed and saved for a long time. I once did a search on my name and saw a negative comment I’d written on someone else’s blog two years earlier! Think, think, think. In one extreme case, a consultant I know claimed to have done a ‘brain dump’ (nice expression, isn’t it?) during one weekend, typed it all up the next weekend and then published it more or less in that format a few weeks later. Unfortunately the ?nished product read like the brain dump it was and did not do the author any favours.
Do I sound like a prophet of doom? You know I don’t really want to put you off the idea of writing and publishing your ideas and views and becoming known as the expert you are. I only want to save you from wasting time, money and effort and risking your reputation in the process. So let me end on a positive note. You are more than capable of writing excellent blogs, articles and books to reach an even wider audience, build your reputation and bring in an extra income. You are also capable of maintaining a professional attitude towards writing and publishing. Please help me raise the standard in the industry and I promise, you will enjoy all the fame and fortune that you deserve.
Mindy Gibbins-Klein is better known as The Book Midwife (TM). She has helped hundreds of experts get their message out into the market by writing and publishing the best possible books, ebooks, articles and other products. A trained coach and marketing consultant with over 18 years of experience, Mindy passionately believes that every book deserves to be written and published, but only if it is the best book it can be. Mindy is also co-founder and director of Ecademy Press, a cooperative publisher specializing in business and personal development books. For more information visit www.bookmidwife.com or email info@bookmidwife.com
Source: http://www.ArticlePros.com/author.php?Mindy Gibbins-Klein
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