Would you believe me if I told you entrepreneurs already have a book in them?
One of the most common things I hear is this:
“I would love to write a book, but I don’t know where to start or what I would say.” Typically the most qualified people say this.
Entrepreneurs spend years explaining ideas, solving problems, and helping people move forward in different goals. In the process, they create an enormous amount of content that can be used in a book without realizing it.
In the Signature Manuscript Method I created and teach, we talk about two types of authors.
Author Type #1: The Idea-Driven Author
This author begins with a single powerful idea. They have a thesis they want to explore deeply and their book grows from there. Many journalists and academics fit into this category.
Author Type #2: The Content-Rich Author
The second type of author looks very different.
They don’t start with a blank page but instead with a library of content they have created.
Most entrepreneurs fall into this second category. They aren’t lacking ideas but lack a plan to get their ideas onto the page. And that’s actually good news because its easier to distill your thoughts into a book than starting from scratch.
Starting Your Content Library
I want to introduce you to the concept of a content library. If you’re an entrepreneur, take a moment and look at what you already have.
Literally open your laptop and consider what already exist. Things might include:
Course slides
Workshop recordings
Social media captions
Live talk outlines
Client emails
Sales conversations
Podcast episodes
Substack or blog articles
Notes from ideas you’ve been refining for years
At first all of this material may feel scattered but its really just raw manuscript material. Once you begin to see all of this work you have done in the past, writing a book becomes strategic and attainable. You begin the process of organizing what you already know and not inventing completely new material.
Why This Matters
This is one of the reasons I believe entrepreneurs make exceptional authors. Their ideas don’t just live in their heads but they have tested, explained and watched what works and what doesn’t work. A book simply gathers those insights into one place and offers a clear message. It also becomes a way of amplifying the work you are already doing and getting it out to more people.
A Question for You
If you looked through your content library today, what might already belong in your book?
Have you created a framework?
Is there a certain client win you tell over and over?
Have you gone through a personal transformation you teach other people how to have?
The first step toward writing a book is realizing you’ve been writing it for years.
Entrepreneurs rarely start their book from zero and sometimes the first step toward writing your brand-building book is realizing you may already be closer than you think.