How To Self-Publish A Credible Business Book

We break down a real-world process for writing and self-publishing a book without losing your voice or your budget. We also connect book-author credibility to thought leadership, public trust architecture, and reverse recruiting so opportunities come to you. 
• moving from Word to Google Docs for a living draft and notes 
• hiring affordable editing and formatting help through Fiverr 
• pressure-testing edits so the writing still sounds human 
• spotting where AI tools might help and where they might hurt 
• understanding ghostwriters and why marketing often drives outcomes 
• planning a self-publishing path through Amazon Kindle and paperback options 
• budgeting for editing, cover design, formatting, and basic legal protections 
• using a book to strengthen authority in sales, marketing, and leadership 
• building public trust architecture through consistent online posting 
If you're listening right now, write a book.

Transcript

Why Books Build Credibility

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I've helped a lot of people. Not only have we helped, you know, with with our company ISG influence strategies group, but with several different people b even before ISG, like how to create their public trust architecture. So it's basically it's essentially reverse recruiting. And the reverse recruiting is a weird world that nobody's talked about really until probably the last 12 months, where you and I have been talking about it and dealing with it for a long time. And it's just building your thought leadership position, your public trust architecture. Content Crib 6.0 will be over once everybody is listening to this, but we're going. Yeah, and you uh you are writing a very cool book with a very cool title. And yeah, you know what? So I uh the reason I was why we talked about this before podcast came on is uh a lot of different questions are out there. I mean, I would like to write a book, or you know, people are like, How do I do this? Am I gonna self-publish and how am I gonna do this? And what did you use for tools? All these different questions. So I thought, now I also finished a book this weekend, but I'm just writing at this point. What so tell me your process. You know, you finished the book or you're in the middle of it. What did you use for tools? What are you gonna do? How are you gonna do it? And I think people will be really interested.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

Yeah, so I started uh a couple years ago, like about 18 months ago, I think, uh exactly. And what I started to use Microsoft Words, that was just a basic tool to start out, but then I pivoted completely to just I needed a foundation digitally, so Google Docs, and started to structure it, structure it there. I mean that's the boring side of things. Once I started to get um closer to like editor ready, I decided to go in Fiverr. I use it for so many different things. So I hired I hired an editor in Fiverr and it went through six edits, and it actually just finished its sixth edit the other day, and they actually do formatting too. So they actually have it right now. It's gonna take about a week worth of formatting. And honestly, I'm figuring out the rest as we go. I'm kind of just like reading through some Reddit threads on self-marketing and self-pub self-publishing and doing kind of my own social media marketing and just kind of like teasing it out there and getting a little bit of interest. Um, and the book is the book is called You Can't Automate Trust, the hybrid rep playbook and the rep of the future is you.

SPEAKER_00 2:43

I love it. Can I ask you like some questions? You don't have to answer all these. I'm just I mean, because I know our our audience is really uh are is curious about this. Are you using a an editor that's overseas? Are they in the US?

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Yeah, they are they are they are overseas, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

Overseas, okay, gotcha. Um you don't have to tell me the exact price, but like is it super expensive? No, no, no. It's pretty affordable.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

I mean, you know, it was like a few hundred dollars every time, you know, so and then I kind of like upgraded when I wasn't happy and like, oh yeah, we can do this, this, and this. And so I'd just be like, it was like an extra hundred or maybe an extra fifty again. Gotcha. And kind of get it where I wanted to be, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:21

Okay. Um, how long is usually the turnaround?

SPEAKER_01 3:26

Every edit was about three to four days.

SPEAKER_00 3:28

Not bad at all. Okay. No. Do you suspect that they're feeding it through AI and they're doing it that way? I'm sorry, I'm asking like I know there's a lot of granular questions. They might be. They might be for sure.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

Yeah.

Hiring An Editor Without Overspending

SPEAKER_00 3:44

Yeah, I'm just curious because what I'm asking, like, could someone do it on their own? Like, give it to Chat GPT and go, hey, can you do this, this, and this? And then my fear of doing that is is will it sound like AI? That's you know, that's the you know.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

So I would read like random chapters every edit and just kind of see, and then they would give you a breakdown of like what they changed, or like what the edits, every time they edited, it wasn't like it wasn't thing it they didn't change what I wrote. They just either were like, okay, we need to cite this statistic, or we need to, you know, this formatting's wrong, or this story is in the wrong place, or you know, this chapter didn't flow as well as that chapter, so we moved it. So they weren't you know changing the writing per se.

SPEAKER_00 4:28

Okay, got it, got it. Yeah, and the reason I asked these questions because I know some people want to write a book and they don't have the money to allocate to doing it, and you know, what tools can they use? Um you know, the it's it's really funny though, because you're obviously writing your book, but there are so many authors that use ghostwriters that I I I I was so I I went down a rabbit hole of how I guess I can say it, how many authors don't ever write their books? I mean, they they have an idea about it, but then they have a ghostwriter who does it all for them from top to bottom. And it's like a lot, and I know I know it's kind of maybe I'm like exposing the little secret of the of the industry here, but um, I just was really surprised. I I was amazed, but you know, it is what it is. So it's really all about the marketing. So what do you think you're gonna do next? Are you gonna once it's done self-publish?

SPEAKER_01 5:26

Yeah, I think so. Yeah, I I think I'm probably just gonna self-publish and put um you know a certain amount of investment into you know a certain number of paperback books and get it on Amazon and put you know put a Kindle up there. Maybe do an audio book, I don't know yet. Uh people seem to do really well with marketing, you know, pre-marketing their book and then like doing really good deals on like initial deals on like Kindle. Yeah, just getting some exposure, getting some book reviews. Um but you know, because it's not a big overhead cost, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:54

And you can I was gonna ask you, what do you think that's all cost you have to answer if you don't want to, but what do you think cost-wise it's gonna be to do it?

SPEAKER_01 6:02

That's a great question. I don't know yet. That's the next step that I'm working out, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:06

Yeah, I mean I just I'd be very curious to see what it all, you know, back in the old days you'd have to, I mean, you just wouldn't publish it. It was so cost prohibitive to do it. Um, but yeah, obviously Matthew, Ray Scott's done a book and done two of them now, and so I was just curious what other people and I do know that you can go down the road of having somebody market it for you, and you know, there's big agencies that will take on all that, but it's also big bucks.

Self-Publishing Costs And Amazon Options

SPEAKER_01 6:33

I you know, I have I think enough of a following to you know sell some copies and like get some you know authority out of it and like you know it is mostly passion um in the space and like kind of what I've learned and you know sharing what I've learned in it. And um yeah. No, I mean it's exciting, yeah. I mean I I'm kind of like having fun and like figuring out as I go um and just kind of like making decisions here and there. I mean it you know it kindle cost to publish is basically zero and then Amazon takes royalties. Um you know, you earn, you know, say say you sell like Kindle for ten bucks, you earn, you know, you earn like six bucks or seven bucks. Um you know, there are deals out there where you can do paperback where the cost to publish is like nothing up front, and then they deduct per copy sold. So there's like different ways, you know, they can do it. Um I'm kind of putting my the investment into the editing and like different cover designs and formatting. Um, you know, I had to register the title with the patent, you know, the United States patent. You don't have to do that, but I wanted to just in case. I'm like, you know, I put a lot of time into it, so I wanted to. Um so you're getting official copyrighted yeah, copyright. Yeah, yeah, okay. So I I figured I'm gonna put, you know, thousand fifty I budgeted like fifteen hundred bucks. So small.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Which is which is yeah, I mean, which is amazing if you really think about it. Just what cost, I mean, what twenty years ago it would take to do it compared to.

SPEAKER_01 8:05

If I get some, you know, if I get some um if I get some interest and like some more steam, like I'll definitely um for sure like maybe but bump up that investment.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

Well it's just uh what it is mind-boggling if you think about well anyway, no matter what, no way if you're listening right now, write a book. I mean that that's that's what it we're trying to tell you to do because the minute you can put best-selling author next to your name or writ wrote the book, da da da da, and I'm not saying this to you know give you fake, you know, pump yourself up in some kind of a weird fake way. I'm saying it's because it really legitimizes what you're doing. It it it it gives you the authority in a space. And if you have that, you it that that can be a game changer.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

Yeah, and I kind of look at it as you know, I you know, full-time, I do you know, sales teams and and train hybrid sales reps on you know how to how to be effective, you know, in the field and and sell remotely and close deals and build pipeline and all that stuff. You know, I want to share that with that with that team, you know. And if I can invest a couple grand in myself to to make this happen and have you know something I can give them, it's just gonna help me and make myself more marketer marketable than help my team ultimately or anyone else that needs the help. I mean it's I really do think uh, you know, different industries are gonna be affected by AI. Uh obviously we're seeing it now. I think there's definitely some some uh you know whitewashing going on with some companies claiming AI, but they're really just kind of tightening their books. Uh but I do think that you know sales, marketing, in-person business is is gonna thrive and people that do it the right way, and then also be able to stay relevant remotely from all the things that you know, especially I've learned from you and Matthew through you know virtual sales RX and implemented that over the years, you know, there's all these different tools, and don't worry, give you credit. Um there's so many, you know, but there's so many um there's so many different strategies that people aren't implementing. And I've you know stood up different sales teams and and been at different companies and and you know, we're around different sales leaders and companies that are just doing the same old thing, right? And I think that there's just a ton of ton of opportunity to push yourself to use different tools and techniques and stay relevant in the years to come because I think there's still a ton of opportunity. Um, you know, I if I can share that that gold with the people that you know are interested, this is the way I'm gonna do it.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

So it's a great way. I mean we talk about all the time thought leadership. Uh that's you talk about thought leadership and public trust architecture and all the different things. And when they go and Google Chris Gross or they go and put in a chat GPT, Chris Gross is gonna say award-winning author of Yeah, I don't know about that.

SPEAKER_01 10:59

We'll see. But enough about enough about me. Tell me about you. You're working on a little project yourself.

Reverse Recruiting Through Thought Leadership

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Yeah, I'm you you inspired me. And so I um I've been asked several times. Yeah, I get well, I've helped a lot of people. Um not only have we helped, you know, with with our company ISG Influence Strategies Group, but with several different people, but even before ISG, like how to create their public trust architecture. So it's basically it's essentially reverse recruiting. And reverse recruiting is a weird world that nobody's talked about really until probably the last 12 months, where you and I have been talking about it and dealing with it for a long time. And it's just building your thought leadership position, your public trust architecture, you know, the point where so people know you before they meet you. And more importantly, people go to you, they recruit you instead of all of a sudden you have you you need to have an opportunity because of whatever happened, AI takes your job or whatever you want to call it, and then you're out there and you're a recruiter, it's one of 7,000 resumes they've received in you know the month of February, and you're one of them, and you're expecting them to have your whole future in their hands. It's it's it's a ludicrous proposition if you really think about it. And so I wrote the book, Never Apply Again. It's just it's all about essentially utilizing thought leadership and utilizing your public trust architecture and becoming a digital opinion leader. And um, yeah, so it's called Never Apply Again. And I'm I'm I'm I'm first hand example of it. I don't I haven't applied for anything in in years because I'm the idiot out in the hurricane with uh rep scrubs on. I get talked about it all the time, you know. You're the guy with the red hat on, you know, and it just became from digital opinion leadership. Anyway, so yeah, that's no, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 12:59

I mean it's it's you're gonna be able to share so much because it's so true. Like there's so much opportunity out there, and and you know, you talk about it every day, and a lot of people are listening, but there's a lot of people who aren't and need the help, so it's uh it's good. You know, I talk about it to people I know that are you know asking, you know, for for help or like you know, are you know they're early in their career. I I volunteer, I'm a um vice president of alumni association for my fraternity, and you know, they're up kind of upcoming in their you know, or their seniors or juniors look at their career. I'm like, start posting online, like try it once a week about the industry you want to get into, and just create some you know, thoughtful thought leadership and just watch over the course of a year and see what happens. You know, one out of every 20 years doing it, but there's still you know there's a lot you can learn about putting your voice out there and and sharing it, and there's a lot of jobs you can get, people recognizing that, you know.

SPEAKER_00 13:55

Yeah, and and you know, you get the whole people, oh no, I'm I I can't my company doesn't let me post about you know, they can't that's an excuse. You can post about sales, leadership, thoughts, and principles. You can talk about if you're an engineer, different views and viewpoints you have about certain things. You can post about all those things, and I'm gonna tell you what, people are watching and people are listening. And we have people that come to Content Crib all the time that now they're in the middle of all these new kinds of opportunities, and it's just because of thought liter leadership, being a digital opinion leader, and wanting to provide value, and that's all it's about. I can't wait to read it. Oh, it should thank you. Yeah, it should be well. I've gone a couple different directions, and um, you know, I got I got I gotta do another chapter now that I thought about it because uh as we were talking, I'm like, yeah, I need to add personal stories of me doing stupid stuff, so we gotta do that too. Anyway, yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

I do it all the time. I mean constantly. You're like, oh man, put my you know, in my notes, I'm like gonna add that. That's why that's why I started and moved from Word doc to Google Doc, because I was like, you know, I wanted to make you know notes live or at least put it at the top of the document, you know, make sure to work in the story in this chapter and this whatnot.

SPEAKER_00 15:11

But so and so how many how many edits do you think you've gone through? I mean, sorry, not edits. How many like I gotta add this here, or one of those type things?

SPEAKER_01 15:21

At least a few dozen. At least a few dozen.

Final Advice And Wrap-Up

SPEAKER_00 15:24

Yeah. Yeah. So well, I think that's a wrap. We'll uh see everybody. This will probably be out in a few weeks.

SPEAKER_01 15:36

Alright, can't wait. See you guys.

SPEAKER_00 15:38

All right, see ya.