These days, if you’re a coach, a consultant or a trainer, everyone will tell you that you should write a book. There’s no doubt that a book can be a great way to help you promote your business, showing off your expertise and sharing your experience. A book is a great business card and can be a really helpful way to build up your reputation.

So, should you listen to everyone who tells you that you should write a book? I don’t think so. And before you jump into writing and publishing your book, I believe you should think very carefully about how much your book could actually damage, or even ruin, your reputation.

How Can a Book Ruin Your Reputation?

“I need to publish it really quickly.”

I’ve heard of some people writing and publishing books in a matter of weeks. It can be done, but how much thought and effort can you really put into your book if you’re rushing up against such a short deadline? Will you have time to properly structure your book, plan the best content and then make sure that your ideas are written down in the best way? Do you have time to thoroughly edit and proof read your words?

If you rush your book, and produce one that is full of typos, you’ll give your readers – and your potential clients – the wrong message about your business.

“I’m just going to collect some of my blogs and publish them as a book.”

Good books flow from one chapter to the next and from start to finish. Even the books that are designed to be dipped into, rather than read from cover to cover, need consistency. A collection of blogs is an easy way to create a book as you’ve already written the articles. However, blogs are usually written one at a time and not necessarily as a series. This means that just sticking them together won’t give you the flow that a good book needs. Also, if you’re pulling together blogs that you’ve written over a period of years, the style and tone will be different and your readers will notice a real dissonance. If you want to write a book that’s a series of blogs, write the book first and then turn it into a number of blogs.

If you take shortcuts with your book, and produce one that doesn’t share your best work, you’ll give your readers – and your potential clients – the wrong message about your business.

“I want to share my personal story in a book.”

Unless you’re already a famous athlete, mountaineer or motivational speaker, no one will want to read your personal memoirs. Writing this sort of book will be a real vanity project – especially if you retired from sport at the age of 21! A book that helps your business needs to contain a business message. If you can turn your athletic wins, mountaineering adventures and motivational speaking into a business message or handbook that other business owners can use, then go for it.

If you write a book that is entirely about you and no one else, you’ll give your readers – and your potential clients – the wrong message about your business.

Still thinking about writing a book? A book is a great way to promote your business and build your reputation, but before you leap in and make lots of mistakes, take some time. Think about what you really want your book to do for your reputation and then write a book that will raise your reputation and not ruin it!