You need to write a book. It’s one of the best things you can do to market your practice.

The odds are, you already know this. The odds are you don’t think you have enough to say to fill a book, or you don’t have the time or talent to write it.  

But you do. Because a book is just a bunch of words and you wrangle words for a living.

One way to write a book is to take things you’ve already written and stitch them together.

Blog posts, articles, white papers, reports–they’re all fodder for a book.

Five or ten chapters, exploring themes related to your work, illustrated with stories and examples from your practice, and congratulations, you have a book. 

Another way to write a book is to sit down and write it. Or record it.

Could you speak about your practice area for an hour? Do it. Speak, record, transcribe, and you’ll have the makings of a book.

Or, have someone interview you for an hour or two. I was interviewed by an attorney and turned that into a book. I interviewed an appellate attorney and turned that into a book.

You can, too.

Your book doesn’t need to be a tome. Your book could be as little as ten or twenty-thousand words. You could crank that out in a few weekends.

You don’t need to be a brilliant writer. You don’t need to have a publisher. And you don’t need to spend months or years turning out a bestseller.

But you do need a book.

How I turn interviews into books

I started converting some of my Kindle books into print and they’re selling well. When you publish your book, you should also publish a paperback version, not just to serve buyers who prefer print but so you will have copies to hand out.

Keep a stack in the office to give to new clients. Keep a copy or two in your briefcase, and more in your car, so that when you meet someone who wants to know what you do you can let your book show them.

When a prospective client is considering whether to hire you or another lawyer, you don’t need to do anything to convince them to choose you. Give them a copy of your book and let your book show them why you are the best choice.

Books based on expert interviews are easy to write but they are only a first step. You also need a book that encapsulates your knowledge and wisdom and tells your story. Fortunately, this kind of book is also easy to write.

In The Easy Way to Write a Book, I said that one way to do this is to ask a friend to interview you. You could also interview yourself. Make a list of topics and record yourself speaking about them. In an hour or two, you could have the first draft of your book done.

If you want to agonize over it and take months to write the perfect book you can do that, but we both know that you probably won’t. Better to knock out something this weekend and start using it.

In fact, that’s my challenge to you. Write the first draft of your book this weekend. In an hour, you can dictate 10,000 words or so, which is enough for a short Kindle book. If you want more, go for another hour. But get the thing done.

The Easy Way to Write a Book