So You Think You Want To Be An Author

Have you ever said or thought these words … “I know I have a book in me, but I don’t have the time to write it” or, “I know my story would help lots of people, but it costs too much money to publish a book”? There are lots of people out there in the same boat and they are trying to find the answer.

The truth about being an author is that there is a myriad of incredible benefits and it is worth the time, energy and money to make it happen. But life sometimes has other plans for us. It beckons us with bills to pay, relationships to tend to, jobs to work and kids to raise. And then we have our subconscious mind to tempt us with limiting beliefs – but that’s not what this is about. The truth is that if you want to be an author, there is another way to go about it besides writing a whole book by yourself. It called an anthology or compilation book.

An anthology or compilation book (these are one and the same) is a collection of stories by several different authors on a specific topic.

The benefits of telling your story in an anthology format are many:

1. You don’t have to spend months or years writing a whole book – usually just one chapter.
2. You don’t have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to get your book published.
3. You have someone else handling the whole publishing process for you. (editing, cover design, layout, printing, etc.)
4. You don’t have to market the book on your own; instead you have lots of other partners marketing it with you.
5. You reach a new, like-minded audience through the other authors.
6. You get to be a part of a collaborative project, not a lonely author.
7. You make money when you sell the books.

AND you get all the additional benefits of being an author:

1. Automatic credibility – As an author, you add to your list of credentials.
2. Reach more people – books provide open doors and share your story with the masses.
3. Business growth and increased sales.
4. Positions you as an expert in your field.
5. Personal satisfaction of realizing a dream.
6. Public accolades and acknowledgements from your peers and clients.
7. Charge more money for what you’re already doing.
8. Make money from book sales.
9. More and better speaking engagements.

Since publishing my first book two years ago, I have personally enjoyed all the benefits of being an author. Perhaps the greatest of these benefits comes in the form of notes and emails I receive from readers telling me how much my book or a specific passage resonated with them or helped them through a particular period in their life. There is not a price that can be put on such pleasures; it is a deep feeling of gratitude and joy in the heart.