The Million-Dollar Author Mistake
Three Strategic Steps Most Writers Skip (But Bestsellers Don't)
Why most business and self-help books fail to generate meaningful ROI, and how to join the elite few that become business-transforming assets.
Hello future bestselling author!
If you're reading this inaugural blog post, chances are you've been nurturing a powerful ambition: to transform your expertise into a book that doesn't just showcase your knowledge but actually grows your business while you sleep.
Before you write a single word, we need to talk about the costly mistake I've watched hundreds of aspiring authors make: a mistake that virtually guarantees their books will never deliver the monetisation results they're hoping for.
Preview Photo by Yannick Pulver on Unsplash
The Backwards Approach That Dooms Most Non-Fiction Books
After six years coaching more than 100 authors to successful book publication, I've identified a clear pattern:
Most authors start writing before they've done the strategic work that determines whether their book will succeed as a business asset.
With my background (Bachelor of Economics, Master of Marketing, and over 25 years in writing and marketing), I approached my own author journey differently. I treated my book like any other high-stakes marketing initiative, and that strategic approach is why both my books became bestsellers that continue to generate business opportunities years after publication.
The Three Non-Negotiable Steps Before Writing Word One
If you want your book to become your most powerful business development tool (rather than an expensive business card that collects dust), here are the three strategic steps you must complete before you start writing:
1. Identify Your Book's Strategic Business Purpose
Most authors make the fatal mistake of focusing solely on what they want to say rather than what business outcomes they want their book to achieve.
Key questions to answer:
Which high-value opportunities do you want the book to create?
How will you measure your book's ROI beyond royalties?
2. Position Your Book at the Intersection of Demand and Differentiation
The second fatal mistake? Writing a "me-too" book in an overcrowded category without identifying your unique market position.
Key questions to answer:
What painful problem does your ideal reader urgently need solved?
What unique perspective or methodology do you bring to this problem?
Which specific categories have high demand but low competition?
Read More on our Author Growth Substack Newsletter.
To your author journey,
Fleur Hull BEc MMktg CPM
