Why it’s worth writing a book

With changing technologies, publishing a book has become easier and easier. However, for many people, becoming an author still seems a daunting prospect.

But if you run a successful practice then, with a bit of expert help, you can probably do it.

It is a lot of work, so you might be saying: ‘why bother?’

I have found out through my own experience that it is worth the effort. If you publish a book you will stand out from the crowd. You will be perceived as an expert by others in your field and have something else of real value to give to your clients.

You might be thinking you do not know enough to write a book. I bet you do and you just don’t know it. Do this thought experiment. Look around your office or therapy room and count up how many handouts you have to give to clients, how many books you refer to, how many case notes you have acquired, how many toolkits you use. All this is your knowledge base and you can share it with others in a book.

Perhaps you are feeling that all this information and knowledge around you is just too much. How would you order all that into a book? So if this looks like too big a mountain to climb then step back and ask what you want to do.

Why do you want to write a book? Here are just some reasons, one might fit with you.

Ask yourself, do you want to:

•  Increase your authority so you can teach or train
•  Increase the number of clients you see
•  Upscale your client list, so you can charge more
•  Increase the value of what you offer, so you can charge more
•  Or something else

This list is just to get you started, you may have another idea and that is great as long as you choose one thing, that will make it easier for you to focus on your subject and order all that knowledge and information. 

If you are clear to yourself about your reason for writing a book then you will find it easier to decide on these things and that will make your messages clearer to your readers.

To give just one example, if your book is directly addressing clients it is more likely to have a chatty style, if you are writing for other professionals you may be a bit more formal and include details such as references and a bibliography. Everything flows from this initial decision. So don’t rush, take your time and get ready for the journey.

I hope this little article has convinced you that writing a book is a possibility. For me, I know it transformed my business and it’s really enjoyable as well.

If you would like to take this further, I’ll enthuse you and show you how to do it. Contact me for a complimentary session to see if this is the right path for you.


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Author: Ann Jaloba has spent her whole career writing, editing and authoring health and wellbeing journals, books, websites and magazines. She is a qualified therapist and supervisor, and coaches and supports entrepreneurs who want to write for publication. Ann has edited award-winning journals for the Royal College of Nursing, including the best-selling weekly Nursing Standard. She is the former editor of The Hypnotherapy Journal. Her books include FirstDays: how to set up a therapy business and stay sane. She co-edited The Hypnotherapy Handbook, a comprehensive guide to the major client issues in hypnotherapy which features chapters by many of the UK’s leading hypnotherapists. Her latest collaboration is The Pocket Book of Stress Busters, a simple and powerful set of techniques to help anyone cope.