The email came from writer and friend Elizabeth Clarke. She went on to explain, “I got a puppy…” and it seems the lively little guy is getting in the way of her good intentions to stick to a writing schedule.

Being more of a cat person than a dog person, I am biased about this, but I consider cats better pets for writers because they’ll sit in your lap and purr while you sit at your desk and write. I imagine fish would also be good writer pets. And maybe rabbits–they’re nice and quiet, right?

I have no pets at the moment, but I am plagued by five — yes, I’ve counted them  — squirrels who chatter and squeal and scramble back and forth and back and forth across the rattly tin roof over my porch. They drive me nuts. I have a water pistol and am actually getting good at hitting one every once in awhile.

It’s so distracting, all that racket and all the time I spend trying to chase the little bastards away. Then again, writers are easily distracted. In fact, sometimes anyone watching might even jump to the conclusion that we’re intentionally even looking for ways to avoid writing. Can you believe that?

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Over the past year, many of you have been following my news about my client and friend Marc Warnke, who has had the vision and commitment to make the journey from hatching an idea, to creating a manuscript, to becoming a published author. The journey reaches its culmination today, folks – the book is now available on Amazon!

It’s called ONO, Options not Obligations.  The subtitle is, Enrich Your Personal Life by Rethinking Your Financial Life. ONO promotes Family First Entrepreneurism and teaches a lifestyle that will help create financial options rather than obligations.  The launch of ONO is today–April 22^nd. You can read excerpts and testimonials, as well as see and interact with Marc live on the 22^nd at www.ONOBook.com.

Marc did so many things right on this project. He engaged a great team of professionals to help with every phase, including a kick-ass editor (!) along with the amazing Maryanna Young to mastermind the launch and smooth the way with Marc’s publisher, Morgan James.

Marc is a shining example to aspiring authors everywhere!

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I got to hear Greg Mortensen speak at the Morrison Center last night. One of the many amazing stories from his amazing journey was about the struggle with his publishers at Penguin over the exact wording of the subtitle for his book, Three Cups of Tea.

The publishers insisted on “One man’s mission to fight terrorism … one school at a time.” Mortensen did his best to convince them to change it to “One man’s mission to promote peace … one school at a time.”

Notice the profound difference just two words can make? He explained it simply and eloquently, saying, “Fighting terrorism is based on fear. Promoting peace is based on hope.”

The pros at Penguin very understandably assumed that “fighting terrorism” would sell more books—even though Mortensen’s mission is education, not militarism—and they prevailed. On the first round, anyway. Mortensen relented on condition that if the hardcover version of the book didn’t do well, the paperback version to follow would feature the “promoting peace” subtitle.

As for how it turned out—the hardcover edition only sold about 20,000 or so copies. The subtitle was changed, and the paperback edition with “promote peace” on the cover shot to the top of the New York Times best-seller list and has stayed there for 95 weeks as of today.

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At the meeting, we were discussing business writing and the importance of putting yourself in the reader’s position to check for things that could be misunderstood. One of the analysts told the story of a client of hers who is a short-term disability expert. The client habitually refers to her field as “STD” and recently sent out a customer sales letter touting the benefits of STD, talking about how everyone needs STD, etc.

In this client’s mind, STD means short-term disability coverage. But to the rest of the world, the first thing that comes to mind when we see STD is “s**ually transmitted diseases.”The moral of the story? Get a second opinion about what you’ve written before sending out any important piece of communication.

It is especially helpful if your reviewer/proofreader/editor is NOT in your field or your profession, because they’ll be more likely to catch any terms or concepts that only insiders are familiar with.

It’s very difficult to imagine how it feels not to know the things one knows well. That’s why so many how-to books do such a poor job of explaining how to do something. Being able to work from a beginner’s mind, even though you are an expert, is the secret to being a good communicator, a good teacher, even a good business analyst. One of the best ways to find out whether you’re succeeding is to get feedback, whether from your target audience, a friend, or a professional communicator.

The other example the group gave me was a joke (with special thanks to Jane Francis!):

A truck driver has penguins in his truck and is on his way to deliver them to the zoo. His truck breaks down. He flags down another trucker and says,“I’ll pay you $500 to take these penguins to the zoo.”“OK, I’ll be happy to do that,” says the second trucker.

Hours later, the first trucker is in town and sees the second trucker in a crosswalk with the penguins following behind him. “Hey, I thought I told you to take the penguins to the zoo.”

“Right,” trucker two replies. “We went to the zoo and had money left over so now we’re going to the movies.”

As George Bernard Shaw once said: “The greatest problem in communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.”

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Well, how would you like to get that book written by Christmas?

As a market-savvy entrepreneur, you’re probably aware that writing a book is one of the best ways to advance your career and build your practice.

As a committed professional who is driven by the passion for making your clients’ lives more successful and more rewarding, you also know that a book is the perfect vehicle for capturing and sharing your passion and expertise.

Chances are that you’ve been meaning to write your own business book. But where do you start? Maybe you’ve even started a book, but somehow couldn’t make it happen on your own.

My next Biz Book Writers workshop, starting 9/26/2007, is designed to help you turn your notes and ideas into a real draft of your book by the end of the year. Using methods tested and proven by a pilot workshop earlier this year, I’ll provide the structure, support, and personalized action plan to help you make the most of your time and energy and get tangible results. This is a hands-on, action-oriented approach designed for busy professionals who want to make this happen now, not someday.

For more information, see the Biz Book Writers Workshop! page at workingbizwords.com

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Here’s your chance.

Writing a book is one of the best ways for consultants and entrepreneurs to build credibility and share their expertise. For many of us, it’s also a life-long dream that ranks high on our life list of things to accomplish someday.

Well, someday may be sooner than you thought. This dream is well within your reach.

Here’s your chance to get started on the book you’ve always wanted to write — even if you’re not sure where to start and not quite ready to dive in and commit to getting the whole thing done at once.

Try just a taste first. A low-cost, low-pressure way to tiptoe into the water at the shallow end and see how it feels to start writing and make progress.

Join Peggy Jordan’s NEW Book Writers Quick-Start Workshop:

• One month
• Five sessions
• A price even starving artists can afford
• A roomful of supportive peers
• Your table of contents? Done.
• Your book’s introduction? Done.
• Your action plan for getting that book written? Ready to roll.

It’s that simple.

Email Peggy now to sign up or learn more.

Peggy Jordan’s intuitive, interactive Quick-Start Workshop will give you the direction, support, and tools you need to jump start your book.

• Learn how to make the space and time in your over-scheduled life to write.
• Discover your target audience to write the book your readers really want and need.
• Get more writing done in less time by understanding and leveraging your own energy levels and working style.
• Clearly define your subject and your own unique approach to it.
• Build the support network and line up the resources you’ll need to see the project through.
• Get crystal clear about your purpose — the great big “why” that powers everything else.
• Create an action plan and system to keep your book moving forward — at a pace you can sustain — no matter how crazy life gets.

Space is limited and will go fast — sign up now to guarantee your spot!

Book-writing coach and mentor Peggy Jordan specializes in helping busy professionals turn their book ideas into actual manuscripts.

With decades of experience as a marketing writer, technical writer, editor, trainer, mediator, songwriter, and jazz musician, Peggy knows the secrets of crafting language that sings — words that ring true and clear for both reader and writer.

She excels at helping authors find and maintain that delicate balance between creativity and discipline that gets results.

Join Peggy Jordan’s NEW Book Writers Quick-Start Workshop:

• October 22 – November 19
• Wednesdays, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
• $197

It’s that simple.

Remember the Woody Allen Quote about how 80% of success is showing up? Here’s your chance to show up for something that will make a real difference in your work and your life.

Email Peggy — right now — to sign up or learn more, and you will have taken the first big step.

Other workshop participants and clients have been thrilled with their results:

This is the best thing I’ve ever done for myself, and I couldn’t have done it without everyone’s support. Thank you, Peggy, for helping us achieve our dreams.

– Donna Geisler, partner at FusionSet, Inc. and author of I’ve Tried Marketing and It Works!

Peggy Jordan’s book writing workshop has been a powerful tool for me. I went from wanting to be a writer to actually becoming one. She is a wealth of knowledge and is kindly supportive and understanding about what the process of writing a book is all about.

– Sandra Wood, Inner Path Coaching, author of A Guide To Self-Empowerment

This is a famously supportive and well-structured workshop. Along the way, Peggy encourages, cajoles, and — in an ever supportive way — asks writers to keep up the pace, never give up, and keep their dream alive.

– Rochelle Lierz DeLong, CEO at Consilio and author of Paper Stories

Sign up today for Peggy Jordan’s NEW Book Writers Quick-Start Workshop:

• One month
• Five sessions
• A roomful of supportive peers
• Structure, direction, and support
• Only $197

You want to do this.

You can do this.

Isn’t it about time to take the first step?

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What does “there” look like? It’s easy to judge from the bleachers as a reader, but harder to keep perspective in mid-game when you’re the writer. We all know that it’s better to be useful than clever. The basic principles they teach in technical communication class are the basic characteristics successful business books have in common.

The good ones:

• Have a beginning, middle, and end, which appear in that order.
• Make sure the table of contents matches the chapter and section headings exactly.
• Decide what to put in and what to leave out based on what the reader needs to know, not what the author is itching to say.
• Present the material in a logical, linear sequence, even if the topic is not intrinsically linear.
• Write for a specific audience and have a clear purpose, as in “After reading this book, you will be able to do X.”

Sounds so obvious and so straightforward from the outside — but it’s amazing how easy it can be to get lost in the thick of the process and lose track of the bigger picture as my group and I work through the first drafts of our own books. And there’s more! Somehow in addition to the basics above, good non-fiction books also manage to be readable and even entertaining.

Do you read many business books? If you do, what do your favorites have in common that we could add to this list?

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At last week’s Capitol Club Toastmasters meeting, my assignment was to deliver a 5-to-7-minute speech with a clear purpose that got right to its point. And pretty much stayed there. So, instead of using my usual speech-writing method of free-writing for several pages pages, gradually winnowing all of that down to the best parts, then timing it, realizing I still had way to much material and winnowing again — I tried a new approach. This time, the written draft of my speech was only four sentences long.

I picked a topic, “How do you decide what to take on a backpacking trip?”

I listed in two sentences what I wanted the audience to learn and remember about that topic: “Take only what you’ll need to support the three main activities of any backpack trip: eating, hiking, and sleeping. And to make it easy, just remember how these line up with the three basic human needs we all learned in grade school: food, clothing, and shelter.”

I added the controlling, limiting factor: gravity, as in the weight of the pack. “Whatever you decide to bring, you’ll need to carry up and down mountains for several hours a day, so the goal is to pack light. ”

That was it. Since I’m kind of a geek on the subject and could easily hold forth on it for hours longer than anyone could stand listening, I knew I could ad lib enough to fill in around the food-clothing-shelter concept by discussing some of the variables that made it so hard to make packing decisions, and I knew I could stay on topic and on track by coming back over and over to food, clothing, and shelter.

It worked amazingly well! I had saved myself at least a couple of hours of writing time and ended up with a much better speech than usual. As FDR once said when asked how to be a good public speaker, “Be sincere. Be brief. And be seated.”

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The bottom line is that it is much easier for most writers to write other peoples’ stories, marketing copy, bios, or brochures than to write our own. My friend and fellow writer Nancy Gordon, of The Gordon Group, LLC, compares it to the case of the cobbler’s children who have no shoes. Whatever kind of work you do, you tend to be less motivated (or maybe more intimidated) about doing it for yourself or your loved ones than for your customers.

When I was in the restaurant business, I knew gifted chefs who ate only cereal with milk or PBJs at home. And I had a landscaper friend who always had elaborate plans for the perennial bed she never managed to plant in her own yard despite having beautified the gardens of half the town.

Maybe that’s what stops more experts from writing books: they have the expertise, the experience, the passion, the content to write a book, but actually doing it would mean taking time away from their customers and their business. And risking embarrassment. It’s one thing to give advice, it’s quite another to put it in writing and put it out there for public scrutiny. That’s the humbling lesson I was talking about. I realized that writers share the fear of writing that non-writers have when it comes to doing our own work.

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For consultants, coaches, and other entrepreneurs whose product is their expertise, writing a book is one of the best ways to establish credibility and market themselves. They know their material cold. The challenge lies in translating what’s between their ears to the printed page.

So, in response to requests from plenty of colleagues and a big kick in the butt from Tac Anderson, I’m coaching a group of four local superstar entrepreneurs through the process of writing their first business books.

The pilot biz book writers’ group includes Sarah Lewis, Kathy Martin, Rich Breton and of course Tac. We’re doing a workshop format supplemented by one-on-one coaching sessions as needed. Stay tuned for updates on our progress–the goal is for each of us (yep, that includes me) to have bona fide manuscripts completed by the end of September.

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