Calum’s Corner January 2019

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We got the year off to a fine start with our first session in 2019 at the Lansdowne Club. We welcomed several guests and a new member – Nick Ridley – and then had a very interesting talk from publisher Richard Hagen.

GK Chesterton had said that “everyone has a book in them – but in most cases that is where it should stay”. As someone who enables aspiring authors to come to market, Richard suggested that it was essential to really think about what it was you had to tell – and why you were the right person to tell this. He also recommended that you were very clear about how this could strengthen your business, and the opportunities to create an ecosystem of supporting materials that would confirm you as a leader in your field.

Richard sees three kinds of book proposals :
– data dumps : lists of facts padded out to make a book
– authors book : chapter and verse on the author’s experiences with everything included
– a directed journey : a clear route for the reader to get them to a particular objective

The latter is the one that will sell – especially if you are a clear expert in your field – and can make it interesting and of immediate benefit to the reader.

Ges Ray has just had a book developed with Richard which will be launched shortly. This provided a useful case study for the points made in the presentation. (Ges will be presenting in April so we can hear his side of the story…)

Richard has provided a copy of his presentation in the member’s area. If any of you are thinking about writing a book, he’d be delighted to hear from you.

Our next meeting is in a new venue and will be held on February 4th. Our speaker is Professor Ruth Bender, a recognised expert on corporate finance, who will be talking about the poor perception that society has of big business and ways in which we may be able to address this.

I look forward to seeing many of you there – and please bring guests along who may be interested in the topic – or who would like to come along for some stimulating conversations over a glass or two of wine.

Calum Byers
Chair, XTEND

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