Guest post By Lisa Tener, author and book coach

Have you noticed how many people are writing books lately? Maybe some colleagues and competitors in your field have recently become published authors.

Do you wonder if becoming a published author is for you?

A book can help you start a new business or take an existing medical practice or business to the next level. It can help you position yourself as an Expert in your field and open up new (or bigger) opportunities in public speaking, media attention, joint ventures and more.

Evana Maggiore, Author of Fashion Feng Shui: The Power of Dressing with Intention, has told me that she often hears from someone new who found her on the internet, read her book in a day and immediately signed up for her training program with a several thousand dollar price tag. Even those who don’t sign up for training often look for a fashion feng shui consultant who can help them dress their mind, body and spirit for powerful results. Evana’s book is out there attracting a following for her own business and businesses of FFS Consultants she trains 24/7—even when Evana is on vacation.

Aspiring authors tend to talk about their book to anyone and everyone—friends, family, people at cocktail parties. Mum’s the word. I’m not going to tell you they’ll steal your idea. That is extremely unlikely. The fact is, though, that the less energy you project outward about your book, the more you focus your energy inward into the writing. Talking about your book can take the place of writing it. Keep it quiet and write, write, write.

But wait. Before you just start writing mounds and mounds of stuff that someday you’ll have to wade through and organize and figure out how to put it all together into something coherent, take a deep breath and begin to plan.

Without a plan, how do you know what to do and how to get there? Everyone needs a plan. Plan your time; plan what you need to do; plan how to research your market before you begin; plan what you’ll do when you run into snags. Plan how you’ll get support, as well as any expertise you need. Support can come from a friend, colleague, writing cohort, coach or writing class. Expertise can come from people in your market (potential readers), editors, a writing coach, agents, publishers, colleagues and experts in your field.

Above all, have fun and stay connected to your passion for your subject. Writing a book, getting published and hearing from readers about how the book made a difference in their lives can be a peak experience. The more connect with what excites you about the subject, the more fun you’ll have.

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Lisa Tener is a published author and book coach. She teaches on the faculty of Harvard Medical School’s CME publishing course. Lisa has been interviewed on ABC World News with Peter Jennings, NiteBeat and PBS-TV and quoted in USA Weekend, Glamour, Family Circle, Body and Soul, Fitness, the Boston Globe and dozens of other publications. Her clients have been interviewed on Oprah, Montel and much more.

Join us at The Entrepreneurial MD for our free monthly Business Development teleclass in February with Lisa.