Use your book for business

Part one: decide what the book is for

1. Drop the royalty plan

   Read The Scribe Method, chapter 36, Realistic and unrealistic expectations, and chapter 38, How to make money with your book.

   Why first: the book itself rarely pays through sales. These chapters show where the return usually comes from instead: consulting, speaking, clients and partnerships.

   Then: write down the one result that would make a book worth it for your business. Be specific: a kind of client, a kind of stage, a kind of partner.

2. Run your own numbers

   Use the Book ROI Calculator. The running estimate is visible as you type; the full report asks for your email.

   Why now: it puts a number on what one more client is worth to you over time. The useful question is how many clients a book would need to bring in to justify the effort, and whether that is believable.

   Then: if the answer is "one or two," a book is worth serious thought. If it is "dozens," look hard at other marketing first.

3. Hear the case made honestly, then see it applied

   Watch the 40-minute webinar (it asks for name, email and phone) or, if you would rather read, Big Book Payoffs (email). Then filter the success stories to your industry and read three.

   Why now: the webinar and book give the reasoning; the stories show the mechanics. Read the stories for what authors did, not for the headline numbers, which are chosen successes.

   Then: list three specific things those authors did with their books that you could also do.

4. Aim the book at your buyer

   Read chapters 6 and 7, then use the North Star tool (or chapter 9 without an email).

   Why now: a business book works when the reader is your ideal client in the moment they need you. That has to be decided before writing, not after.

   Then: read chapter 40, How much should you give away? Its argument, teach rather than pitch, is the one business authors most often get wrong.

In the middle: write and publish

Follow plan your book, write your first draft and publish your manuscript, or hire help for some or all of it. Scribe's ghostwriting comparison lays out the tradeoffs, from a company that sells the help.

Part two: put the book to work

1. Plan the launch content

   Read the blog's book launch content calendar and launch social media campaign guides. Skim a few Book Bites to see how a chapter becomes a short article.

   Why first: the launch is when people who already know you hear about the book. It is easier to prepare the material before publication than after.

   Then: draft three short articles from three chapters, in the Book Bites shape: one idea, plainly told.

2. Decide about speaking, then follow the playbook

   Work through the Speaking Playbook, and listen to the Author Hour episode on turning a book into a speaking business.

   Why now: the playbook starts by asking whether speaking fits your goals at all. If it does, it gives a step order: audience, stages, angle, proof, pitch, fee.

   Then: list 25 to 30 ideal clients and find out which events they attend. Offer one local talk, and film it.

3. Put the book in the sales process

   Go back to the success stories filtered by the goal "attract new clients," and look for the moment in each story where the book changed a conversation.

   Why last: by now you have the book and the launch behind you. This is the long, quiet part, where the book does the most work.

   Then: decide who gets a copy and when: before a first meeting, after a talk, with a proposal. Write it into how you sell, and track which clients mention it.

A word on financial advisors

Scribe has run advisor-specific material before. When we checked on October 20, 2026, the old masterclass address redirected to a sales page rather than a free class, so we do not list it. The resources on this path all apply to advisors.