An alternative guide to marketing yourself and becoming an authority in your field.

Logic dictates that anyone with a level of expertise would strive to get paid their worth. The big bucks land in the pocket of those with undeniable authority.

Sure, we all know there’s a hard way to the top, but is there a short cut?

In this the Google Age there is always a faster way to establish yourself as an authority in your field. Let’s be clear, what we’re talking about here is success. Successful people charge more, their inboxes are never empty and their phones ring off the hook.

Setting yourself up as an authority figure isn’t just about being an expert, it’s a way to raise your fees and fill up your calendar.

The fastest way to make your mark is to write a defining book. It mind sound like a little unrealistic, but let the idea run through your mind a few time before you dismiss it and before you do, here’s a couple of secrets.

Number one: People write books all the time.

Number two: Before they’d written their first book, 100% of authors had never written a book either.

How to write a book is a book in itself and one worth reading, but skipping to the point. Writing an eBook requires no more knowledge than you already possess. It is as simple as collecting your thoughts and breaking them down into digestible chunks.

To start with, come up with a title which will explain the problem you’re aiming to solve, like say… How to write a book. Next, map out the journey. To do this, just break down the steps into logical chunks. These steps will become your chapters. Then finally, all you need to do is fill in the gaps.

Of course, there’s also format and editing, and publishing and marketing, and it’s more work than this article suggests, but you’re closer to your first draft than you were a moment ago.

There is, of course, a simpler way. Writing a book which establishes yourself as the leader in you field is not a new idea and therefore if you want to get it right you could hire a guide.

If you’re new to the idea, you’re not late to the party. While some Ghost-writers, mentors and co-pilots are already house hold names, in the rest of the field it’s anyone’s race. Sunil Tulsiani is one such contender. Sunil is a regular on the Entrepreneurial trail and when he’s not a key note speaker, he spends his time as a sort of ghost-writer fixer.

Working with successful business writers is a useful hack to pardon the pun. Not only will you save your self a tonne of legwork, you’ll instantly reap the rewards of gracing the front cover with a known quantity. How much work you want to save is going to depend on how short you want to that shortcut to be.

Sunil Tulsiani’s contact list boasts some impressive names. Former ‘Shark Tank’ Shark Kevin Harrington and best selling author Robert G Allen make a showing and like the others in Sunil’s little black book they are open to collaboration.

Remember, your book will become your calling card. You can even send copies ahead of meetings. If that book happens to have been co-written by Brian Tracy, the author of Earn What You’re Worth, then there really is no down side.

Whether you decide to go ‘maverick’ or ‘tried and tested’, the process of authoring a book is the same. You just need the gusto to get it out of the parking lot and onto the highway. With that in mind, here are five easy steps to take you from Foreword to Appendix.

Here are some questions we asked Sunil Tulsiani during a phone call:

1: How important is research?

Sunil Tulsiani: Great books have great foundations. Don’t skimp on your material. If you do have a co-pilot like an established celebrity or undeniable expert who has already published best sellers, make sure you listen to them and remember they’ve trodden these boards before.

2: How do you recommend taking notes?

Sunil Tulsiani: It doesn’t matter what format your notes take. You’ll need to get them in order and get them together. Your best-seller is in there… you just have to find it. If your masterpiece is a joint venture you’ll need to make sure everyone has access to everything. Everyone has a different style of note taking. What matters is that you can sift through and share them in a way that is easy to understand.

3: What to do once you finish the book?

Sunil Tulsiani: Finishing a book is just a new starting point. Most books are never read, and don’t make the Amazon best seller list and it’s not because they aren’t any good. They fail because there was no launch strategy, designed to get in front of readers. If you’ve opted to co-write your book with a celebrity who’s audience is loyal and eager, ignore this message… (go on punch the air, you’ve earned it)

4: How to get the book out there?

Sunil Tulsiani: There are two routes to publishing, Traditional and Self Publishing. Traditional publishing is every author’s dream and one which is seldom realized. Self publishing is the simpler avenue and there are a ton of resources out there to help you. If you’ve chosen for a team effort, then your co-writer probably has a ton of connections already.

Lastly, promoting the book is critical to it’s success after the completion of your masterpiece. You’ll need to get your name on the right lips and there’s a whole sub industry just waiting to help. Sometimes the simplest ways are best, so read up on Social Media ads and marketing and make sure you check the market. Once again, if you’ve employed the services of a fixer like Sunil Tulsiani, it’s likely your co-conspirator has access to invaluable resources and knows a few insider tricks.

In summary

Writing a book used to be something we’d promise to in our twilight years, but in this hyper-connected world it’s now a viable and valuable use of our time. There’s nothing in the rules which says you can’t make it personal either, in fact, a little wit or personality could even win you praise. The point is, if you want to earn your place at the head of the table, writing a defining book is now a shortcut. You can go it alone and it will still save your years of grinding, or with the help of someone like Sunil Tulsiani, the shortcut could be just over the next rise.