If you are mulling the idea of writing a book, the first question to ask yourself is why. Do you want to write a book to increase your business? To establish yourself as an expert? To share your wealth of knowledge or tell your story?
All of the above are good reasons and not mutually exclusive. Identifying the ‘why’ will help to narrow down your target audience. For example, abook for women interesting in anti-aging treatments has different requirements than a book written on body shaping, weight loss and fitness.
A book can be a very long process, even if you are self-publishing or going the print-on-demand route. Most cosmetic surgery and beauty-related topics are not big money makers so getting a publisher interested in buying your manuscript is challenging, unless you have a national profile, or A-list celebrity endorsement, or are willing to purchase a large quantity of books yourself.
Write About What you Know
This is writing 101 advice, and it always holds true. If you want to be seen as an expert on a topic, you kind of have to be one to begin with. Choose a theme that has some personal significance to you and one that will help elevate your profile in an area of your expertise that you want to be known for. Before you put pen to paper, see what else is out there. Is your choice a popular topic, and if so, is your take any different than the many books out there covering the same subject. Visit Amazon.com and BN.com and find out what similar books are already available, and make yours different.
First you will need to decide on a structure and concise outline; chapter titles, sub-chapters, etc. You may already have a lot of content at your fingertips that can be easily repurposed and repackaged in book form. You can either pull the material together yourself or hire an editor to help. This includes blog posts, white papers, and even your answers to questions posed on RealSelf can be turned into book content. Generally a consumer book should be at least 128 pages (think in multiples of 4 due to page layouts) to constitute a real ‘book’ and not a ‘booklet.’ If you plan to include photographs, and it is advisable, consider additional pages needed. Your book cover and imagery are also going to be important and should be professionally designed to tie into your branding and have visual appeal.
