Everyone Knows Something About Something

What do you know? Everyone knows something about something. That makes you an expert.

Experts write books. Then they become expert authors or author experts.

Here’s the amazing thing: You don’t have to write a long book to become an author expert. I read a blog post not long ago by author expert and marketing wiz Seth Godin in which he said it was harder to condense what you know into a short book; long books, he argued, are just our attempts to prove what we know.

Recently I received a beautiful handmade card from a woman who attended my “Write a Short Book Fast” workshop. In it she thanked me for the workshop and explained that the card is an example of those she creates. Not only that, she said, she is writing a booklet–a short book–on how others can make similar cards. Why? Because she’s an expert on how to make such beautiful hand-made cards.

You know what? Once she’s written and published that short book, she will have an easy time going out and speaking on the topic. She can run workshops or do webinars–and make money doing so. Plus, she can sell her little book at the same time an make even more money.

I’ve written a number of short books. I wrote short books about moving through fear, conscious creation, transforming empty religious practices into meaning-full and spirit-full rituals and prayer, Sabbath candle lighting, New Year’s resolutions, evaluating a book for success, and the 10 Days of Awe during the High Holy Days. (You can find them all here.)

What about you? What do you know? What can you write a short book about?

Photo courtesy of jakecaptive