Anthology Resources for Business Book Content

Last time we talked about how writing a monthly blog can keep you on track to completing a book’s worth of material. But there are many other ways you can create content for a business book that will let you present your unique message to your reading audience. Here are a few anthology ideas to get you thinking:

The "Best of” Anthology

If you have already been creating content, collecting and editing your work into a “Best of” book brings it all together in an easy-to-read format. For instance, the work of many columnists such as Mike Royko and Miss Manners has been offered in book form after it was originally published in newspapers.

You can group previously written articles to appeal to special interest readers and order the chapters to deliver a particular message. Don’t worry that your content is already available elsewhere. People do like the convenience of having it nicely presented in one place. Just check where you previously published to be sure that you still own the rights.

Also, who among is ever totally satisfied with what we produced? Repackaging older content gives you the opportunity to clean up awkward writing and update examples. 

The “Expert Panel” Anthology

Another way to write a book is to let other people do the work for you – and they will be happy to do so! Colleagues and complementary businesses would also love to have book published and are facing the same hurdles you are in producing one. By working together, all of you can be authors in a shorter amount of time and with a stronger message than you might have come up with on your own. 

Look for co-authors who have the same target market as you, but who provide complementary services or who work in different geographical locations. Choose a theme that will resonate with your readers. Some examples I have seen are “women business owners share their success journeys,” “coping techniques from special needs families” and even “tips from self-published writers.”

The “Case Study” Anthology

Real-life examples of the impact of your expertise makes for powerful content. Providing proof of success is both motivating and helpful for alleviating suspicion so readers will be more receptive to your message. Just like in a fiction story, folks can identify with the protagonist in each case study since they face similar challenges and set-backs. Through your story-telling, readers can envision themselves slaying the same dragons, with your help. 

Being able to identify the cases you share would be great, but your clients may not agree to be featured. You should still be able to tell their story in an interesting way that will appeal to your readers and get your unique message across.

Producing content for a book is not easy. Nor should it be. Each of us should have a good reason to add to the vast amount of content that is already out there. But you shouldn’t give up writing your own book as an impossible dream either. If you have a message you really want to share, you should pursue publishing, in whatever form makes sense for you.