Penelope Trunk on Book Publishing

Eighty-one percent of adults think they should write a book. In the same column where the New York Times reports this astounding statistic, the columnist, Joseph Epstein, provides the reasons why you should not have a book. Mostly, that your book will suck. But the problem is bigger than that.

Book writing is the distraction of the new millennium. Huge Macloed (author of the new book Evil Plans) thinks people are obsessed with writing books because of their misguided idea that a writer’slife is nice. Money advisor (and author) Ramit Sethi points out that the world of book authors is a financial wasteland and you’re better off investing your meager salary than writing a book.

The only real reason to write a book is to bolster your personal brand. Here’s how to do that more effectively, without writing a book:

So, what you should do instead of a book?

Most people who think they need a book deal probably need to answer the question: What will I be doing two years after that book? Do you really need the book to get where you want to go? Probably not. Talk to people who are, right now, where you want to be. Ask them if they really needed a book to get there. Ask them what was most important to get to where they are. Do that instead.

Authority comes from a track record, from ideas, from vision. You can get this by building a strong network and job hopping through opportunities that create a wake of success. There is no way around the hard work and deep thinking and commitment that comes with authority. And once you have that, you won’t need a book – so really, and book, is a sign that you haven’t reached your authority.

You need to be known as someone who has ideas, yes, but also can execute on them. A stable career needs a combination. Book authors tend to focus on just ideas. Use brand-building tools that are more likely to bring you financial stability – such a social networking tools like foursquare and collaborative thinking tools like pbwiki.

Books do not change. Few people can build a career on ideas that don’t change. If you’re writing a book for your personal brand, give yourself more credit – your brand needs a dynamic presence online that is mutable enough to support and ever-changing lifestyles and goals.

Guest Author:

Penelope Trunk is CEO of Brazen Careerist, a career management tool for next-generation professionals. Penelope is the author of a bestselling career advice book for generation y and the number one career blog.

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