TA #83: 📬 When You Should Write Your Book; How to Ask Better Questions; WTOTF

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Welcome to the 83rd issue of Total Annarchy, a fortnightly newsletter by me, Ann Handley, with a focus on writing, marketing, life. A special high-five to new subscribers from AWAI Summit and that Clubhouse room the other day. Thank you for being here! I appreciate you.

Boston, Sunday, March 28, 2021

Hello, Best Beloved.

From time to time I answer reader questions. This is one of those times.

<Hoists mailbag onto table. Rummages around. Pulls out reader letter.>*

*Kidding. Of course questions come via email. But "clicked email and pasted here" doesn't land quite the same, does it?

"How do you know when the time is right to draft your first book? Did you feel overwhelmed by writing about such a competitive topic?" —Sara

Let's answer the first part of that question with a visualization. (Walk with me...)

I

You're wandering through the aisles of a bookstore/clicking around the virtual aisles on Amazon. You eye a certain book tucked on a shelf. A small shock of recognition: The topic. The positioning. You're staring at the book you wanted to write. But didn't.

Maybe the title is different, or the jacket. But the gist is the same... and the author's face isn't your face.

What's your gut screaming at you, in that moment? Check one:

___ Eh. My gut isn't screaming at all. My gut is rational. Non-emotive. Gut assesses the situation. "Welp, this proves it was a good idea," Gut shrugs. If Gut is spritzed with a perfume of regret, he's not admitting it. (If Gut were a marketer, he'd be 1000% data-driven. Perhaps head of MOPs.)

___ "*&&@)$*$!!!!," Gut says. He's wailing. WAILING. Melting down right there in the aisle.

If you vibe with the latter, start writing.

Not because of jealousy, ego, or resentment that someone else did something you didn't.

But because you need to honor an idea—your Idea—that has established residency in your head. Idea has moved in, redecorated, added throw pillows, tacked up twinkle lights.

Idea has become so much a part of you that everything you see is through Idea's lens.

The wailing (WAILING!) is because you didn't share Idea with the rest of the world. You just let the two of you grow creaky and old together. The two of you finishing each other's sentences. Like a weird Cult of Two.

The time to write your first book is when you can't not write it anymore. Because Idea deserves it. And you both know it.

And, by the way, we're talking about book-writing here... but this advice applies to almost anything worth doing—a new business, a new screenplay, a new career direction.

Fifteen years ago this month, Jack Dorsey posted a sketch to Flickr of an Idea that would become Twitter. He'd drawn his Idea 5 years earlier, he writes. And, increasingly, the Idea slipped into everything he created.

Twitter, Jack says, "was everywhere I looked."

II

Yeah... but what about the competition? The other books on the very same topic? There are already one jillion books about... well, everything.

What books? Where?

"There is no competition," my friend Mitch Joel said recently on Clubhouse. (I loved it so much I wrote it down.) Other books are out there, but they aren't written by you.

III

I believe everyone has at least one book in them—one story worth telling to others.

Publish it when... [a checklist]:

☑️ You're ready to move from writer to author.

>> A writer is a vocation (sometimes a calling). Author is a job.

☑️ You have an audience you've built.

>> Your "audience" doesn't have to fill a football stadium. But it should be at least 99 people who know, like, trust you and want to hear from you. (99 is a little arbitrary, but I picked it because it's a solid foundation, and it's doable.)

☑️ Your book solves a problem for a certain person. And you know exactly who that person is.

☑️ You can distill that problem you solve into one sentence.

>> Pro tip: Write the landing page for your book before you write the book. It can help you clarify, focus.

☑️ Whatever you write... you write in a way others can recognize as you.

>> If you cover up your face/name on your book... would others recognize your writing voice?

>> A strong writing voice is your differentiator. Hone it. Nurture it. Grow it. It'll serve you well in writing anything and everything—from books to blog posts.

☑️ You're willing to be vulnerable.

It's scary to put your ideas out there, because it opens you up to criticism. People won't like what you have to say. Jerks on Goodreads will give you one star just for the fun of it. "It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are," said e.e. cummings.

>> It took me years to truly tap that courage and let it flow—sluggishly at first, then more freely—until you don't really care what Goodreads thinks. (Usually.)

IV

I'm working through some of these 6 things right now—not with my first book (that was Content Rules, published 10 years ago)—but with my new book.

Maybe that says something about me, but I don't think so. I think it says something about us all.

* * *

I had 2 other questions I had planned to answer today. But I guess I had a lot to say about Sara's. LOL.

Moving on... here are a few things you should know this week.

Ask Force

How do you ask better questions? The lessons in this podcast hold no matter what content you're creating—podcasts, blog posts, e-books, puppet shows.

A few tips:

Don't research to script questions; research to pursue "interestingness."
Finding moments they've forgotten about makes your interview subject feel seen. They appreciate your effort—and it makes them lean in, put in a little more effort, too. (<<< Double-liking this one)
You are an investigator, not an expert. Admitting your ignorance is a strength, not a weakness.
You have one job: to be a tour guide for the audience.

This podcast episode is different—and very meta—because Jay Acunzo and Kerry Gorgone unpack clips from one of Kerry's favorite podcasts to tease out bigger lessons. It feels like a combination of Inside the Actor's Studio and MTV Unplugged. It's a good one. That link again: How to Create Better Content by Conducting Better Interviews.

WTOTF
Writing Tip of the Fortnight

The world lost an icon this week: The children's book author Beverly Cleary died at 104.

Her characters Beezus and Ramona are two of the reasons I became a writer: I read their stories and loved them and my 8-year-old self said, "I can do that." So today's tip is inspired by the woman who inspired me:

"Keep it funny. People always like to read something funny." —Beverly Cleary

QUICKIES

▶️ How to Write for Instagram. Write more compelling Instagram captions with these three simple tricks.

▶️ MarketingProfs B2B Forum, Spring Edition is happening in less than 2 weeks. (Free for MarketingProfs PRO members.) I got a sneak peek at Nancy Harhut's keynote ("New Scientific Secrets of Super Persuasive Communicators") and her opening story involving a 16-year-old Nancy and Paul Blart is worth the price of admission.

COST: FREE for PRO Members, or Code ANNSENTME saves you $100 clams.

▶️ "It was raining." + 48 Reasons I Haven't Written My Book Yet

I feel seen. From writer/TA reader/world's funniest litigator Doug Jasinski.

SPECIAL EVENT

Join me on April 14 for a free event on creating Next-Gen Newsletters that your customers will clear their schedules to read. It's gonna be a fun one. Register here (or click on the image).

DEPARTMENT OF SHENANIGANS

I love this analog auto-responder from iconic science fiction author Robert Heinlein. Heinlein created a form letter that included responses to 21 common questions and requests to deal with fan mail and other inquiries.

There's something delicious about this one: "Please do not write to me again." (h/t Cal Newport)

LOVE LETTERS

💌 To Chris Penn for including this newsletter in his piece on the coming explosion in influencer marketing.

💌 To IDG for including this newsletter in its International Women's Day piece on resources.

💌 To Ann Gynn at the Content Marketing Institute (also India White, Adelina Karpenkova, Rich Schwerin, Jyotthsnaa A Sharma, CJ Xia, Dennis Shiao, Monina Wagner) for naming both my books as must-read marketing books written by women.
P.S. Second love letter to Ann Gynn in this piece for the discussion on "woman" vs. "female."

💌 To Stacey Freed at Contently for interviewing me while I was sitting in my car in my driveway for this piece on freelancing tools.

💌 To Chandrima Samanta interview at MartechCube for including me in this list of 10 women marketers redefining tech.

* * *

Thanks for reading this far. Thanks for your kindness and generosity.

Stay safe. Stay sane. Wear a mask. We're getting there.

I'll be back on April 11.

P.S. If you like this newsletter and want to support it, you can:

1) buy a book.
2) Get yourself some $WORD coin. (Read more about creator coins here.)
3) Simply forward this newsletter to a friend with an invitation to subscribe right here: www.annhandley.com/newsletter.

SPECIAL THANKS to AWeber for being the provider of choice for Total Annarchy. If you are looking to up your email game, give them a shout.

Ann Handley is the author of Everybody Writes and other books.
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Ann Handley

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TA #83: 📬 When You Should Write Your Book; How to Ask Better Questions; WTOTF

Older messages

TA #82: ✍️ Creator Coins; the One Word That Makes Your Customers Snap into Action; Make Your Writing Come Alive

TA #81: ✍️ The Creative Process; Writing Advice from Warren; Reader Challenge Results!

TA #80: 💌 TikTok with the Best Writing Advice (No Really); Cute Puppy Photos; Why I Like Clubhouse

TA #79: 🎩 Products with Personality

TA #78: 🎂 What I've Learned from 3 Years of Total Annarchy

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