Writing Tips
Indeed, the road to publication success is littered with frustrations. "Don't think the deadlines you set will be met, or that every time you edit will be the final edit," says Karen Lee, a certified financial planner at Karen Lee and Associates in Atlanta who spent nearly two years completing her book, It's Just Money, So Why Does It Cause So Many Problems?
If you're not up for the long haul, consider contributing to an anthology. Kristopher Flammang, co-founder of LPF Financial Advisors in Sarasota, Fla., wrote a chapter of his firm's book, Plan of Action: Strategies to Help You Build and Preserve Wealth. Even so, it wasn't always easy going. "Definitely have someone who holds you accountable to deadlines," Flammang suggests. "Write when you feel motivated, in an environment that's good for you. For me, that was late at night when my family was asleep."
Many find it easier to write longhand than at a computer, or even to dictate to a tape recorder. The only rule of thumb is that there is no rule of thumb. Whatever gets the job done is what's best. "If you know the main points but have trouble filling in the details, a ghost writer can be helpful," adds Flammang.
When In Doubt, Delegate
Helpful? Some would say essential. Gordon Bernhardt, president and CEO of Bernhardt Wealth Management in McLean, Va., credits his crew of experts with making possible his book Profiles in Success: Inspiration from Executive Leaders in the Washington D.C. Area. "I believe in delegating as much as you can to people who know what they are doing so I can focus on the things that I am good at," he says.
There's little question that every writer needs a good editor. Michael Kay, the president of Financial Focus, a financial planning firm in Livingston, N.J., and author of The Business of Life: An "Inside-Out" Approach to Building a More Successful Financial Planning Practice, recalls the independent editor he found through a friend "worked with me on book structure [and] coached me through each chapter. She did the edits for grammar and flow, sending me her recommendations or pointing out areas that needed to be rewritten because of lack of clarity or grammatical issues. But I did all the actual writing," he says.
Clearly, finding the right help is crucial. "Work with the best you can find and get out of the way," advises Kay.
The rewards may speak for themselves. Lee, the financial planner in Atlanta, says her finished book gave her a "sense of immense achievement." That it also promoted her business was "a wonderful added value," she says.