Thursday’s profit tip for authors

Few know as much about business plans as Tim Berry, whom I will be interviewing for Jay Conrad Levinson’s Guerrilla Marketing Association next week. During our interview, one of the most important questions I’ll be asking is, “Which should come first–the plan for the book or the plan for the business?”

Tim was the principal author of Palo Alto Software’s Business Plan Pro, the country’s bestselling business planning software. Tim is an active blogger and the author of several books, including The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan which has been at the top, or near the top, of the list of best-selling business books at Amazon.com.

Successfully published authors frequently bring up the topic of business plans during my Published & Profitable Author Interviews. Numerous recent guests, including Michael Port (Book Yourself Solid) and C. J. Hayden (Get Clients Now!) have emphasized the importance of viewing nonfiction books as a marketing tool for their business, rather than viewing profits from book sales as their primary source of income. (Other guests focus more on the act of writing and overcoming obstacles to getting published.)

The above “book as marketing tool” approach, of course, is at odds with the concept of “creative writing” and “writing the book you want to read.”

Business plans made practical
The reason authors, and would-be authors, should attend my interview next week with Tim Berry is that Tim’s Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan makes business planning practical for impatient authors and entrepreneurs who–in general–are more comfortable writing and acting rather than planning.

Tim’s book offers a practical alternative to avoiding the topic of business plans altogether–a certain route to disaster–or settling for pre-packaged “cookie cutter” plans on the one hand, or paying great amounts of money to have a customized business plan created by a financial professional in your area.

No one knows your business like you do–whether you’re writing a book to promote an existing business, or writing a book to promote a new business. Tim’s book walks you through the process of creating a living, breathing, business plan that puts you in control, and saves you time and resources for investing in your book and your business.

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I’ll be interviewing Tim Berry Wednesday night, October 8, between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM EST. If you’d like to attend, to listen or ask questions, visit the Guerrilla Marketing Association or contact me via e-mail.

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