10 Ways You Can Enhance Your HR Career By Writing Your Own Book — and How To Get One Done Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible!
by Alan Collins
I recently finished my 4th book, Your HR Goldmine.
To celebrate, I went out to dinner with a bunch of colleagues and friends at Ditka’s in Chicago. Thick steaks. Lots of mashed potatoes. Chocolate cake. Plenty of adult beverages.
Quite a few diets were abandoned that night.
There was also great conversation about the book.
But not what you’d expect.
Most of the comments were some variation of the following:
“Jeez, I’d like to write a book too, but…,”
“I have an idea for a book, however…,”
“I wish I had the time to write a book…”
“A book? I wouldn’t know where to start…”
I told the HR folks in the group that I understood. At one time, I felt the same way. But, based on what I knew about each of them, I strongly suggested that they, too, should get their OWN book going – now!
When they asked why, I was in no mental condition to answer them clearly…especially after a full meal and two vodka martinis. But I promised them I’d write out my rationale, post it on my blog…and provide them with some “help” on how to get their own book done fast.
So, guys, here you go. I’m delivering on my promise.
Here are 10 big reasons to author your own HR book…
#1: Your own HR book is a powerful marketing tool that sells your HR capabilities 24/7.
If you’ve read my first book, Unwritten HR Rules, you know that I am a firm believer that if you truly want to enhance your influence, prominence, credibility, career and financial success in HR, you must learn how to promote yourself.
In fact, the most important sale you’ll ever make in your HR career is the decision to start selling yourself and your accomplishments even more. However, it’s tough to do this without coming across like some complete, utter jerk.
So, if you’ve shied away from doing this, then your own book is an ideal marketing tool. By using your book to “share your knowledge with others,” it allows you subtly “advertise” your HR brilliance to the marketplace — without appearing arrogant.
#2: Your own HR book gets you instant respect and credibility.
It sounds crazy, but our society immediately holds you in higher regard once you’ve written your own book…even if your book never sells one single, stinkin’ copy.
Your book documents that you know your stuff. And, people are more likely to take advice from you once they perceive you as an established expert and a credible source.
When you’ve written your book, you are now seen as a “go-to” authority and trusted advisor on that subject by others. And you are!
Also, if you’ve ever dreamed of someday building a national (or even global) reputation in your HR specialty…then your book is your vehicle for getting the ball rolling.
#3: Your own HR book differentiates you from 99% of the HR pack and leapfrogs you to the front of the line.
Having a finished book with your name on the front cover immediately makes you stand out as unique in HR from those without one.
If you’re looking to land a new job, impress a client or a capture a plumb consulting assignment, you have a HUGE competitive advantage over the glut of other potential HR professionals out there who have only their resume and maybe a decent LinkedIn profile working on their behalf.
It’s like bringing a bazooka to a knife fight.
#4: Your own HR book will enlarge your network.
Today, job security does not exist. The closest thing to a “job security blanket” is a wide network of contacts that can open doors and produce job leads for you.
After I released my first book, my contact network increased exponentially. My LinkedIn network increased by 700+ people in four months. My Twitter followers by 2500+ in three months. And my offline network of contacts increased significantly too. I attribute just about all of it to my book.
This is not unusual. Your book will attract new people that will want to affiliate with you, partner with you, build a relationship with you or simply add you to their network of contacts. This is includes recruiters, headhunters, potential hiring managers, consultants, consulting firms or others who are impressed with you – you, the published author.
#5: Your own HR book creates a source of extra income.
Let’s be clear. Unless you are a J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, don’t expect to make millions from a book.
Even the big names in HR — David Ulrich, John Sullivan, Libby Sartain, John Boudreau, Jac Fitz-enz and others — don’t make HUGE dollars from book sales alone. Now, they DO make a decent side income from their books…but they get much, much bigger paychecks by capitalizing on the huge number of income opportunities that their books have created for them.
For example, as authors in HR, they get sought out by companies and executives who will more readily pay them for their consulting, coaching and advice. Others pay them to appear and speak in workshops, classes, seminars, keynotes or on panels. They also create cash flow from their webinars or teleseminars.
All of these are just a few income opportunities that can potentially open up to YOU, too, as an author.
But, even if you have just a TINY amount of success with your book, you’ll can still wind up putting a few extra dollars in your pocket. And, taking advantage of just one or two unexpected income opportunities that your book will create for you every now and then, isn’t a bad thing for your career either.
#6: Your own HR book gives you tax advantages.
The other financial benefit of your own book is that you are permitted to claim deductions as a result of running a business from your home. Now, I’m not a tax attorney and I don’t play one on TV, so I can’t give you legal advice. But in many cases, it is possible that in your “new career” as a part-time author, you may be able to deduct expenses related to the cost of a computer, internet service, office equipment (fax machine, printer, scanner) and furniture, hardware, software and other expenses. Certainly, worth checking out.
#7: Your own HR book is the most powerful business card on the planet.
Almost everyone has a business card. And, on a busy day, for a busy person, a dozen or so business cards may change hands. However, business cards are easy to misplace, forget about and lose.
If you’re a savvy HR pro, why not use your book as your “calling card.” Handing your book to key people instead of a crappy little card creates a distinctive impression. Nothing quite has the impact of a copy of your book which contains your credentials, contact information, something about your HR philosophy, thoughts and insights.
A book which that contains all that becomes one of the most powerful calling cards there is. First, it marks you in the mind of the person who has received it as being someone different to everyone else they have met that day.
Also, unlike a business card a book is hard to misplace, difficult to lose and next to impossible to forget about.
Third, by its very presence your book invites closer examination and a leafing of pages, at the very least, making your message to the receiver much more powerful than just a business card.
#8: Your own HR book can be your advocacy tool for communicating your unique message to the world.
One of the best ways of standing out in HR is to be an advocate. Those who change, influence or put their fingerprints on the HR profession tend to be advocates of some point of view.
You can be an advocate of HR leadership. Or an advocate of work/life balance. Or an advocate of talent development. Or an advocate of HR technology. Or you can be an advocate for HR managers in unionized manufacturing locations. You can slice up the HR field however you’d like and become a passionate advocate for your piece of the profession. The choice is yours.
And book is an outstanding vehicle for communicating your advocacy message and making a lasting impact on the profession.
Since everyone won’t own your book, you can also break it up and use chapters in your book to get your “message” out in small chunks – on the internet, as articles, on blogs, within newsletters and magazines to further promote your name, your reputation and your cause.
#9: Your own HR book enables you to make a difference in the lives of those you’ll never meet.
When you write a book, it has reach across the globe and its contents can help people who may live thousands of miles away who can benefit from your message. And as such, it is allows you to touch all types of people in your audience who can benefit from your wisdom and brilliance.
#10: Your own HR book provides you with a sense of accomplishment that will stay with you for the rest of your life.
When you write a book, you will feel a great sense of achievement because you’ve done something that most people will never do. And you’ve gained a title most will never have: “author.”
This is a title that will stay with you forever. It’s not an HR job title. It’s a permanent title. When you work for someone, you may have earned a certain job title within the company. But when you change jobs, you no longer have the right to refer to yourself using that old job title as your current title. But, as an author, you will carry that accomplishment with you to your grave.
There you have it. These are just a few of the benefits of writing your own book.
With that said, obviously writing a book isn’t for everyone. And, there are plenty of HR folks who do quite well in their careers without one. However, if you’d think you would like to do a book either now or sometime in the future. Then let me tell what I’ve put together for you.
It’s called..
WRITE YOUR OWN HR BOOK FAST!
Take Your Career in Human Resources
To The Next Level By Authoring Your
Own Book – Even If You Don’t Know
Where To Start or Have Anything To Say!
It’s a quick-read, no fluff 10-page special report (plus a 20-minute downloadable step-by-step video). And it’s geared for anyone in HR that would absolutely love to write their own book, but just doesn’t have the time…or the skill.
It describes ONE way to get your book done using an approach called “The Down & Dirty Method.” By using some easy-to-follow, simple “down and dirty” steps, you will be able to author your own book faster than you thought possible – even if you don’t have anything to say or know where to start.
I came across this super-fast book writing technique from an expert who has made over $14 million writing about and sharing his skills and expertise. (I’ll reveal to you who this expert is in this guide – hint: he’s not in HR.) However, you can use his secret to author a book in your area of expertise in Human Resources.
If all this all sounds familiar to you, it should. I offered this exact same product as a free bonus to the first 300 people who bought my book, Your HR Goldmine, a few weeks ago.
Because it’s is the ideal complement to the Goldmine book, I gave this to my “early bird” purchasers as my free gift. BUT I promised them that I’d never again offer this as a freebie.
However, I am now releasing it again. But to keep my promise to them, it is not free (that’s only fair). But I’m only going to charge you a token amount. For now, you can grab it for 10 bucks. That’s less than price of a decent lunch at your favorite restaurant (without vodtka martinis). You can order it by CLICKING HERE.
I’m pricing this cheap because I want to get this into the hands of as many serious HR people as possible and I don’t want money to be an obstacle.
However, I’m not sure how long I’ll be offering it. And if this thing takes off, I’m not sure how long I’ll keep it at this low price. Just being honest. But for right now, you can get it by simply CLICKING HERE.
Whether you decide to get or not, authoring your own book is something that you should strongly consider as part of your HR career enhancement strategy.
Again, you can grab this special report (which is a downloadable PDF) and the downloadable video by CLICKING HERE.
CLICK HERE to comment on this article or ask questions.
About the author:
Alan Collins was Vice President – Human Resources at PepsiCo where he led HR initiatives for their Quaker Oats, Gatorade and Tropicana businesses. He is now Founder of Success in HR, Inc. and his NEW book, YOUR HR GOLDMINE is now is available on Amazon.
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Thank you for excellent ideas Alan. Every time you add value to our professional career path.
[...] Nobody has time to read 300-page HR books anymore. Use this to your advantage. Put together a 60-80 page book on a project you’ve accomplished or a problem you’ve solved that appeals to other HR or talent management folks and you’ll become a rock star. If I can do it, anyone can. It won’t take you two years either. Want to get a book done faster than you ever imaged? Here’s how. [...]