How to raise your IQ by 50 points – Write a book

Posted by Adam Franklin

Andrew Griffiths has written 11 books in 11 years and most have been best sellers.

When Andrew spoke at the Key Person of Influence event on the weekend he explained why we need to write a book, what we need to do to become an author, and how to be a best selling author.

Here’s what I learnt from Andrew Griffith’s keynote.

Why write a book?

The main reason to write a business book is that you have more credibility, and you become an expert, therefore you get more business opportunities, more media opportunities, you are more highly valued, you get paid more, you get more speaking engagements, more consulting gigs, you get more leads, more clients, more income streams and you can get in more doors.

It also makes you smarter.  Only half tongue in cheek, Andrew admitted:

A book raises your IQ by at least 50 points. Seriously, before I wrote my first book I was an IDIOT, but once I published my book I was a GENIUS.  People immediately wanted to know me because I was now an expert. I was still exactly the same person, except that I’d published a book. So the book literally raised my IQ.

Important note:  You will not make money from the actual books themselves. You must use them to leverage the business opportunities.

What to write about?

You already know enough to write a book.  Think of a very specific area where you have more expertise than most. You know more than you think!

A book is typically 25,000 words

What surprised me is the fact that most of us, who work with a computer, write about 5,000 to 10,000 words per day when you add up words on email, documents and blog articles.  We are very capable writers!

Andrew has written most of his books in 30 days.

What about Writers’ Block?

That is a myth.  Seth Godin explains it brilliantly:

I write like I speak and I’ve never had speaker’s block.

Have you read a book ‘that you could’ve written?’

Most of us have, which means we’re capable of writing a book that is good enough to be published.

Why don’t we write  a book?

If we know the tremendous benefits, we have enough expertise already, we are capable of writing the words and we’re good enough to be better than other books out there. The main reason we hold ourselves back despite this logic, is fear.

This is usually justified by not having a framework, being too busy (note: this is an excuse) and not being smart or experienced enough.

What stops us becoming a best selling author?

If you’ve written a book, congratulations! The next step is becoming a best selling author. And here’s why Andrew says many people fail to make the leap!

1. You’ve written a crap book.
2. You haven’t built an author’s platform. (you must start this when you start writing, if not years beforehand!)
3. You leave selling to other people.
4. You aren’t prepared to do the work to be a best seller (eg. book launches, speaking, publicity, interviews etc)
5. You stop at one book.

What you need to do

1. You must write quality – release your best work, don’t hold anything back and share your personal experience.
2. Understand that the hard work starts when the book is published!
3. Leverage your books. Use your book to attract high paying clients, to promote your products or services and to get lucrative speaking or consulting gigs.

Thanks Andrew.  My personal goal is to publish a book in 2013, so I will be following your advice!

You can follow @AGauthor on Twitter and visit Andrew Griffith’s website to check out one of his many books!