Writing Books
Dr. Henry Cloud is a leadership consultant working with Fortune 500 companies and a best-selling author with his books selling over 20 million copies. His first book was a passion project, Changes of You, and then he decided years later to write another book, Boundaries. Thinking that he wouldn’t have to talk about the subject and common questions after writing his book, Dr. Cloud finds the complete opposite. No matter where he goes, Henry is talking about the subject matter of his book.
Dr. Henry Cloud’s Advice on Writing a Book
Dr. Cloud says, “make sure that it’s something you’re good at,” you also want to care about your work and to check to see if your book is solving pain points or issues for someone else. He also talks about writing a book that is aligned with the order of the universe.
How Dr. Cloud Avoided being Pigeon-Holed
Although he has had multiple offers from publishers to create a follow-up book, Henry felt that they didn’t encompass the three reasons you should write a book. He did write several other Boundaries books – for leaders, marriage, children, and dating – a series he co-authored with another writer.
Henry’s Process for Book Writing
Not being an author, Henry finds content for a new book. When he hears the same or similar conversation, he develops a competency that is helpful to others. From this point, Dr. Clark will research or take additional workshops or classes to create his content. Henry specifically points out that “When I see enough that the topic matters, and people are getting stuck with the topic, I want to be helpful.” He field tests all his books before putting them out onto the market.
Listen in on today’s episode to find out publishers want to use your platform when you decide on a sequel to your book and why he isn’t market-driven when writing books.
Show Highlights
- [01:57] Common excuses why people don’t want to write books.
- [05:28] Using your book to achieve your life according to your dreams.
- [08:11] How Dr. Clark decides when to write a book.
- [10:09] The process Henry uses to decide when and how he should write a book.
- [11:34] Henry’s writing process and what he does to write books.
- [17:24] Applying the 80/20 rule to book writing and marketing.
- [20:56] How he develops his chapter concepts and topics.
- [24:54] Learning from his previous publishing and writing mistakes.
- [29:24] Challenges and roadblocks Henry ran into with his first book.
- [35:09] Aspects of book writing and life that Dr. Clark is very passionate about.
- [39:42] Creating book-signing events across the United States.