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    Art of the BIZNOVEL
    Art of the BIZNOVEL
    Art of the BIZNOVEL
    Ebook93 pages1 hour

    Art of the BIZNOVEL

    By Jeff Cox

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    About this ebook

    Jeff Cox has been called "a master of conveying business concepts through ... story." His biznovels – business novels and novelllas – have sold millions of copies worldwide. Several, such as "The Goal" and "Zapp," both of which he coauthored, are said to be business classics. Here, in "Art of the Biznovel," he reveals how to write, publish, and market a story-based business book. It covers the entire process and includes ...

    Why write fiction about serious business?
    Creating a true, non-fiction story.
    How to find a writer.
    Structuring the coauthor agreement.
    Copyright issues.
    Developing your "pitch."
    The choice of styles.
    Story types and how they apply to business.
    Crafting the plot.
    How writers work.
    Keys to publishing success.
    Indie vs. mainstream publishing.
    Publishing and marketing strategy.
    Should you hire a publicist?
    And the formula for selling millions of copies.
    (Yes, really. The five key steps to selling millions.)

    This guide distills decades of writing and publishing experience into an easy-to-read, yet no-nonsense short book that covers it all.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJeff Cox
    Release dateAug 7, 2014
    ISBN9781310853258
    Art of the BIZNOVEL

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      Book preview

      Art of the BIZNOVEL - Jeff Cox

      Introduction

      I have written, at this point, nine novels about business. Some were full-length novels while others were novellas, shorter works. A novel, of course, is fiction, a made-up story with characters, a plot, and an imagined time and place. To write fiction about business ideas is unusual to say the least. Yet these biznovels as I sometimes call them have often done quite well in the marketplace. Two of mine have sold in the millions – together, somewhere above 15 million copies worldwide over several decades.

      The first of the biznovels was The Goal, written for Eli Goldratt, about what became known as his Theory of Constraints, or TOC. Next was Zapp, about employee empowerment, for William C. Byham. A few years later, Bill and I also worked on a story about self-empowerment titled Heroz. I wrote two books in association with Howard Stevens about sales and marketing, The Quadrant Solution and Selling the Wheel. There was my own novel, The Venture, about some laid-off employees who start their own business. Then I worked with a consultant named Dan Paul on The Cure, a novel about a method to counter the management politics that stifles so many organizations. More recently was Velocity, written in association with Dee Jacob and Suzan Bergland, a novel about combining TOC, Lean and Six Sigma. Just published, about a month ago as I write this, is Hanging Fire, another TOC-oriented management novel about, as the cover declares, achieving predictable results in an uncertain world.

      Why only nine? (I've been an independent, self-supporting writer and author for more than 30 years.) Because typically it's a three-year cycle from first contact with my coauthor, to writing, to publishing and promotion. That's one of the things you'll learn about in this guide. By the way, in the years between business books I've written a number of other things, including sci-fi / fantasy and other kinds of novels.

      All I'm saying is I've been around and, from an author's standpoint, I know the book business. I've made lots of mistakes, and I've learned the hard way from many of them. But on the whole, it's been a good career.

      I am approached frequently by business people who would like to work with me – specifically, would like me to write a biznovel about their area of expertise. Unfortunately, more than 99% of the time, I have to say no. Either the timing isn't right because I'm already engaged on another project – remember, it's a multi-year cycle – or the proposed subject isn't suitable or I just can't see a book on a certain topic becoming a success or whatever. Yet I am not unsympathetic to those I have to turn away.

      That is why I wrote this book, Art of the Biznovel, a short guide to writing, publishing, and promoting a story-based business book. It's the distillation of my 30-plus years of experience. It covers everything crucial in the process: essential concepts – why write stories about serious ideas – overall strategy, finding a writer, legal matters, crafting the story, whether to seek a major publisher or to self-publish, and the all-important matter of marketing and promotion. This will give you an overview of the total process and what is involved.

      You may conclude after reading this that you don't want to go down the publishing path due to the commitment of time and resources and the extremely difficult odds of success. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. If after reading this you decide some other application of your time and money would be better suited to your needs, that's fine; I've done you a service.

      Then again, you could read this, get revved up, do it right, and come out with what becomes a multimillion-copy bestseller, a book that sets you and your company apart from all others. My secret hope for you is that it's the latter.

      Good luck to you. My best wishes for your success.

      Jeff Cox

      June 2014

      Part 1: Essential Concepts

      Why Write A Story About a Serious Idea?

      First, let's back up and ask a more basic question: why write a book? As you may appreciate after you have read this one, books take a lot of work to create. Why go to the trouble?

      Because being the author of a book gives you immediate credibility that you are an expert on whatever subject the book is about. Write a book about small-business startups, and you're an expert on small-business start-ups. Write a book about doing business in Asia, you're seen as an expert on that. And presumably you are an expert, but the people you're trying to influence will accept that more readily and give you more credence if you have your name on the cover of your own book. If you are a the CEO of a company in a particular market niche, being an author is tremendously valuable, especially when you are trying to grow the business. If you are a high-end consultant, then a book is almost mandatory.

      But why a story? Why write a story about, say, your unique concept for a successful small business start-up? I'll tell you why: To sell it! To sell the idea that is so important you want to write a book about it!

      Stories are far more powerful than you might think. Stories work within us on a subconscious level. They can affect us in deeply emotional ways. And because selling is at least as much an emotional process as a rational one, stories can be potent in terms getting an indifferent world to adopt your thinking.

      Of course, some will say, Nonsense! All that is required is a straightforward, rational presentation. A standard text. Or a mathematical theorem perhaps. Or, better yet, a Powerpoint presentation. And once delivered they'll all be lining up to buy my expertise!

      There are those who naively believe that. They assume if a rational, logical presentation is made of the idea – or product or whatever – the world will bow to the intellectual superiority of the presenter, abandon the old way of doing things, and instantly adopt the new. Doesn't happen that

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