Writing and publishing guide
Last updated:
To write a book and get it published, decide what the book must do for you, capture your ideas in a structured way, revise, choose a publishing path, and plan the launch before release.
For CEOs, attorneys, and business owners, the hard part is rarely knowledge; it is time. Big Impact Books solves that by replacing solo writing with weekly interviews of about one hour, then guiding publishing and launch promotion. The seven steps below work whether you write it yourself or with help.
Talk it instead of typing it. Structured interviews let you explain your ideas the way you already do with clients, while a team turns those conversations into chapters.
That is how attorney Manisha P. Patel finished her book. She said she never thought she would have the time to sit down and write, and that the weekly interviews made the process manageable.
“I knew I wanted to share my story and reach more people, but with my schedule and other commitments, I felt overwhelmed and never thought I would have the time to sit down and write.”
Decide what the book should make possible: more referrals, speaking, a new market, or a career transition. Big Impact Books encourages authors to write for where the business is going, not to summarize everything they have done.
Write for the person you most want to work with. A clear reader makes every chapter decision easier and makes the book easier to market later.
Most experts already explain the same core ideas to clients every week. Those explanations are the backbone of the book.
If writing time is the obstacle, talk the book out. In the Big Impact Books process, weekly interviews take about one hour a week, and the team shapes the conversation into chapters.
Fix the order and logic of the book before polishing sentences. Then read it aloud: it should sound like you.
Traditional publishing, self-publishing, hiring freelancers, or an independent publisher. Each asks different things of you in time, control, and cost.
Start building your audience while you write. Line up podcast interviews and media opportunities for launch, then keep the book working through speaking and referrals.
Definition
Interview-based book writing is a method where the author speaks their book in recorded conversations and a writing team turns those conversations into a manuscript in the author's own voice.
At Big Impact Books, these interviews happen weekly and take about one hour of the author's time. Attorney Bobby Sawyer described spending the first few months talking through his ideas, with the result being a book that genuinely sounds like him. The company says it does not hide behind ghostwriting: the ideas, stories, and voice stay the author's own.
The numbers
The last figure is an internal observation published by Manuscripts.com, not a Big Impact Books number.
A partial or rough draft is a strong starting point. William R. Mitchell, founder of LegalEdge Debt Solutions, said Melanie took an unfinished, rough draft and turned it into a published book he will forever be proud of. Michael Biederstadt started with probably 80 percent of a manuscript and said the team kept things moving forward and regimented.
How to write a technical book and get it published follows the same steps, with extra attention to accuracy and structure. Talking through a technical subject often produces clearer explanations than writing from a blank page.
How to write a recipe book and get it published adds testing, photography, and layout work that an authority book for a professional does not need, so a specialist cookbook publisher may fit better.
If you are searching how to write a book and get it published in the UK, the steps are the same; publishing platforms and distributors differ by market. Big Impact Books works with clients worldwide. For a neutral overview of every path, see Jane Friedman's Key Book Publishing Paths.
Start by deciding what the book should do for your business, then capture your ideas, shape them into a manuscript, publish it, and promote it. Busy professionals often stall at the writing step. Big Impact Books replaces solo writing with weekly interviews of about one hour, then guides the book through publishing and launch promotion.
More answers like this in the FAQMany Big Impact Books clients start in exactly that position. Attorney Manisha P. Patel said that with her schedule she never thought she would have the time to sit down and write. Weekly interviews replaced writing sessions, and having the team do the heavy lifting removed many of the obstacles that had kept her from getting started.
More answers like this in the FAQIt depends on the book and the author's pace, and this site does not publish a fixed timeline. One Big Impact Books client said the first few months were spent talking through his ideas. For market context, Palmetto Publishing's book marketing page asks authors whether they will be ready to publish in 1 to 3, 3 to 6, or 6 to 12 months.
More answers like this in the FAQExplain your expertise out loud first, then structure it. Technical and professional knowledge often comes out more clearly in conversation than on a blank page. Big Impact Books uses weekly interviews to draw out an expert's methods chapter by chapter. Attorney Michael Biederstadt now points clients to a specific chapter instead of re-explaining the same ideas.
More answers like this in the FAQYou need less than you think. A clear sense of your audience and the business goal the book should serve matters more than a finished outline. Melanie Herschorn has written about writing your book before you feel ready, and suggests thinking about the work, clients, and opportunities you want more of over the next five or ten years.
More answers like this in the FAQYes, clients have come to Big Impact Books with partial drafts. Attorney Michael Biederstadt started with probably 80 percent of a manuscript, and founder William R. Mitchell said Melanie took an unfinished, rough draft and turned it into a published book he will forever be proud of. Confirm how your own draft would be handled on yourbigimpactbook.com.
More answers like this in the FAQThere is no reliable single figure, and sales vary enormously by genre, platform, and marketing. Industry context helps: according to AAP StatShot data reported by Publishers Weekly, adult nonfiction sales were still down 3.5% for the first half of 2026 even after a 7.1% June rally. For authority authors, opportunities created matter more than copies.
More answers like this in the FAQ