DIY: BigLaw/LittleLaw rainmakers, be your own ghostwriter (Lesson 1)

There is plenty of incentive to put yourself out there - in all mediums be it print, digital, video, and on-your-feet (through seminars, keynote addresses, workshops).  In this era of client churn, both in B2B and in B2C, you can create a magnetic force to pull those needing legal help into your orbit. 

But the problem is: Researching and putting together the material. In BigLaw ghostwriting resources are hardly infinite.  To purchase them outside the firm is expensive.  In LittleLaw, you simply might not have the budget to hire a ghostwriter.

The good news is that more of those in professional services - fields in which you publish or perish - are finding out they can be their own ghostwriters.  This is the DIY era.  A reasonable professional who's ambitious would try this.

Here is Lesson 1. Collect and analyze models of successful content in a specific genre.

Human beings learn by imitation.  Believe me, we do that to the day we die.  That is, we are always learning from others.  Law students stalk courtrooms observing the masters perform in trial work.  

So, if you decide a book - print or e - would be useful in your marketing efforts, you gather books which have succeeded in developing brandnames for those in professional services.  Some of these you will find in Barnes & Noble.  Buy a cup of coffee and flip through them.  Since you know how to drill down to the essence of a dispute, you can pick up the essence of a book in 5 minutes.  Another collection point is the American Bar Association Book Publishing arm.  Mark Herrmann, now in-house at Aon, recently published "Inside Straight" through the ABA.  His earlier book "The Curmudeon's Guide to Practicing Law" is used as a textbook in some law schools.

Take a lot of time to figure out:

• The tone or voice and why it might have been selected.  Herrmann's book persona is always conversational, right to the point, and exuding authority.
• The message.  Keep it simple or, as they say in Hollywood "high concept."  You should be able to sum it up in a sentence or two.
• How the topic was narrowed down and to what.  The smaller the subject the more manageable it is and the more insight you can demonstrate.
• The organization.  Often this is the most difficult part - determining how to present material in bite-size chunks to readers.  It's at this phase lawyers lose their confidence and turn to a professional ghostwriter like myself.
• The word choice.  Will it be the language of law or the language of business.  If your target market is the Fortune 500, then you use the language of business. 
• The title.  That can make or break a book, just as does the subject line on an email blast.

That will keep you busy for a few days.  Then I will be back with Lesson 2.

If you know you could be your own ghostwriter but don't see that as an efficient use of your time, then contact me for a complimentary evaluation of your needs and how we can get the job done: Jane Genova mgenova981@aol.com.

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