| By :
Ronda Del Boccio
Writing a book doesn't get much easier than assembling a book with multiple authors. After all, you don't have to write very much of the book. You simply have to pick some great co-authors and put everything together in a way that makes sense. And at the same time, you want the book to boost your expert status. You've seen multi-author books before. The Chicken Soup series is probably the most widely known examples. But your book need not be 3 inches thick with dozens of co-authors. You can assemble a great book with a handful of collaborators and still participate in your typical busy life. This compilation of stories from several contributors is a type of joint venture, with each making a valuable contribution to the whole and all benefiting. Here are some creative examples of this type of book in different industries. Sarah is a hypnotherapists specializing in hypnosis for weight loss. She wants to write a book without writing the whole thing. So she decides what message she wants to deliver with her book, sets up a table of contents, and asks experts in related disciplines to contribute a chapter. Here is how her book comes together. One chapter comes from a massage therapist who writes about stress relief. Another chapter comes from a personal trainer who talks about developing a love for vitality. Other chapters are about biofeedback, acupuncture, mindset and fashion. Sarah collects chapters from perhaps 11 or 12 experts, organizes them and then adds her own chapter. She also writes an introduction for each one. And at the end of the book, she invites the reader to accept a special gift from each of the authors. All they have to do is visit a particular page on her website. The beauty of creating a book in this way is you have a cadre of promoters who all are going to tell the world about the book. If the collaborators already share referrals among each other, co-authoring this book will catapult their influence and expert status even more in the eyes of the customer. This works in any industry. Here are a few more examples to get your mind thinking: Wedding planner + photographer + florist + dress shop owner + interior decorator + relationship expert + insurance agent + others who serve newlyweds. Life coach + marathon runner + retired athlete + counselor + herbalist + hair stylist + image consultant + others who add to a book about feeling great at any age. Camera shop owner + photographer + scrapbooking teacher + genealogist + craft store owner + storyteller creating a book about preserving family memories. Your imagination is the only limit. How to write a multi-author book Step 1: Goal First, start with the goal of the book. What is the "take-away" for the reader that you want to create? What is the deadline for receiving everyone's article and for completing the book? Step 2: Outline Then, create your outline or flow for the book. Put the elements together so you know what you need. Decide a chapter length you want from each participant. Remember to have them include a page with their bio. Step 3: Experts Next, decide who else you need. You may already have people in mind. Fill the slots with people who will write a good chapter and who have a business or following so that they help promote the book. Step 4: Writing This is obvious. Everyone creates their chapter within the guidelines you set and turns it back to you. Step 5: Assemble Collect everyone's "homework." It's a good idea to get a couple meticulous people to go over the entire book to fix any errors. Now you have a multi-author book that establishes you as an expert. You also have several other people promoting the book. Everybody wins!
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