Repackaging your work
to get a publishing deal
"Without Debs, I would not be looking forward to the publication of The Power of Clarity by Bloomsbury Publishing as their top business book for 2021!"
Ann Latham, Uncommon Clarity® Inc, AnnLatham.com
The Challenge: Ann is a prolific writer & had created a vault of incredibly useful articles - how could she make the best use of them?
Like many experienced consultants, Ann had been sharing her expertise through writing. She had published a few books in the past (2 volumes of Clear Thoughts & Uncommon Meetings), and was an accomplished writer for Forbes. In 2017, she decided to write her next book by reusing the articles she'd been writing for Forbes and her newsletter. But she needed help. The volume of useful information she had created was overwhelming - she needed a fresh pair of eyes.
Ann initially engaged me to help her cut through the noise, uncover her best work, organise it, edit it and finally turn it into a printed book for sale on Amazon.
Then, when she was ready to write her first full length book from scratch she called me in again to coach her through the process.
Who is Ann Latham?
Ann Latham is known worldwide for Uncommon Clarity®. She helps leaders create an unprecedented level of strategic clarity that transforms the way they think, galvanizes commitment, and doubles productivity. She is founder and president of the Boston area management consulting firm, Uncommon Clarity®, Inc. She has worked with clients in over 40 industries and ranging from for-profit organizations, such as Boeing, Medtronic, and Hitachi, to non-profits as diverse as Public Broadcasting Service and colleges and universities. Why does she work with such a wide range of clients? Because they all need greater clarity to get better results faster and with more confidence and commitment. You can see and hear Ann on The Chaos to Creation Confessions podcast and find out more about her work.
The Solution Part One: Self publish The Clarity Papers
Ann's body of work deserved to be seen by a wider audience. It was time to capture and repurpose her articles and deliver them through a new mechanism - a book.
Solution Step 1: Editing & publishing for The Clarity Papers
I collated, edited, organised and published Ann's work into a book for sale on Amazon & all bookshops
Ann is a prolific writer. There was over 100,000 words to work with, distill and turn into a book. Together we worked out the best order for the reader's journey. I advised Ann where to create new content to bridge the gaps, then edited the content, designed the cover, interior and images, and published on Amazon in print and kindle format. We reused her vault of previous work to create a business asset that she could sell or give away.
The Solution Part Two: Write the definitive book on Uncommon Clarity & pitch to publishers for The Power of Clarity
I pushed Ann to go for an agent and publishing deal. I've worked with a lot of consultants and I knew Ann's work was special. She had what was needed to get a deal.
Solution Step 2: Book coaching for
The Power of Clarity
With my guidance (and a bit of friendly poking!) Ann outlined, tested and wrote the first draft of her full length business book.
Getting from the chaotic stage with many competing ideas and directions, to a workable outline is challenging. It requires iterations - sometimes many. I encouraged Ann to keep iterating, to highlight her IP, to name it and claim it. Through this process the genius of Ann's ideas and methodology was drawn out. I knew she had a great shot at getting a publishing deal. We needed a proposal and an agent.
Solution Step 3: Proposal for publishing
We worked on a proposal for publishers that would identify Ann's unique ideas, and demonstrate her platform and previous publishing credentials. That secured the interest of an agent and lead to two offers from major publishers.
Ann's previous books were a huge asset when we wrote the pitch for publishers. Her books demonstrated her experience, skill in writing and her ability to finish projects. She also had a platform of readers. Ann had two offers from major publishers. I continued to work with Ann to get her draft ready for professional edit. She selected Bloomsbury, who would go on to publish The Power of Clarity as their number one business book for 2021.
"I hired Debs (again) when I began writing my first from-scratch, full-length book, The Power of Clarity. My plan was to self-publish. Having worked with Debs previously, I was certain that she could help me with the overall process, keep me from chasing my own tail when I should be charging ahead at full steam, while also helping me manage the loose ends so it was possible to charge ahead. She did both wonderfully. She knew when to push, prod, and inject structure, and when to back off and give me space. She also provided valuable feedback throughout the process. Debs' support kept me balanced and gave me confidence. It was just great to be able to bounce ideas and concerns off her as I pulled the many pieces together. In the end, everything came together really well."
- Ann Latham, Strategic Clarity Expert, www.power-of-clarity.com
Two more books to cement Ann's position as the authority on Uncommon Clarity®
The Clarity Papers was published in 2018
It received 4.5 stars on Amazon and has over 30 reviews.
The Power of Clarity was published in 2021
A Bloomsbury Publishing number one business book of 2021. Endorsed by Daniel Pink, Marshall Goldsmith, Matt Church... and many more business thought leaders. Get your copy at www.power-of-clarity.com
Working with Ann was enlightening...
Ann was clear about her outcomes, knew what she wanted, and was determined. The Clarity Papers, was a straightforward repurpose and repackage the assets project - work I'd done for hundreds of clients in the past when I ran my publishing company. The second project - The Power of Clarity - was more exciting. This was an opportunity to capture all of Ann's best thinking into a landmark book, we were starting from a 'blank book' page. The iterative process of clearing through the chaos to outline a lifetime's work was exhaustive. I urged Ann to name and claim her IP - to make it clear that these insights were hers, that the valuable methodologies and frameworks she used came from her mind. I helped her constrain the process, break down the tasks, keep going forward, use a 'tolerations list' to get comfortable to keep writing without knowing exactly how everything would work out... It was great fun!
Don't know where to start?
Download some of my free ebooks on writing, get a PDF copy of The Little Book of Big Decisions, and access to the 7 Fast Ways to Get Clarity in the Chaos video course... I'll also send you a semi-regular newsletter.