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The Extraordinary Business Book Club

Alison Jones, publisher and book coach, explores business books from both a writer's and a reader's perspective. Interviews with authors, publishers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, tech wizards, social media strategists, PR and marketing experts and others involved in helping businesses tell their story effectively.
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The Extraordinary Business Book Club
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Now displaying: April, 2018
Apr 30, 2018

"There's this comfortable way of thinking that we're programmed by evolution to enjoy, which is thinking in patterns. That makes life so much easier and so much more approachable, when we rely on lessons we've learned in the past, when we observe other people and we do the things that they're doing, when we create predictability. It all just makes life easy to process. It's pretty good when the world stays still. The problem is, what feels safe is actually really dangerous if the world is changing around us."

And that's what prompted Jonah Sachs, storyteller, author and entrepreneur, to write Unsafe Thinking: How to be Creative and Bold When You Need It Most. In this episode Jonah reveals how he went about researching the book by interviewing high-profile unsafe thinkers ("I realised if I wanted to get them to talk to me I'd have to say I was writing a book...") and explains how he uses stories to translate facts and findings into a narrative that readers will connect with, and therefore understand and remember more easily.

There's some profound wisdom and practical tips for would-be business book writers, and some thoughts on what writing means for a 21st-century business owner.

This is pure gold. Put the kettle on and listen up.

 

Apr 23, 2018

Another helping of best bits from recent episode: we're talking about 'fast books' and 'slow books' - which kind is yours? - writing with a co-author, and how doodling can help you come sideways at a book.

Tune in, sit back, and listen to insights and inspiration from these superb writers: 

  • Steve Scott on how he's written 70 books in around a decade;
  • Robert Cialdini on why it took him more than 30 years to write a second solo-authored book after Influence;
  • Joe Pulizzi on how books fit into the content marketing mix; 
  • Jurgen Appelo on the agile approach to writing; 
  • Daniel Coyle on writing as a building process;
  • Elaine Gould on the sheer relief of finishing a 'slow book'; 
  • Morra Aarons-Mele on the different tempos of social media, blogging, content marketing and books; 
  • Lyn Bromley & Donna Whitbrook on how to write together without falling out; 
  • Edgar Papke & Thomas Lockwood on why co-authorship is more than the sum of the parts; 
  • Kate Raworth on how an idle doodle evolved into the award-winning book Doughnut Economics
Apr 16, 2018

Steve Scott started writing and publishing to build his business, but pretty soon his business became writing and publishing books: he now has more than 60 to his name, all focused on helping internet entrepreneurs succeed.

In this week's podcast this multi-bestselling author reflects on what he's learned about the process and where he goes from here, and generously shares his best tips for producing and promoting books. I learned a huge amount from our conversation - I know you will too.

Apr 9, 2018

Something a bit different this week: I interview myself to pull out some of the learnings from the process of writing This Book Means Business, a book about writing a book to build your business written to build my business. Meta, huh? 

Discover how and why this podcast began and some thoughts on how podcasting might work for you, what happened when I faced the fear and took the advice of my guests, and what's next now the book is out. 

You can also listen in to the short talk given at the launch itself on 26 March at the Free Word Centre in London, and join in the toast to us - may we be the authors our readers need. 

Apr 2, 2018

Leadership expert Jurgen Appelo's advice to first-time authors is simple: 'Iterate.'

He goes on to explain: 'You need a feedback cycle. You need to know as soon as possible whether it is making sense, what you're writing. People have to read it.'

Jurgen walks the talk, building his community as he wrote #Workout and selling 5,000 highly illustrated books immediately to his own fan base, before it was picked up by a traditional publisher.

This interplay between traditional and self-publishing is one fascinating aspect of this interview, as is the importance of building a platform and community as you write, but there are many other gems such as Jurgen's approach to illustrating his own book and his up-front permissions policy.

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