Many authors (including many of our own SkillBites authors) struggle with coming up with ideas on what to write. While there are many methods that can be very effective in overcoming the dreaded writer’s block, a very simple tactic to use is to simply tell your favorite story. This tactic is particularly effective for our business authors, who may have funny or interesting stories to tell about their business.

The key to writing your story as a business author is to also be informative. Think about how often you’ve provided a service or product and come away chuckling. Could your future customers learn anything from your previous customers’ mistakes? A huge benefit of this method of writing your book is that you can draw from your own personal (or business’) experience, and infuse it with your expertise: it should be a fairly quick process from beginning to end, requiring little external research, and it will be interesting for the reader.

Plumbers may have a trove of stories of the follies of first-time homeowners and what should (or shouldn’t) go down their drains. Dog trainers will have an entirely different set of experiences. A successful template of this process could be similar to: “I once had a client who did X, which caused Y, and then they called me to do Z. Here’s how to avoid doing the same thing.”

Of course, there are many things to be careful of when writing your story. Be certain to change names, locations…any unique details that would allow a reader to identify your subject. Also be sure to write objectively: you can tell a humorous story but be charitable to your subject. It wouldn’t do you any good to offend a current or previous customer.