Let’s face facts:  everyone, at some point in time, has entertained the thought of writing a book.  We all like to think that there’s some little priceless nugget of information tucked away in our brain just waiting to be shared with the world and we’re obviously doing a disservice to humanity by keeping it locked away.  The truth is that 9 times out of 10 there are better ways to share your information with the world. If you have an idea try starting a blog, or if you have some specialized knowledge try offering to teach some courses at your local university.

If you’re successful or “internet famous” and have done something new and innovative then maybe it would make sense to write a book and share your experiences with the world.  If you’re trying to sell a new idea, however, make sure you have some knowledge about marketing before you take the plunge. Just because it’s now easier than ever to publish your own book doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.  Telling a prospective employer that you’ve written a book sounds impressive, but it usually ends up working against you when they find out you’ve only sold 2 copies and they were both bought by your grandma.

The kicker is that we all know how awesome it would be to have a book sitting on the bookshelf with your name on it.  It’s a conversation piece, and a confidence booster when you can look at it and say “Hey, I actually did something.”

You never know, you may even manage to sell a couple of copies on Amazon!