Every business book is a manifesto. What’s yours?

To write and publish a business book is to say “The world is different from what you thought it was. Here’s what to do about it.”

If you are undertaking a business book, you must decide what your manifesto is.

Some prominent manifestos for your consideration

• Atomic Habits: The systematic pursuit of habits is the only effective way to improve your life. Here’s how to do it.
• The Let Them Theory: Caring what other people say about you is destroying your psyche. Here’s what to do instead.
• The Lean Startup: Startups should stay small and repeatedly pivot until they find product-market fit.
• The War of Art: If you want to create, the key is to triumph over the resistance: our natural tendency to do almost anything else.

It’s not a coincidence that it’s easy to write down the manifesto for these highly successful books. In each case the author has a counterintuitive world view, makes a case for why it matters, and explains how to take advantage of the new way to look at the world.

What this means for you

Try it now. If you’re working on a business book or are considering creating one, write down your manifesto: a single sentence that describes how your world view differs from what people expect.

If you can do this, then ask yourself:

• Who cares about this new world view? That’s your audience.
• What sets your world view apart from others in your field?
• Why does this new world view matter?
• How can you prove you’re right?
• If you are right, what should people do about it?

Your answers to these questions should be compelling. If they’re not, work on them. Find people who care about what you think and see where the weaknesses are in your manifesto, then figure out how to fix them.

If you cannot yet write a manifesto, ask yourself these questions:

• What do you fervently believe that nearly everyone else is wrong about?
• If you were forced to defend that opinion, how would you do that?
• How could you prove you are right?
• Who else agrees with you? Why does it matter to them?
• If you were right, what would be the natural consequences of that opinion?
• How could people who believe you profit or succeed?

Talk to people who care about what you care about. They can help you figure out how to refine your manifesto and make it stronger.

Until you have a manifesto, you have nothing

A business book without a manifesto is not actionable. It creates no urgency. It doesn’t matter.

So you better get your manifesto straight before you do anything else.

Work on it. Or admit that your dreams of being an author are just idle fantasies.