The World Doesn't Need Another Bad Book Despite my science and engineering background, I've never been a devotee of Star Wars, Star Trek or much other science fiction. However, as a teenager I do remember being a big fan of Doctor Who (Yes, I know that's showing my age ). I've just finished reading Michael White's book "A Teaspoon and an Open Mind: The Science of Doctor Who", which talks about the science behind time travel, alien life, interplanetary voyages, robots, and the like. It's a science book for the layperson, with only a few passing references to Doctor Who. But it's those links - tenuous though they might be - that make the book unique. And that made it worth reading for me. If not for this quirky angle, it's doubtful I would have picked up a book about cosmology. What makes YOUR book different? The traditional publishing model has its drawbacks, but it has one benefit as well: An in-built quality control process. You can argue about the quality of some of the books that have published, but there's no denying that a publisher adds several extra layers - such as market testing, editing, proofreading and layout - that generally improve the final product. But that's no longer the case. The good news is that now anybody can publish a book. The bad news is that now anybody can publish a book! It's now fast, cheap and easy to be a published author (Want proof? Write something, upload it to Lulu.com, pay a few dollars, and you'll have a hard copy of Your Book in your hands within a week). As a result, the book market is cluttered with thousands of useless, low-quality, "me too" books. The world doesn't need another bad book. If you've got nothing new to say, say nothing. Don't write a bad book. Don't even write a good book. If you're going to write a book, write a great book. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't write at all! Don't just sit there twiddling your thumbs while you're waiting until you're ready to write A Great Book. You can still write; just do it in other ways: Write a regular e-mail newsletter. Write articles and send them to your top clients. Share your thoughts in a blog. Write articles for your clients' newsletters. Write a special report that highlights your clients' top problems. ... and so on ... In fact, these are the things that will help you express your half-formed ideas, test them in real life, and polish them to make them better. Do these things first, and you'll earn the right to write that great book. Key words: Creating Products, books, writing Permission to Reprint: Yes, you may reprint this article in any of your publications - paid or free, electronic or physical, commercial or non-commercial - provided you do not edit it in any way (except for formatting changes to suit your publication style), and include this resource box with the article: Gihan Perera is the author of "Get Active: Web Sites for Speakers, Trainers, Coaches and Consultants" and "Fast, Flat and Free: What You Need to Know to Stay Ahead in a Connected World". Visit http://GihanPerera.com and get your complimentary copies now. I would also appreciate receiving a copy of the issue in which it appears, if that is convenient.