How to Write a Real Estate Book That Really Sells

By Grace Carter

A great business book is a rare thing and one worth having on your bookshelf—one packed with insider tips, industry knowledge and the low down on everything you need to succeed in your industry. As a real estate expert, it’s time for you to take your turn and share your professional knowledge with a market crying out for your business acumen.

Real estate books have gradually become a massive industry and the need for more material has shown no signs of abating. With this in mind, if you have the beginnings of a book languishing on your laptop or whirling around your brain, now is the time to get it down in print and out to your waiting readership.

Like blogs, the benefits of business-orientated books are about more than just raising your profile. They'll set you apart as an authoritative voice in real estate, direct readers to your brokerage and attract interest from potential business partners and investors.

Be Original

Of course, you do need to add something to your field of expertise. A re-hash of a previously covered topic won’t cut it but an original idea and some impressive writing will set you off on a road to literary success.

"Sometimes the thought of actually writing a book feels like it could be too much of an effort but non-fiction books are in great need and experts in their fields, even more so," says Melinda Sanchez, book editor at Academized. "The trick is to make a start, just start writing and see where your ideas take you."

Take a look at what books are already out there and make a list of ideas that would fill gaps in that market. Brainstorm ideas with friends or colleagues and make a plan of how you would like your book to flow. Then simply put pen to paper and get started.

Don’t Settle for Bad Writing

Even if you don’t consider yourself to be a writer, the strength of your knowledge and unique selling point of your book will be enough to drive you forward. If you're worried about your writing skills, there are plenty of tools available to help:

1. Viawriting and Stateofwriting: useful grammar resources to make sure you avoid any grammatical howlers and spelling errors.
2. Boomessays and Essayroo: make use of these two sites to hone and edit your chapters and check your writing style. Check out the reviews from Australianreviewer.
3. Mywritingway and Writingpopulist: useful writing guides.
4. Australianhelp and Revieweal: these powerful editing tools will help you make sense of your written work. They come highly recommended in Australian Help review.
5. Let'sGoAndLearn and Studydemic: two fantastic resources ready to help you in all things writing and blog related.

Choose Your Platform and Distribution

With the raft of self-publishing options available, you won’t need to spend days and days pitching to publishers in the hope of getting published. The process is as straightforward as picking a platform, uploading content and printing. Self-publishing sites include Create Space, by Amazon and Lulu’s. The only decision you'll have to make is how many copies of your work you want printed.

Once printed or at least uploaded to the site of your choice, it’s time to consider how you go about distributing. How much you plan on spending will likely form the basis of this decision. Will you print individual copies to sell or give away to potential clients? Perhaps you’d consider an e-book option as a way of saving on print costs. There are benefits to both sides, so you may choose a limited print run and then a giveaway through your blog or broker's site.

Get Selling

If you’re determined to sell your book, then you’ll need to consider an online platform for selling and creating publicity around your product. It's well worth planning ahead and setting up an online marketplace or shop so you're prepared to take orders. You’ll need to investigate which social media platforms your preferred customers use and come up with some posts or advertising to target your audience. If you decide to sell offline as well then you’ll need to make use of press releases and a launch to push customers towards your book. Consider drawing up a marketing plan for sales well in advance of printing. Also consider the benefit of a physical presence and the possibility of approaching your local bookstore for a promotion.

No matter how you choose to create, distribute and sell your creation, don’t let the fear of failure stop you. You have a unique position in the real estate industry and it’s time to put pen to paper and cement your position as a voice of authority.

Grace Carter is an editor at UK Writings and Academized writing services. She manages writing submissions, works with a team of writers and curates marketing interns. Also, Carter is a teacher at Essay Services, academic website.