Want to write a book? Here’s what you need to know.
Many people say they want to write a book, but few actually write it. Fervor client Aimee Minnich, of Fervor client Impact Foundation, took on the challenge and published The Profitable Charity. In Aimee’s book, she dives into the concept of Ministry Enterprise, which has the power to build revenue and accelerate a nonprofit’s impact. We sat down with Aimee to learn what it was like to write and publish The Profitable Charity.
Fervor: Initially, why did you want to write a book?
Aimee: I needed something to do! Honestly, it was a book I’d been working on for awhile. Back in 2013, we had an intern for the summer who started the book. I was an editor at the law review when I was in law school, so when the intern left, I took over the book and tried to get it to a good place. It was painful at times . . . at one point, I printed the whole thing out, cut it apart and put it all back together. Then I started writing the pieces that needed to be filled in.
What was the toughest part of the writing process?
The discipline of sitting my ass in a chair and doing the work! I don’t like to sit still, so that was really hard. As far as subject matter goes, distilling the tax code information was not easy. It was important to me to get the complex, arcane information into a form that people can understand.
Of all the chapters, which was most challenging to write?
The hardest chapter for me to write was the one about business people and ministry people, and how they don’t talk to each other well. It was hard because I have a bias, but I didn’t realize I had that bias. It’s easier to feel compassion for someone once you understand how they arrived at their beliefs, so once I worked past that bias, the chapter didn’t bother me as much.
Writing a book is no small feat. What was your favorite aspect of the process?
I loved the feeling of being done — not just done overall, but done each day. When I had gotten to a place where I liked what I had written, that felt good.
What about the publishing process surprised you?
The most time-consuming aspect of the book publishing process was getting endorsements. They’re so important, but getting busy people to read the whole book and then write their endorsements was challenging.
Why do you like to write?
For me, the process of writing a book — or a blog post, for that matter — is like the process of getting a degree in counseling. You have to wrestle with your own stuff to write well. Even though my book is fact-based and technical, I still had to wrestle with some of my own stuff to get the book done. You have to wrestle with your own experiences and biases to get credibility. Without that wrestling, the book will feel artificial or it won’t resonate with the reader. And that’s why I like to write: I get to figure out what I’m thinking.