28 November 2023. The day I published “Copy that!” and promptly wondered if I’d just made a complete fool of myself.
Not because the book wasn’t good. I’d poured everything I knew into it. But because I had this nagging fear that maybe, just maybe, I’d written something nobody actually needed.
What if the newly-qualified translator who’d sparked the whole idea was an outlier? What if I was the only person who thought this problem needed solving? What if my limited marketing budget and even more limited book marketing experience meant the book would simply… disappear?
Two years on, I can tell you that I was worrying about entirely the wrong things.
The fear that kept me up at night
Here’s what terrified me most: that the book wouldn’t help anyone.
That was always my measure of success. Not sales figures. Not reviews. Just this simple benchmark: if I can help just one person, it will have been worth it.
But I had serious doubts about whether I’d hit the mark.
Every other translator I knew who’d written a book had gone the academic route – thesis-style publications, heavy on theory, light on practical application. Safe. Respectable. Expected.
I’d written something completely different. A business book based on my real-life experience. Practical tips. Personal stories. The messy bits alongside the successes.
What if people thought it was silly? What if they expected something more… academic? More serious? More traditionally “professional”?
The other fear, lurking in the background: with virtually no marketing budget and zero experience promoting a book, how would anyone even find it?
My single-minded determination (despite the doubters)
But here’s the thing: I was going to publish it anyway.
People around me didn’t see the point. “It’s never going to be a bestseller,” they said. “Why put in all that effort for something so niche?”
They weren’t wrong about the bestseller part. They just didn’t understand that wasn’t the goal.
I’d had a conversation with someone who desperately needed guidance. I’d searched for resources to share with her and found nothing. That gap needed filling. Simple as that.
So I wrote it. And despite the fears, despite the doubts, despite people not understanding why I was bothering with such a niche topic, I published it.
28 November 2023. Done.
What actually happened (plot twist: everything I didn’t expect)
On 11 November this year – 2025 – I sat on a Zoom call with someone who’d found “Copy that!” on Amazon though a targeted Google search.
She was exactly the person I’d written it for. She’d used it to navigate her career pivot. It had helped her see possibilities she hadn’t seen before. And she wasn’t the first person to contact me after having read the book and found it useful, just the most recent.
In that moment, my original goal was achieved. If I can help just one person, it will have been worth it.
Mission accomplished.
Except… that isn’t the end of the story. It’s barely the beginning.
The doors that opened (that I never saw coming)
Here’s what I didn’t expect when I published a niche business book…
The credibility
Having a published book changed how people perceived me. Not just translators, but business owners across sectors. The book became proof of expertise that no amount of LinkedIn posts could replicate.
The opportunities
I’m now Director of Communications at Property Connect Networking, I’ve appeared on two podcasts and have had speaking requests. But the most surprising thing was my second pivot into ghostwriting for executives who want to write their own business books. They now find me because I’ve done what they want to do: write a business book.
The positioning
People now describe me as a “thought leader in the translation industry.” I hadn’t set out to be a thought leader. I’d just tried to help solve a problem I understood intimately.
But apparently, stepping up to fill a gap that others hadn’t addressed is what thought leadership actually is.
The pivot
This was the real surprise. The book unwittingly created an entire new business direction for me: thought leadership ghostwriting and consulting.
Executives saw that I’d written a book that positioned me as an authority. They wanted the same thing. But they didn’t have time to write it themselves.
Could I help them?
Turns out, yes, I can.
Two years later, I’m working with C-suite leaders and founders to establish their authority through strategic content and business books. An entire part of my business that didn’t exist before I published “Copy that!”
What I got wrong (and what I’d do differently)
If we’re being honest – and that’s rather the point of this blog – there are things I’d change.
All of them are marketing-related.
I asked people for reviews. Anyone I knew who’d read it. Some graciously obliged. Others ignored me. The whole process felt… icky.
I run on intuition and authenticity. Chasing reviews felt like neither.
If I could do it again, I’d be more strategic. More selective. I’d focus on reaching the right readers rather than trying to reach everyone.
But here’s what I have zero regrets about: the content. The purpose. The decision to write it in the first place.
The book itself was exactly what it needed to be.
What I’d tell my November 2023 self
If I could go back two years and whisper in my own ear as I nervously hit “publish,” here’s what I’d say:
Well done. You’ve made a difference to people’s lives that only you could have made with your unique experience. You achieved your goal – it genuinely helped people. Not just one person but several people. And it keeps helping them.
But here’s the bit you can’t see yet: this book is going to change YOUR life too. It’s going to open doors you haven’t even imagined. It’s going to pivot your entire business in a direction you never planned.
So yes, you should be nervous. Not because it might fail, but because it’s going to succeed in ways you’re not remotely prepared for.
Also, don’t chase so many reviews. Trust the process. The right people will find it.
The real lesson about business books
Here’s what two years with a published book have taught me:
A business book isn’t about bestseller status. It’s not even really about book sales.
A business book is about establishing permanent authority in your field. Creating a strategic asset that keeps opening doors years after publication. Positioning yourself as the person who literally wrote the book on solving a specific problem.
Most importantly: it’s about having the courage to share what you know, even when you’re terrified nobody needs to hear it.
Because here’s the truth: if you’ve navigated a challenge that others in your industry are facing, if you’ve developed insights through hard-won experience, if you have a perspective that could help someone else find their way…
Then someone, somewhere, desperately needs exactly what you have to share.
You just can’t see them yet.
Two years on: was it worth it?
The translator who sparked the idea was right to be worried about the industry. AI has transformed everything even faster than we anticipated.
But she was wrong that there was no sustainable path forward.
There was and there is.
Sometimes you just need someone who’s walked that path to show you it exists.
That’s what “Copy that!” did for some people. And that’s what writing it did for me.
If I can help just one person, it will have been worth it.
It turns out, it helped far more than one. Including me.
If you’re sitting on a business book idea but haven’t started writing yet because you’re worried it won’t matter, won’t help, won’t find its audience – I understand those fears intimately. But I also know what happens when you write it anyway. If you’d like to discuss how to turn your expertise into a strategic business book, let’s talk. Sometimes the most valuable thing you can do is share what only you know.