#493: Why Brilliant People Should Write Books, with Sharai Robbin

Episode Notes

Transcript

Announcer: 

Welcome to The Lawyerist Podcast, a series of discussions with entrepreneurs and innovators about building a successful law practice in today’s challenging and constantly changing legal market. Lawyerist supports attorneys, building client-centered, and future-oriented small law firms through community, content, and coaching both online and through the Lawyerist Lab. And now from the team that brought you The Small Firm Roadmap and your podcast hosts 

 

 

Stephanie Everett (00:35): 

Hi, I’m Stephanie Everett. 

  

Jennifer Whigham (00:36): 

I’m Jennifer Whigham. And this is episode 493 of the Lawyerist Podcast, part of the Legal Talk Network. Today, Stephanie talks with Sharai Robbins about why you need to write a book for your business. 

  

Stephanie Everett (00:48): 

So Jennifer, it has been nothing but sports documentaries in my house this past weekend. 

  

Jennifer Whigham (00:56): 

Tell me more. Interesting. 

  

Stephanie Everett (00:57): 

Yes, we’ve been watching the series on quarterbacks, I think it’s called Quarterback, and they follow four NFL quarterbacks, including Patrick Mahomes and Kirk Cousins. And then we also rewatched the Last Dance, which is about the Bulls final season. It’s funny, my husband knows how it ends because he remember, I mean, I grew up watching that team as well, but not as closely. It’s still a mystery to me. What is going to happen the last season? Do they win? And he is laughing at me last night because I was like, I don’t actually even know. 

  

Jennifer Whigham (01:27): 

I don’t remember either. And I watched it as well. 

  

Stephanie Everett (01:30): 

Yeah, but it’s fascinating. I’m like, you and I talk about, we watch different things and they hit you in different ways based on your life and what you’re doing. And so for me, I was really struck by all these coaching relationships that these professional athletes have. And even like Patrick Mahomes had his personal trainer move to his town where he is now and open up a whole complex there so they could work out together and all these weird things they were doing, like shoulder hip shifts. I don’t know. It was right, but it was fascinating. I was like, that is so cool to look at how he has to be able to move his body and how it’s different. 

  

Jennifer Whigham (02:10): 

Yeah. Yeah. That is beyond me in terms of how bodies move, but what I’m hearing though is it sounds a lot like coaching in general is helpful even if you are at the top of your game, like that football player whose name I can’t remember already, but it’s fine. You can tell I’m a sports person. Okay. Yeah,I know that guy. 

  

Stephanie Everett (02:34): 

Yeah, I mean, think as we think about the work we do every day, day in and day out, we work with lawyers in our business coaching program. And I think sometimes people think I’m good. Only struggling businesses need to work with a coach, or if I join a coaching program, does that mean I’m admitting that I’m not doing something right or something is going wrong? And I think, no, it’s just the opposite. Let’s be clear. If you are struggling, then joining something like lab could be great and could really help you. But even if you’re succeeding and you might not think, it may not be obvious to you what you want to do differently, getting that help, getting that outside perspective is going to help you level up and grow even faster than if you go it alone. 

  

Jennifer Whigham (03:24): 

Yeah. Just getting a bird’s eye view of a neutral party who can see your firm and your processes, because when you’re in it, you can’t see it. What was that you just told me You can’t see the, tell me. What was that? Yeah, 

  

Stephanie Everett (03:38): 

You can’t read the label when you’re on the inside of the bottle. 

  

Jennifer Whigham (03:41): 

Exactly. And so if you have just a neutral party come in there and they can show you the ways that you can get better. And if you do have ambitions to grow your firm and be the best firm you can be, you need that outside party. So that is really interesting to me. We also help struggling businesses, but that is not the only type of firms that come to us. In fact, I feel like the ones that really do really well are the ones that they’ve been doing fine, but they want to do better. 

  

Stephanie Everett (04:11): 

Yes, absolutely. I think what’s cool about our program and the work we do, I think sometimes also lawyers think, well, are they going to really understand my business? Maybe laws has some special wrinkles to it in terms of the rules of professional responsibility and what we can do or can’t do or how we bill clients. I mean, I could argue that a lot of those are general business problems, but hey, I’m a lawyer and I get it. And there are some special wrinkles to the way we have to approach our business. And that’s what I love about a program like Lab is because we understand it. We’ve been there, we get it. We’ve worked inside firms. Some of our coaches have owned law firms. I’ve owned a law firm, and so our coaches have that even if they have not actually been lawyers or worked inside firms, they have a lot of resources for people who have, and we’ve all been trained in it. One of the things we do is teach our coaches this is what’s special, unique, different about a law firm. And they only work with lawyers. So now they’ve heard it all. And they may still ask a question sometimes that you think, well, that’s not right. But also I remind people sometimes we ask questions knowing we’re given the wrong, we know it’s going to be wrong, but it gets you to think about something differently. 

  

Jennifer Whigham (05:28): 

I mean, it’s not unlike law where you are asking some leading questions that you may know go a certain way because you want the person to get to the point that you think is important for them. And I would like to say we say just coaching and we’re talking about coaching, but in our particular community, you have a community of people who are doing the same thing and they might be doing it differently or they might be doing it in a more interesting way or things that you haven’t thought of. So there’s that whole other part of it. And it’s kind of like that if you go to the gym too, you have your personal trainer, you start to meet people at the gym and you watch them and you’re like, Ooh, I never thought about doing it that way. So there’s also that element I think people forget about in coaching programs like this. 

  

Stephanie Everett (06:11): 

I mean, I had that aha when I was just working with a coach. You only get the benefit of what’s in that person’s brain, but when you join a community, to me, it’s more valuable because now you get the coach’s brain, maybe the other coach’s brains, but also all the other participants’ brains, which can be really powerful. 

  

Jennifer Whigham (06:31): 

So powerful. 

  

Stephanie Everett (06:32): 

Yeah. I love all that. I love the work that we do. It’s so fulfilling to be able to work with firms and help them with their business. And I guess the other kind of piece I would remind people, I know I thought you were going there when you said we keep saying coaching. I think what we do in lab is a little bit different because we wear our coaching hat where we help people solve their problems, but we also wear a teaching hat and even a consultant’s hat where sometimes you just need to understand how this thing works, and it’s not about asking a bunch of woowoo questions to get you there. There are times where we’re like, no, we’re going to teach you how this piece works. We’re going to show you, we’re going to give you templates, we’re going to help you solve this question, this answer faster, simpler, easier than if you were just going at it alone. 

  

Jennifer Whigham (07:21): 

Yeah. It’s a curriculum and not in necessarily this strict way, but it’s a well-rounded renaissance program that helps you learn from all angles. And I guess we turn this into an ad, but it’s true. I mean, we just like talking about it. So it ends up here. 

  

Stephanie Everett (07:39): 

I mean, the great news is sales if an ads is all about helping people. So if you believe that you really are helping people, then we should be willing to shout it from the rooftops. 

  

Jennifer Whigham (07:50): 

I totally agree. Yeah. I mean it’s very genuine. 

  

Stephanie Everett (07:54): 

So if you’re hearing this and thinking, okay, I could use some help or maybe I could use a different perspective and it’s not a sign that I’m struggling, it’s actually a sign that I just want to do something different, faster, better. Yeah. We’ll make sure the link to Lab is in the show notes, but it’s real simple. If you go to Lawyerist dot com slash coaching, you can get more information and learn all about what it would be like to work with us because we would love to work with you. 

  

Jennifer Whigham (08:17): 

We would. And next here is Stephanie’s conversation with Sharai. 

  

Sharai Robbins (08:26): 

Hello. Hello. My name is Sharai Robbins. I am a Simon and Schuster bestselling author, editor, publisher, professional, ghost writer and literary coach, and my incredible team of literary Bayes. That’s my BAE, my badass editors, my BAEs and I, we specialize in helping incredible people write powerful and life-changing books. 

  

Stephanie Everett (08:45): 

Hi Sharai. Welcome to the show. I am really excited to have this conversation today because I hear a lot of people these days talk about wanting to write a book and we can say all the bad things we want about the big bad Amazon, but they have kind of made the ability to write and publish books feel more accessible. 

  

Sharai Robbins (09:05): 

It is accessible. It is not just a feeling, it is a reality. It is a lot more accessible to publish books now than it used to be when you could only publish through the traditional routes, let Simon Schuster McMillan Random House. But now with Amazon, anyone can be a published author, which is a gift then a curse. 

  

Stephanie Everett (09:22): 

Yes. For those of us who might be thinking about it in terms of our business, I know you work with business owners and help them think about writing and positioning a book to support their business. What would you say, what are the reasons why someone should actually think about doing this? 

  

Sharai Robbins (09:39): 

Sure. Well, there’s a plethora. There’s so many reasons, and I get to work with a lot of really incredible people. And so I’ll say that at the core of it, there are usually people who really want to help somebody else. So it’s someone who is desiring to get their message, the message. If it’s how to do with something, if it’s how to overcome with something, figure something out. I usually get to work with people who are adamant about a certain message. And so if you are that person, if you have a business and you have a core values, if there’s a system or a framework or something that you stand on, then a book helps you not just share that with your close network and the people who are immediate proximity to you, but with the world. So globally, you can get that message out there in a way that you can’t, right? 

  

(10:21): 

There’s only one of you, but you could sell millions and millions of copies of one book. So a book is extremely beneficial to get your message out there. It also helps to extend your reach, your credibility. The root word of authority is author. So when people are looking to establish themselves in an industry or be known as an expert, writing a book is one of the most beneficial tools to let someone know that you really do know a whole lot about this subject. So if you want to be seen as a subject matter expert, as a respected authority in your field, a book is a surefire way to really make that happen for you. And like I said, it opens up doors that would not be open to you if you weren’t a published author, if you didn’t have a tool and a resource to be beneficial to someone else. So we’re talking about income opportunities, we’re talking about access, we’re talking about reach, expansion, credibility, the list goes on and on as to why you should write a book. Lifetime too Longevity. This is a product you create one time and then you have it for the rest of your life. So for sure, there’s a plethora of reasons. Pick one. I always tell my writers, pick one and let’s do that. 

  

Stephanie Everett (11:31): 

Yes, I love that. I mean, having had the opportunity and now to say that I am a published author, I can agree with everything you say, and I’m always blown away when somebody reaches out to me from somewhere far away like Nigeria or the UK or all these amazing places around the world, and they say, I’ve read your book. That is crazy. 

  

Sharai Robbins (11:54): 

Yeah, it is. And I love it. I love it when I get my clients who will message me with messages that they received from people who are like, oh, this blew my mind, or I love chapter two. And they’re like, Trey, oh my God, it’s really working. I’m like, yeah, that’s how it works. That’s what happens. 

  

Stephanie Everett (12:10): 

Yeah, for sure. So someone’s bought in, they’re hearing this and they’re like, I have always wanted to write the book, but it feels really daunting and big and hard. And so what do you tell people who are ready to get started? How do they take that first step? 

  

Sharai Robbins (12:25): 

So a big thing that I tell people about writing a book is that it is big, it is daunting, and it can be hard. There’s no real way to say that. Oh, it’s this super easy shortcut to it. What I do say in that is that it isn’t something that you have to do alone. That’s usually the downside. And what makes it big and daunting and hard is that you’re going into this process thinking that this thing that you have never done before, you’re going to knock this out, the ballpark, all the other things that you’ve mastered in your life before and writing is humbling. Writing will be like, Nope, that’s not what we’re going to do today. Or it’s not that easy to grab your words and put your words together. And so to that, I always tell people first and foremost, just recognize that you don’t have to do this alone. 

  

(13:11): 

You can absolutely get help. At the very beginning of the process, I find that people often think of an editor as someone at the end of the journey as opposed to someone you can bring in very early on in the process. So first things first is get help. Why would you try to do this thing all alone? I don’t know. There’s no reason that you have to, but if you should so decide, you know what, I’m just going to venture out and do this, then there are some things that you really do need to keep in mind, like your audience, your message, those things should take priority before you just start writing. So doing the research, knowing exactly what you want to talk about, knowing exactly who this is for. It’s heavy lifting involved in that, but it saves you so much time in the actual writing part when you do that heavy lifting upfront. 

  

Stephanie Everett (14:01): 

And I mean, in all candor, I have a special project that you know about because I have another book inside me. I was like, Hey, I’ve done a couple now. And this one, by the way, for the lawyers out there, this one actually has nothing to do with law firms or the law, but it’s a little side project that I’ve had inside me, and this is the year I was like, this is the year I need to write this book. And so I’m actually signed up for some of your online courses and I’m in your Facebook group now. And even getting that little bit of help really helped me get started. And it helped. There was something about also knowing that I was part of this community, that it was like, okay, and so I took a day off in January and I wrote my outline. I was like, okay, now I’ve got it started, so I still need more work. But it started. 

  

Sharai Robbins (14:51): 

That’s a great start. Congratulations to you on getting started. That’s a major step is deciding, making an executive decision that this is happening. This is something because we’re all so busy and life is going to come, but I love that I took the intentional time, took the day off, and I put my energy and my efforts into making traction, into getting something done. And that’s how you move forward. We could all should have, could have would’ve, I’m going to write a book until we’re all called home, but if we don’t do the actual execution, if we don’t do the actual work, then we don’t have a result. So I applaud you for taking that step, but you’re right, community is a big part of it. Hats off to you for doing that solo, but then yes, you may need to be a part of a community to keep that momentum going. 

  

Stephanie Everett (15:38): 

Yeah, I mean, I still need to write chapter one. I’m not there yet, 

  

(15:44): 

But that is some of the struggle. And I suspect for anyone listening, that would be their biggest struggle too, because we are busy, we’re running our lives and our businesses, and now it’s like, oh, when am I going to throw this other project into it? So do you have examples of success for me? I took the one day off. I probably need to do that once a month, or I’ve thought about should I try to get up two hours early or something? I don’t know. I’m still figuring it out, but I’m wondering what you’ve seen work for people. 

  

Sharai Robbins (16:14): 

Sure. One of the things that I’ve seen work, especially for very, very busy business owners like yourself, so we had a writer who came to the program, and her name is Kiara. She did phenomenal. She knocked her book out in 90 days. Kiara is a real estate developer in Philadelphia. She does extremely well. And at this point now that she has finished her book, she’s doubled her coaching clientele, she went to an interview for something, they hired her and gave her an additional six figure coaching position that she took because of this one book project. But Kiara, a lot of the type personalities that I work with, and I get it done, get it done, all she needed was a structure and a plan and accountability. So once she got that, once she realized, oh, there’s a formula for this. There’s a system, there’s a reason why Sheree keeps asking me these same questions. 

  

(17:00): 

Got it. And so it clicked, and then so Kiara locked herself in a hotel room for about four days and finished knocked the project out. So kind of you in the, I’m going to just stop everything else for a little while and focus on this. That’s how she got to the finish line. It was like total isolation. Hubby watched the kids, I am going to finish this. I’m not leaving here without this book project. And she did it and did phenomenal and handed it over. We edited it. We published it, and she’s killing it because of this one book project. So I think sometimes if you have the ability to balance your days and schedule that time to write as often as you can. I know I can’t ask a business owner to write every day, but I would say three to four times a week. 

  

(17:42): 

But if you can, do you did Stephanie or Kiara and isolate yourself where your only focus is to get that done, then do that. I’ve done that as well, locked in for a weekend. But even then I tell people, write for a few hours and then take a break. Don’t try to write for nine hours. You’ve never written a book before. You’re going to try to write for nine hours. You’re going to hurt yourself. So give yourself a few hours, take a break, go put your feet in the grass, go get in the pool, have a glass of wine, whatever you need to do to unwind and then get back to it. So that is a way that you can try to get as much done as quickly as possible without pulling your hair out. 

  

Stephanie Everett (18:19): 

Yeah. I think one of the other keys you said is there’s a formula, which I think we forget. We don’t realize that there actually is a formula, not just for the book overall, but even each chapter, which is what your online course is, reminded me. I know that, but it was like, here’s your way into a chapter, which is really helpful when you’re just getting started with this. If you’ve never done this before, what advice would you give us around that? 

  

Sharai Robbins (18:46): 

Call me. Like I said, essentially, because you’re absolutely right. There is a framework, and the sooner that you see it and you recognize it, it’s like, oh, I can do this. I can do this in all of my chapters. So identifying and understanding that, I think the sooner that you realize that you don’t have to figure this out and that there is a formula, just get to that formula, get into that community, get into that space, be around other writers. Of course, my team and I, we offer that for people. But if you’re in any other space, if you don’t meet me or know me, then yes, get in some space where there are other writers because you are going to need that ongoing support. And if you’re looking for the secret sauce formula, of course, my team and I, we have that. So like I said, you could reach out 

  

Stephanie Everett (19:35): 

And I think it’s helpful. One of the things you really focus on with people is topic. I mean, if we’re being honest, that probably feels like the hardest place to start. And I’m thinking of my lawyers specifically that I work with, and it’s like, what kind of book could I write that would be helpful to my potential clients or my clients? Sure. A lot of people are thinking of this as a marketing, as a way to market their services. And maybe you don’t have to do too much with the book. You don’t have to tell everybody all the things, but how can people focus and maybe are there some questions they should be asking themselves to figure out what they would write about? 

  

Sharai Robbins (20:16): 

For sure. So business owners, the big thing there is starting with what do you want? What is your goal as the author? What is your big picture goal? What do you want as the outcome of you? What’s your actual ROI? What are you getting? What do you want to get from this? And so if it is more leads, if it is more exposure, if it is more credibility, then we think about for what? Well, what do you want to be known for? What do you want to be seen as an expert in? So then we can start to get a little bit more narrow in that topic as opposed to people have a specialty and a multitude of things, so you can’t pick one. Well, if we focus in on what you actually want as a result of writing the book, then we can start to get a little bit more granular in our options to get started. 

  

(21:00): 

So an attorney or as a lawyer, there’s options. We could go as a topic, we could go law overall. That’s the general topic. But every lawyer, every law firm, they have different practices, different ways, different things that they do. And so the next question after we come from topic is going to be your message. So if we know you can talk about the law, my question then becomes, okay, well then Stephanie, what’s specifically about the law or practicing or something that matters immensely to you? If I gave you a microphone and put you in a room of 10,000, lawyers the message, what’s the thing that you feel like we have to leave here knowing and believing? And so some of it is about the audience and the message, but a lot of it also boils down to the writer. What is in your heart? What is the thing that you need to get out to the world? 

  

(21:50): 

Sometimes it’s God ordained. It’s like this is the thing. And sometimes it’s very, very like, Nope, I know that I’ve got to help people do this certain thing. Or if I’m competing firms, I need to demonstrate that my firm has this value system over whatever, or these are the practices that we specialize in women, or whatever that is. Then you want to demonstrate those things that kind of set you apart. So start asking yourself those questions. What are the things that truly, truly matter to me? If I had a microphone and 10 minutes and an audience of 10,000, what would I say? I just got shoved out there. What am I going to talk about? And then like I said, what matters most to you? And then what do you want to be known for? I also ask people all the time, what are you comfortable being known for? 

  

(22:34): 

Not like I want to be known for being beautiful, but that means that you then also have to prepare your face every day. You have to show up like this every day. What are you comfortable? If the world sees you as this way, are you going to show up? Are you ready to show up that way all the time, every day? So those are some questions at the core that we do. Yes, we have the framework for the book itself. But the questions, I love this, Stephanie, because the questions that you’re asking are the foundational questions. These are the things that we have to get clear on before we can start writing the book. And usually I take the writers through a process. We go through what we call our plan. So what is your purpose? What is your language or what is the way that you’re going to come across in the book? 

  

(23:16): 

So don’t, what I see is people come across sounding, they think a writer should sound right. So we got to dial that back a little bit. So your language is less verbose, and it’s very, not the technical jargon, but actual language that people can relate to. What is the authority that you’re bringing to the conversation? And then what do you want next? So we go, that’s our plan acronym to help lay the foundation for what it is, what you want, and where we’re going with this. So that’s not usually that’s where we start with every writer let’s the plan. 

  

Stephanie Everett (23:46): 

Love it. Alright. Now I want to fast forward to we’re in the writing process and maybe even at the end, okay, Lawyerist are perfectionists. We think because the judge makes us, right? We get really dinged. If we’re writing a brief and there’s a typo on the first page, we’re going to hear about that. So I think where we also get stuck, and maybe even me too, is how could this draft possibly be ready to go into the world? I just talked with someone that I know. I saw her at a conference a couple of weeks ago, and I know her book has been written for a long time. I want to have her on the show as soon as it publishes. And I was like, where are we with the draft? And she was like, I’m still struggling to get it out because she’s like, I think I need to rewrite it. I think I need, is it good enough? Things keep changing. And I was like, no, first draft is perfect. You got to get it out in the world. You got to stop having that conversation with yourself. So I just would love to hear your advice for us perfectionist. 

  

Sharai Robbins (24:50): 

For us perfectionist. So twofold, all of it leads back to help. So for the person that you’re referring to, if she wrote the book by herself and you’ve gone through that process and you’ve got everything out there, what you need is called a developmental edit. You do need another set of eyes and not just a random set of eyes. Someone with a certain skillset and a level of education and training that can come in and say, well, this choice of words is taking the emotion to the left. And if we can substitute that with this, then let’s do that. So for that person who has already written the manuscript, and now your perfectionism has you stalled because you can’t move forward because you’re not sure if it’s perfect, and that perfection is making you not ask for help, release that fear. And I talk about this all the time, the perfection trap release, that fear. 

  

(25:34): 

It is absolutely okay to ask someone to help you with this. No matter how brilliant or profound you are, it is akay to ask, especially a book editor, to assist with this project that you have completed as far as you can take it. And also rest assured that any book that has ever been published, any book on the New York Times bestseller list, any John Maxwell himself accredits Charlie Wetzel for 40 years of helping him write leadership books. So I just want you to keep in mind that there is no book that ever hits the marketplace that does extremely well, that has not had an editor, that has not had someone in the process with them. So if you’ve gone through the writing and you’ve done it by yourself, now tag someone in. If you are in the writing and you are struggling, tag someone in. We just had a writer come through the program recently. 

  

(26:23): 

She’s an attorney, phenomenal. And she’s super, super smart. And she got about two months into the program and she said, Sherry, I just realized she just realized it. She said, I just realized that everything I have to say doesn’t matter. And I was like, okay, okay. She was like, it just hit me because I told this story. And she’s like, it took me five pages to tell the story and I’m looking at the story and I’m going, I didn’t need this. I didn’t that. I didn’t need any of these pieces. And I said, well, how did that feel? And she said, A little frustrating at first, she said, but now going into my next chapter, I’m like, okay, let me just cut some of this fluff. I don’t need all of this. So she needed the space to feel safe, to be able to have that conversation. 

  

(27:00): 

And then also the encouragement to know that it’s okay to cut it. It’s okay. It doesn’t mean that your story or your voice isn’t valuable. It’s okay. The moment that you realize that everything you have to say isn’t going to make it into the book, it’s a relief. You should like, okay, I don’t have to do all of that. Alright, well then let me just focus on the things I need to focus on. And again, both of those equations from in the writing, in the trenches, and then when you’ve done the writing and you need some support, it all is editing, it all is support and accountability that really helps you get to the finish line. 

  

Stephanie Everett (27:33): 

Maybe just before we wrap up, I want to shift even again because in your intro you said that you also do ghost writing and maybe people aren’t familiar with that concept or it might even feel a little bit like cheating. So I’m kind of curious if you could talk for a minute about what that process is like and who might consider going that route if they are so inclined? 

  

Sharai Robbins (27:56): 

Sure. So ghost writing, let me just be very clear. When I talk about ghost writing, ghost writing does not mean that you disappear. So I have a lot of people who go, I don’t have the time to write, so I’m just going to pay you. And then you can write it. And while that is true, it does not mean that you go away. It still means, let’s say Stephanie, you decide you’re going to go do a ghost writing project. I need hours of your time. I need hours and hours of your time. I need to ask you thorough questions. So we set up a framework, everything that I just said to you about how I work my writers through the process. It’s the same process for a ghost writer. Still need to know the purpose, still need to know how you want to show up. 

  

(28:35): 

I still need to know the authority. I still need to know the next steps and the goals that you want to achieve. So that’s where we’re starting. Then we go into what do you want to say? So it’s basically like I’m interviewing you and then the framework for people who are not working with ghostwriter, it’s identical, right? It’s the same process except for over here. I’m the person walking you through all of these questions. And then I record them, transcribe them, clean them up, and here’s the part that always tickles me. So then I clean it up and I bring it back to you and you tell me that it’s all wrong. Everything’s wrong because only the first time that you tell the story, it’s like you are telling the story to yourself for the first time. So when I give it back to a writer every single time they’re like, oh, I forgot. 

  

(29:14): 

Oh my goodness. And then this actually happened, or that actually happened. And I’m like, no worries. So at this point I’m aware, right? So I build that into the relationship, but they’re like, oh, Sharon. I’m like, it’s okay. I knew right up in here there was a big gap missing that we have to fill in. So ghost writing is really for that person who doesn’t want to learn how to write. I will say that that’s more so it’s like I don’t really want to take the time to click through and make all the sentences flow. I’ll let you do that beautiful part, but it does not remove the intellectual part. I need all of you in a ghost, right? I need you to be fully present. You have to approve every word. I spoke to a writer the other day that says she had a book published and she was just distressed when she got it. 

  

(29:53): 

And I was like, did you not go through it with the editor? Did you miss that part of it? So that’s something to consider too. With a ghost write. You won’t be writing, but you’ll be doing a lot of the thinking. You’ll be doing a lot of reading and critiquing and giving feedback and approving to make sure that it is chef’s kiss that it is the result that you want from the work that you put in. Then I disappear. That’s the ghost part. Then I disappear. Once it’s all done, your name is on the cover, my name’s on the little inside written with kind of thing. Then I’m out of the equation. So that’s what a ghost rite is. Not you disappear. I disappear when it’s done. 

  

Stephanie Everett (30:31): 

I love that. That is a really good reminder. Alright, well you have given everybody so much to think about. I think that there are lots of books coming from this community. I just know it. 

  

Sharai Robbins (30:45): 

There should be. There should be. 

  

Stephanie Everett (30:47): 

Because they have a lot to say. They don’t realize it. People should 

  

Sharai Robbins (30:49): 

Write books. Yes. I think every business owner should write a book. I think brilliant people should write books. I think that there’s just so much knowledge and information that we have and if we share it, we can change the world. So yes, write the book. Absolutely write the book. 

  

Stephanie Everett (31:03): 

I’m writing that down. I love it. Obviously, we’re so excited to have all this great information you’ve given us so much to think about and I want to make sure we’ll put all the links to your stuff in the show notes. So if people do want to learn more about you and your programs or get help writing, we’ll make it easy for them to do that. 

  

Sharai Robbins (31:22): 

Thank you. 

  

Stephanie Everett (31:23): 

Alright, thanks for being with me today. 

  

Sharai Robbins (31:25): 

Thank you. Thank you for having me. 

 

Announcer: 

The Lawyerist Podcast is edited by Britany Felix. Are you ready to implement the ideas we discuss here into your practice? Wondering what to do next? Here are your first two steps. First. If you haven’t read The Small Firm Roadmap yet, grab the first chapter for free at Lawyerist.com/book. Looking for help beyond the book? Let’s chat about whether our coaching communities, are right for you. Head to Lawyerist.com/community/lab to schedule a 10-minute call with our team to learn more. The views expressed by the participants are their own and are not endorsed by Legal Talk Network. Nothing said in this podcast is legal advice for you. 

 

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