Written by: Lynn Cadet
Edited by: Lillian Castro
TL; DR: Content has been a valuable lead generator for years. Today, various forms of content marketing exist, including blog posts, emails, and social media posts. But business owners have also set their eyes on one of the oldest mediums in the world: books. Writing a book can help entrepreneurs build authority, promote their products, and convert leads. Grammar Factory provides business owners with the resources and guidance to write engaging reads that produce desired results. We spoke with Scott MacMillan, Chief Strategist and Executive Publisher at Grammar Factory, about the platform, client success stories, and its unique publishing strategy.
Writing books has become a valuable and profitable business venture for many entrepreneurs. It helps them build authority, market their products, and increase revenue. But starting a book journey can be intimidating, especially if it’s not something you do professionally.
The good news is that business owners don’t have to magically transform into publishing experts overnight to write a great read. They can turn to online tools and publishing services to learn more about the process and get started faster. Grammar Factory is a publishing house that provides guidance and resources to business owners as they navigate their publishing process.
Studio Ninja co-founders Yuan Wang and Chris Garbacz can attest to the value of having a publishing partner like Grammar Factory. The founding duo lead an Australian-based SaaS company that offers studio management software designed for photographers. Seeking to demonstrate their product’s benefits, Yuan and Chris wrote a book addressing how their platform can deliver more time and money for their clients.
“Oftentimes, tech success is driven more by the product than by the personality and credibility of the founder. But that doesn’t mean a publishing strategy isn’t valuable for these businesses,” said Scott MacMillan, Chief Strategist and Executive Publisher at Grammar Factory.
Grammar Factory has helped Studio Ninja and hundreds of other businesses create publishing strategies to turn their first drafts into masterpieces and bestsellers. With so many tech products out there, writing a book can help businesses stand out from the crowd. And Grammar Factory allows tech companies to do just that.
A Focus on Great Reads That Support Business Goals
Grammar Factory is a Canadian self-publishing company on a mission to empower business leaders to not only write and publish great reads but also support their business goals. Publishing a book can help entrepreneurs accomplish various goals, from generating leads to establishing credibility. Demand for tech information remains high, so books can be an excellent launching pad and marketing tool for businesses.
Grammar Factory works as an extension to the client’s team by streamlining the writing and publishing process. “Our authors aren’t professional writers. They are business people and shouldn’t have to become publishing experts to manage a publishing project. We take all we can off their plate so they can focus on building their business and delivering value to their clients,” said Scott.
Grammar Factory takes a multilayered approach to publishing so it can deliver the best results. First, its team meets with its clients for strategic alignment, ensuring that the book’s premise matches the client’s business goals. The second layer is excellence.
“Most of the authors we work with are the face of their business. The editorial and the design have to reflect the quality of the author and their business. The book has to enhance, not hurt, their credibility,” said Scott.
Most of Grammar Factory’s clients want to build their credibility and position themselves as thought leaders or the go-to authority in the market. So establishing a standard of excellence for finished products is a priority for the Grammar Factory.
Lastly, Grammar Factory promotes and prioritizes its authors’ ownership. It lets authors control and own everything about their content from the start. That means go-to-market timing, revenue, and flexibility around their IPs. “In our view, these should all be considered non-negotiables, and everything we do at Grammar Factory is designed to deliver them,” said Scott.
Navigating Generative AI While Maintaining a Unique Voice
Generative AI has shaken up plenty of industries in the last year, and it has been no different for the publishing industry. Although some may have their concerns about AI, Scott has a different perspective on AI’s future in content.
“While many in publishing are, I think, apprehensive about AI, my view is more optimistic. From the perspective of access, it’s a great thing in that it’s making authorship accessible to many more people,” said Scott.
Because most of Grammar Factory’s client base doesn’t have an extensive writing background, something like generative AI can allow them to optimize their writing journey. But using generative AI does come with its pitfalls. Scott told us that AI-based manuscripts tend to have lower-quality content and often defeat the purpose of building authority unless the author knows how to collaborate with it properly.
“We’re spending quite a bit of time developing guidelines for our authors about how to use AI effectively, if they choose to do so, and processes for our editors about how to treat manuscripts that have been written using AI as it necessarily changes our approach to editing,” said Scott.
By creating these guidelines, Grammar Factory can help writers get back on their desired path: creating an engaging and unique product that showcases their authority and connects meaningfully to their business, while allowing them to leverage a useful tool in AI engines.
“The work becomes less about structuring prose, which AI does quite a good job of, and more about uncovering the author’s unique voice, making the text feel less generic, and ensuring that the author delivers useful and engaging insights linked to their business,” said Scott.
Assisting Business Owners Along their Authorship Journey
Writing a full-fledged nonfiction book is a daunting task, even for the most seasoned and accomplished writers. Getting the first line on the page can be a hurdle in itself. This is why the team at Grammar Factory seeks to assist clients in any way possible. By joining authors in the writing process, Grammar Factory can empower them to get over the hump.
Scott said Grammar Factory has a new program to help writers who are only in the planning phase. “Our new Guided Author Publishing is a more hands-on publishing program that not only takes a book from manuscript to books-in-hand but also guides an entrepreneur through the earlier stages of conceiving, planning, and writing their manuscript,” said Scott.
Guided Author Publishing isn’t a traditional book coaching program. Instead, it combines Grammar Factory’s existing “Book Blueprint” and “Entrepreneur to Author” IP into a light curriculum. This curriculum will feature guides and templates that layer in-depth, professional feedback from its editing practice and access to world-class strategy, publishing, design, and editing experts.
“It’s a unique offering that is unique in the market and offers the sort of end-to-end support that many would-be authors need to get over the intimidating steps of writing a book manuscript,” said Scott.
