We help get your book in focus and into the world.
At Clear Sight Books, we work with seasoned professionals—executives, consultants, speakers, entrepreneurs—on nonfiction books that support their business, career, or legacy. We help in two ways: writing and publishing.
Writing Your Book
Maybe you’ve got an idea but aren’t sure where to start or how to flesh it out. Or you’ve got a draft but don’t know if it’s making your point effectively. Or you’re so busy running your business that you can’t find time to write.
We’re here to help you find your core message, and then structure and shape that message. Together we’ll develop a strong, compelling voice that lets you reach your intended audience. We offer:
- Manuscript critiques
- Editing (from in-depth revision to proofreading)
- Collaborative writing or ghostwriting
- Coaching while you write
Publishing Your Book
There are two primary paths for publishing—self-publishing and traditional publishing. Each has its strengths, and whichever you choose, we can help.
- Self-Publishing – Clear Sight Books offers professional self-publishing services for authors who know they need a book, know they need it done right, and want to maintain control of content, design, and marketing.
- Traditional Publishing – For authors who want or need a traditional publisher, Clear Sight Books offers help with query letters and book proposals.
Visit our Services page to learn more. Want to know who you’d be working with? Meet the Team.
Ready to talk?
Contact us at info@clearsightbooks.com for a complimentary 45-minute discovery session to discuss your goals and challenges. We’ll let you know how we can help; if we’re not the right fit, we’ll do our best to point you to other resources.
And if you’re not quite ready yet, sign up for our monthly newsletter for information and inspiration that can help keep you going. You’ll get to know us better, and you can get in touch when the time is right.
Still on the fence about writing a book?
Writing a book is a significant investment of time, energy, and money. Take the time to understand the benefits and the effort involved before you start. Then when you’re ready, you’ll know what you’re committing to and can jump in with both feet.
Business Benefits of Writing a Book
On a strategic business level, publishing a book increases your credibility and authority, which offers the opportunity for:
- Easier Business Development – The tangible proof of your expertise reassures prospective clients and professional partners that you’re the one they want to work with. As one Clear Sight Books client says, “The sales conversation changes.”
- Increased Professional Fees – Consultants, coaches, speakers, and similar professionals typically can charge higher rates when they have a published book. For speakers in particular, having a book is a prime differentiator in being selected to keynote a conference and the amount you can charge.
- Greater Influence – Your book can help position you as a thought leader in your industry or profession. As a result, you may find increased opportunities to share your ideas, not only through your book, but through more speaking engagements, requests for interviews, or invitations to write articles for broader audiences.
Of course, those benefits require some intentional actions on your part (like raising your fees), but consider: how might your career advance if you had a book?
Personal Benefits of Writing a Book
The business benefits are nice, but sometimes the personal benefits are even bigger. Our clients often say they have accomplished something meaningful. They find a sense of completion. They feel they’ve fulfilled a critical purpose.
One Clear Sight Books client described it like this: “I had so many stories to tell that could help so many people… If I hadn’t written my book, it would have been like dying with the music still inside me.”
When clients gain that sense of wholeness, an amazing light starts to shine in them. Not only have they given their message a chance to take flight, but they’ve discovered new power in themselves. And that benefits all areas of their lives.
What It Takes to Write a Book
Writing a book is no trivial task. From scarce time to shaky skill to fear of the blank page, most of us face writing challenges.
Before you write, the more clarity you have on your audience, your goals, and how you plan to use your book, the easier the book-development process becomes.
On a purely practical level, you can anticipate 200 to 300 hours of writing time for a 50,000-word nonfiction business book. Caveat: This is a ballpark range—the time it takes you to write will depend on the length of book you decide to write, how well you know your content, and your interest and skill in the actual writing process.
Then there’s the editing process (beta readers? revisions? Oxford comma or no Oxford comma?)…
…and publishing process (self-publishing or traditional publishing? cover design? interior design? ebook version?)…
Whew.
Can you do it yourself? Yes, you absolutely can if you have the time, skill, and fortitude.
If you’d prefer some help…
Email us at info@clearsightbooks.com to schedule a complimentary 45-minute discovery session. Let’s see if Clear Sight Books is the right fit for your project.
Select Recent Releases
The Fragrant Path: A Guide to the Japanese Art of Incense by Michael J. Cousineau
For over 1,400 years, the Japanese art of incense has painted the air, its fragrant wisps of smoke like the soft monochromatic hues of a sumi ink painting. As one of Japan’s most comprehensive art forms, incense is both an expression of Japanese culture and a reflection of the poetic, literary, spiritual, and historic events that shaped its refinement.
When we “listen” to Japanese incense, we listen to the whispers of nature, enjoying a dialogue with emperors and shōguns, samurai and tea masters, merchants and courtiers, through a shared experience with fragrance that transcends time. Allowing us to touch the wisdom of nature directly, Japanese incense is capable of teaching us not only about its rare and fragrant ingredients but about ourselves as well.
Filled with practical suggestions, useful tips, and in-depth discussions of the ritual appreciation of Kōdō (the incense ceremony) and kumikō (incense games), The Fragrant Path guides readers through the rich history, selection, use, and appreciation of Japanese incense. Whether you’ve just lit your first stick of incense or burned ten thousand, The Fragrant Path offers a rare, in-depth look into the Japanese art of incense.
Available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, your local indie bookshop, and wherever books are sold.
Silent Thunder: A Memoir by Evi Papadopoulos
At the end of the day, there is no ‘normal’ life. If normal means easy, we will miss the opportunity to discover the boundaries of our abilities.
At thirty-three, Evi Papadopoulos – rising businesswoman and mother of two – learned she had breast cancer, beginning a journey that would last thirty-four years. Silent Thunder is the memoir she envisioned but did not live to complete. In a labour of love, her family finished the work she had begun.
While Evi was celebrated for her business success and civic contributions, Silent Thunder reveals her inner world, that of the explorer, traveller, poet, philosopher, and spiritual seeker. Her writings reflect her doubt and resolve, devastation and hope, insights and discoveries.
Evi felt called to share these lessons with the women who would follow. Her story became a guide ‘to show how life can go on amidst the changes and the sometimes awful, necessary choices’ cancer brings. May Evi’s story inspire and strengthen you as you face your own challenges.
Available on Amazon.
The Law of Biblical Mechanics: Principles and Processes for Management and Stewardship by Ernest R. Roberts III
LEADING FOR PURPOSE, STEWARDSHIP & LEGACY
One of the most difficult leadership positions in any organization is that of project manager. Companies rise or fall based on how well leaders manage scope, schedule, and budget. The larger the project, the more overwhelming the job can feel.
In The Law of Biblical Mechanics: Principles and Processes for Management and Stewardship, Professional Engineer Ernest R. Roberts III offers a unique twist on typical project management advice: Biblical wisdom. He begins with the original “project charter” given to Adam and Eve, the first parents, to be stewards of the earth. He then methodically works through principles of effective stewardship, including analysis of relevant Bible verses and practical applications of their lessons.
We each have a responsibility to steward our business and personal lives in ways that ensure we leave a legacy to future generations. Whatever your chosen area of influence, the concepts and tools Mr. Roberts elucidates can help you fulfill your purpose and thrive.
Available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other retailers.
The Wannabe Investor: 40 Must-Know Facts Before Buying Your First Stock by Ann Marie Sabath
LET THE WANNABE INVESTOR BE THE KEY TO UNLOCKING A BRIGHTER FINANCIAL FUTURE FOR YOU!
Do you find the stock market intimidating?
Does the thought of losing your hard-earned money hold you back?
Do you think you don’t have enough time to dedicate to investing in the market?
You’re not alone! A staggering 40 percent of Americans shy away from investing in the stock market due to a lack of knowledge, funds, or confidence. In this groundbreaking book, Ann Marie Sabath, a former wannabe investor turned diversified stock owner, shares her wealth of knowledge to empower you to enter the world of investing one step at a time.
Sabath’s writing style is refreshingly down-to-earth, making even the most intricate concepts easy to grasp. She shares the essential pre-investment steps, ensuring you have a solid foundation before buying your first share of stock. She explains the seven excuses people make for not investing, how to identify your risk tolerance level, the power of compounding, the one-hour-a-year investment strategy, and much more.
The Wannabe Investor isn’t just another dry investment book. It’s a transformative guide that reveals the strategies that self-made millionaires use to build wealth. Don’t let your hard-earned money languish in low-yield savings accounts or slow-growing bonds any longer. You will be ready to take control of your financial future after reading The Wannabe Investor.
Available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, and other retailers.
Overtime: The Three Periods of a Champion and What Comes After by William C. Lam
A MEMOIR OF LEADERSHIP, IMPACT & FAITH
Growing up among sports royalty in Boulder, Colorado, Bill Lam was taught one mantra: compete hard and win. He excelled as a star wrestler at the University of Oklahoma, adopting the “three periods of a champion” ethos—talent, hard work, and heart—instilled by his coach. For thirty years, he molded champions as head wrestling coach at the University of North Carolina, transforming the program into a national force.
Lam played as hard as he worked, earning a reputation for more than just wins. He himself had to journey through the three periods of a champion, maturing in the process. And at the height of his success, a wake-up call forced him to confront life’s “overtime.”
In Overtime: The Three Periods of a Champion and What Comes After, readers enter the competitive world of college sports and witness one man’s evolution through life’s tough lessons, as he fights to emerge a better person on the other side.
Available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, and other retailers.
The MARVEL of Happiness: Principles, Stories and Lessons for Living Fully, Second Edition, by Philippos Aristotelous
HAPPINESS MIGHT NOT BE WHAT YOU THINK.
Anyone who promises a magic recipe for happiness should be regarded with suspicion. With The MARVEL of Happiness, Philippos Aristotelous offers something far more profound. In this second edition, he continues and expands his compelling exploration of ‘the good life’, weaving together insights from philosophy, psychology and personal experience.
Through thought-provoking stories and practical lessons, Aristotelous delves into the seven deadly myths that may be hindering your pursuit of happiness and uncovers the MARVEL principles that will empower you to construct a holistic sense of well-being.
Offering deep understanding and a refreshing perspective, Aristotelous challenges conventional notions and invites you to travel your unique path with The MARVEL of Happiness as your companion. The adventure awaits—unlock your version of happiness and discover the marvels that life has in store.
Available at Amazon.
She Found Her Voice: The Life of Nancy Evans Roles, Artist and Advocate by Barbara McKinnon
THE ART OF BECOMING tantalizes all who spend time in reflection. As a young woman coming of age in early twentieth-century America, Nancy Evans Roles documented faithfully her keen observations and rich experiences. Her reflections helped form the person she would become as she built a life of purpose and consequence.
Born in the rural South in 1908, in her twenties Nancy was introduced to the work of John Dewey, a champion of the progressive education movement. The philosophy that education must prepare students for active participation in their world would be an enduring touchstone for her. Indefatigable as a community leader, Nancy was a formidable advocate for social justice and an important voice in civic debate. She also found later success as a prolific plein air artist, all while forging a fulfilling personal life.
In She Found Her Voice, Barbara Roles McKinnon chronicles her mother’s life through exploration of her papers and artifacts, and interviews with her and her contemporaries. This biography offers insight into the imagination, vision, and complexities of a woman whose life spanned a century marked by seismic transformation and whose body of work reflected a holistic, mature ethic and a deep appreciation of the natural world.
Available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, and other retailers.
