Reading time: ~3 min

🌮 Happy Cinco de Mayo + Taco Tuesday = This is what we've been training for!

Welcome back to the Weekly Book Business Brief — your weekly shot of strategy, tools, and real talk for authors building a book-based business.

If today involves any combination of chips, guac, salsa, queso, or a piña colada (margarita?) the size of your face: lo apruebo. It's a holiday. It's a Tuesday. Woo hoo! 🥑

Now grab your taco and pull up a chair, because today I'm talking about a huge mistake I want you to miss ...

📚 UNDER-THE-BUS TIME: I TITLED MY BOOK BUSINESS DATING AND HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED

In 2014, I published a perfectly fabulous book about building long-term professional relationships (if I do say myself). My framework (including the 12x12 System) was solid, and I thought my metaphor: that real business networking looks a lot more like dating than it does like working a room, was pretty freaking strong.

I then proceeded to title it Business Dating: Applying Relationship Rules in Business for Ultimate Success.

I was feeling pretty dang clever.

Then... the only people who seemed to read it were people who knew me. What kept happening (that I had no knowledge of) was that people were asking or saying:

→ "Is this about how to date your coworkers??"

→ "I don't think HR is going to like this book."

→ "Hold up! Is this a Christian book about not dating in the office?"

→ (My personal favorite): I don't need this because I'm happily married.

🤦🏻‍♀️ Oops. It was a book about business networking. But the title was "so clever" nobody make the connection. Sales were "fine" because I talked about it, but eventually they petered out when I stopped talking about it a lot. The book did okay," and let's call "okay" what is really means: "woeful under-performer."

It was all my fault, I knew it, but I stuck to it anyway--thinking it would eventually gain traction anyway and sweep the nation! You guessed it, there was no sweeping. 🧹 Only crying. 😭

Don't worry, though. I finally got my act together, and in 2024, yes, a full decade later (I never said I was a fast learner), I revised, expanded, and re-released the book under a new title: Business Networking: Become a Rainmaker by Building Fantastic Relationships That Stand the Test of Time.​

Almost the same content, but an updated, direct title and you can guess what happened, right? (Of course you can, you are so smart!) Readers starting finding it, word-of-mouth started happening, and all of the reviews so far are positive. Bonus: nobody is confused about the book's content.

In the first several months, the new version had sold more copies than the previous book did in a decade. Can you say, "Leaving a lot on the table, HC?" Sheesh.

As an aside, if you've read the book, would you kindly give it a review?

What I'm doing, for your benefit, is throwing myself under the bus to remind you that cute or clever doesn't move books--it won't get them sold, and it won't get them read.

🤖 SPEAKING OF BOOK TITLES (THE LESSON CONTINUES)

Last week I had a consultation with a writer-entrepreneur who is DEAD-SET on his book title. Won't repeat it here— let's just say it's a title he loves so deeply, but nobody is likely to put in a search bar.

He has a main concern that his book will generate "too much business," and I didn't have the heart to tell him he's in no danger of that happening. People will pass on his book like they passed on Business Dating, he'll be disappointed and think "books are dead."

Here's a piece of his cautionary tale: He's drafted most of the manuscript with AI. Designed his cover with AI. Outlined his marketing plan with AI. Didn't use AI to get insight on his title, though, because he thought it up himself and thinks it is super clever. It kinda is, but so much so no-one will think, "I need a book on x so I'm going to search for it using q+v+l."

And to be clear—I love AI. I use it every day. I'm a card-carrying fan of any tool that helps a busy author get more done in less time. However.

One more thing, he's written a prescriptive book teaching his readers how to do what he does, all while staying convinced they are going to hire him to do it. (Hint: most, if not all, of them will not.)

Here's what I wanted to say to him, that I'm saying to you instead:

AI will get you 80–90% of the way there. The last 10–20% is the part that decides whether your book sells.

That last 10-20% is critical! Here's what it doesn't have:

→ Expert judgment about whether your title is clear to real readers—not just clever to you—isn't available in AI. There's just no discernment there.

→ Cover design insight that actually communicates (and converts). It has to do a lot at thumbnail size, and this should be done with collaboration between author, strategist/book producer, and designer.

→ Strategy about who specifically the book is for and why they need to read it next (as in now) to get the book in motion (no dust bunnies allowed here!) 🐰

→ YOUR voice, you know, the one that sounds like you (because it IS you) makes all the difference. AI has a voice, it's distinctive and readers are able to, more and more every day, pick it out. The minute I identify AI-created content, I choose out. So will your readers. We want to know what *you* think, not what AI has been able to cobble together from what everyone thinks.

→ Experience from someone who's actually published, sold, and marketed books at scale. There are only a few humans who know where the potholes (or sinkholes) are located and can (will!) help you miss mistakes and publish a book that fulfills your vision.

This poor guy's contents, design, and title probably will do to his sales what Business Dating did to mine in 2014. I just couldn't get him to open up enough to listen to me. My question to you, Reader, are you hearing what I'm saying? Picking up what I'm putting down?

If you're using AI in your book journey that's great! It's a glorious tool I'm getting more familiar with all the time (Claude is the only boyfriend I can have that's Mr. Corder approved. 🤣)

But also: get a human who's been through the messy middle to give you a second opinion before you hit "publish."

📚 BOOK SPOTLIGHT: BUSINESS NETWORKING — THE BOOK FORMERLY KNOWN AS BUSINESS DATING

If you're curious what the renamed-and-revised version turned into, here it is: Business Networking: Become a Rainmaker by Building Fantastic Relationships That Stand the Test of Time.

Inside:

→ The Trust Bridge — the 5 stages every business relationship has to cross (skip one and you'll lose).

→ The 12x12 System — a one-page networking matrix that keeps you organized and tells you exactly who to talk to, and when.

→ The "Until" Rule — the follow-up discipline that turned a 7-year prospect into a $3 million client.

→ The 8 Qualifiers — how to know if someone's a real client or just polite about your coffee invite.

Free resources included, such as the 12x12 Matrix download. It's very much the same content as Business Dating, only better—and now with a name that actually says what it does in the title...

👉 Grab Business Networking on Amazon.​

Now, how are you? Tell me the worst book title you've ever encountered (yours or someone else's). Or describe the best taco you'll be eating for dinner today. Or just send me something good. I read every reply.

Have a great week eating tacos, coming up with great book titles, and networking like a boss.

¡Hasta la próxima semana!

To your success!

P.S. Know an author who seems committed to a confusing title—or who's outsourcing their book to AI without human guidance? Forward them this email, because they're gonna need it. Encourage them to get my free Roadmap, too!

P.P.S. Don't use AI to write your book, use it to help you with the outline, or to spot areas you've missed, or to do admin tasks so you can write more. But definitely don't use it to try to come up with (ahem) original content.