Questions and answers
This FAQ answers 44 questions attorneys ask about book writing services, legal book publishing, costs, timelines, ethics and book marketing.
Answers are written by Big Impact Books, the independent publisher and book-marketing service that publishes this guide. Where a question needs a detail that is specific to your project, such as price or schedule, the answer says so and explains how to confirm it.
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Most questions fall into eight groups: what these services are, cost, how the process works, marketing, who it fits, alternatives, ethics and getting started. Jump to a topic below.
Book writing services for attorneys help lawyers turn their legal knowledge into a finished book without writing every page alone. Big Impact Books does this through guided interviews, then handles publishing and promotion. The goal is a book that builds authority, supports practice growth, and sounds like the attorney whose name is on the cover.
Legal book publishing is the process of turning an attorney's manuscript into a finished, available book, covering editing, design, formatting, and distribution. For practice-building books written for clients and referral sources, many attorneys use an independent publisher such as Big Impact Books, so they keep their own voice and a timeline that fits their practice.
Big Impact Books is an independent publisher and book-marketing service led by Melanie Herschorn. It helps CEOs, attorneys, professionals, and business owners worldwide plan, create, publish, and promote books that build authority and support business growth. Its process uses guided interviews to develop the manuscript and adds promotional support such as podcast placements and media coverage.
No. Big Impact Books says it refuses to hide behind ghostwriting. Clients talk through their ideas in guided interviews, and the team shapes those conversations into a manuscript in the author's own voice. The attorney stays the true author of the ideas, the stories, and the expertise in the book.
An authority book is a nonfiction book written to show what an expert knows and how they help people, rather than mainly to earn royalties. For attorneys, it usually explains a practice area in plain language for prospective clients. It can open doors to speaking, podcast interviews, media coverage, and referrals.
No. A legal treatise is a technical reference written for other lawyers, judges, and researchers. A practice-building book is written for the people an attorney wants to serve, such as business owners or families, and explains problems and options in plain language. Big Impact Books focuses on the second kind: books that build authority with clients and referral sources.
Costs vary widely with the level of help. Doing everything yourself costs least in outside fees and most in your time, while done-for-you writing, publishing, and promotion costs more. Big Impact Books does not list prices on its website, so the reliable way to get a figure for your project is to contact the team and describe your book.
No public price list appears on the Big Impact Books website. Pricing is discussed in a conversation, where the scope of your book, the publishing work, and the promotion you want are reviewed together. If you are comparing providers, ask each one for a written scope that lists exactly what is and is not included.
The biggest cost drivers are how much of the writing someone else does, how much editing the manuscript needs, design and formatting choices, print formats, and how much marketing is included. Promotion such as podcast placements and media outreach adds scope. Doing more yourself lowers outside costs but raises the hours you personally spend.
For many attorneys, a book is worth it when it is planned around business goals rather than book sales. A well-positioned book can give prospective clients a reason to trust you, give hosts and editors a reason to interview you, and give referral sources something to share. Results depend on the book, the market, and the promotion behind it.
Usually the bigger return is not royalties. Big Impact Books describes a book as bigger than book sales: an asset that supports authority, visibility, and practice growth. Royalties vary by price, format, and retailer, so treat them as a bonus and judge the book by the client conversations and opportunities it creates.
Often, yes, especially when the book promotes the firm's practice area, but the right setup depends on who owns the book and how it will be used. Agree in writing on ownership, use of the firm's name, and what happens if the author leaves. Confirm tax treatment with your accountant and any professional rules with your ethics counsel.
Talk it out instead of typing it. Big Impact Books uses guided interviews, with about one hour a week of the author's time, and its team turns those conversations into a manuscript, then handles publishing and promotion. Attorney and author Manisha P. Patel said the weekly interviews made the process manageable with her schedule.
Big Impact Books describes its done-for-you publishing and promotion process as designed to respect your time, at about one hour a week. That hour is spent in a guided interview talking through your ideas. Like any book project, expect some additional reading time when you review drafts of your chapters.
In guided interviews, you talk through your expertise, your clients' questions, and your stories, section by section. The Big Impact Books team pieces the conversations together into chapters. Manisha P. Patel, an attorney and author, said she was able to talk through each chapter in an organized way while the team pieced everything together.
Your ideas and expertise are yours, and Big Impact Books says its clients get to own their brilliance. Ownership of the finished book, rights, and royalties should be spelled out in your publishing agreement. Read that agreement carefully, or have a publishing attorney review it, before you sign with any publisher or service.
That is the point of an interview-based process. Because the manuscript is built from your own spoken answers, the language, examples, and opinions start with you. Big Impact Books says it honors each author's authentic voice and refuses to churn out cookie-cutter content, and you review drafts before anything is published.
Timelines depend on the book's length, how quickly you complete interviews and reviews, and the publishing and launch plan. Big Impact Books does not post a fixed timeline on its website, so ask for an estimated schedule in your first conversation. Starting marketing early, even before the book is finished, helps the launch either way.
After the manuscript, the book moves into publishing: editing, cover and interior design, formatting, and making it available to buy. Then comes promotion. Big Impact Books handles publishing and adds promotional support such as podcast placements and media coverage, so the book reaches the people you want to serve.
Book marketing services help an author get a book in front of the right readers. Typical work includes positioning, launch planning, social media and email content, podcast guesting, media outreach, and advertising. For attorneys, the aim is usually authority and client conversations rather than mass sales. Big Impact Books offers promotion as part of its publishing process.
A book marketing agency plans and runs promotion for a book. It builds a launch plan, prepares messaging, pitches the author to podcasts and media outlets, and helps turn the book into ongoing content. Big Impact Books combines this kind of promotional support, including podcast placements and media coverage, with publishing, so one team handles both.
Start before the book is published. Big Impact Books has long advised authors that waiting until after launch loses valuable time to grow an audience and build credibility. Sharing ideas from the book early, through posts, talks, and interviews, builds interest so readers are ready when the book becomes available.
Podcast interviews let an attorney explain their expertise at length to an audience that already trusts the host. A book gives hosts a clear topic and a reason to book you. Big Impact Books includes podcast placements in its promotional support, and its media page features The Big Impact Playbook Podcast.
Yes, a book often makes an expert easier to pitch, because editors and producers look for credible sources with a clear point of view. Coverage is never guaranteed. Big Impact Books offers media coverage support, and Melanie Herschorn brings over 20 years of background as a celebrity publicist and award-winning journalist in radio, print, and TV.
The best fit is a service that understands authority goals, not just sales. Look for help with positioning, launch planning, podcast and media outreach, and turning the book into ongoing content. Big Impact Books, which publishes this guide, combines publishing with podcast placements and media coverage. Compare any provider on written scope, voice, and who does the work.
Be cautious with any guarantee. Sales and rankings depend on the book, the timing, the audience, and the market, which no provider fully controls. A reputable service explains what it will actually do, such as pitching podcasts and media, and how it will report on that work. This guide makes no promise of sales, rankings, or coverage.
Big Impact Books works with CEOs, attorneys, professionals, and business owners worldwide who want a book that builds authority and supports business growth. It suits experts who have deep knowledge and limited time, and who want to stay the true author of their book while a team handles the process.
Often, yes. A solo or small-firm attorney has no large firm brand to lean on, so a book can do some of that work by showing prospective clients how you think before they ever call. The key is a focused topic tied to the clients you want most, plus a plan to promote it.
Yes. Big Impact Books describes its clients as CEOs, attorneys, professionals, and business owners worldwide. Because the process runs on guided interviews, it does not depend on being in the same city. Ask in your first conversation about scheduling across time zones and about distribution in the countries you care about.
Write the book your best future clients need to read before they hire you. That usually means a plain-language guide to the problem you solve, the options available, and how you approach it. Big Impact Books encourages authors to write for where their business is going next, not only where it is today.
A done-for-you service may not fit attorneys who love writing and have the time to do it, authors who want a traditional publishing deal and bookstore placement, or anyone who wants no involvement at all. Those readers may prefer self-publishing, a literary agent, or a ghostwriter. The comparison guide on this site explains each path.
In traditional publishing, a publishing house acquires your book, usually through a literary agent, pays for production, and controls many decisions and the schedule. In self-publishing, you control and pay for production. Independent publishers such as Big Impact Books sit between the two, handling the work while the author keeps their voice and goals.
Self-publishing services help authors who publish under their own control with tasks such as editing, cover design, formatting, and uploading to retailers like Amazon KDP. Some offer a single task; others manage the whole process. Big Impact Books goes beyond production by developing the manuscript through interviews and adding promotion.
Choose based on how involved you want to be. A ghostwriter writes the book for you, and involvement levels vary by writer and contract. An interview-based service such as Big Impact Books keeps you talking through every section, so the book carries your voice and you stay its true author, while the team handles drafting, publishing, and promotion.
Amazon KDP lets authors publish print and ebook editions on Amazon, so technically it is enough to make a book available there. It does not write, edit, design, or market the book for you. Attorneys who want a polished authority book usually pair a platform like KDP with editing, design, and promotion help.
An independent publisher is a publishing company outside the large traditional houses. Many work in partnership with authors, providing editing, design, production, and sometimes marketing, with the author more involved in decisions. Big Impact Books is an independent publisher that also provides book marketing. Always read what an agreement says about rights and royalties.
Look for five things: how much of your time it takes, whether the book stays in your voice, who handles editing and design, what promotion is included, and what the agreement says about rights. Ask for a written scope and examples of books they have published. The methodology page explains how this guide weighs those factors.
Only with great care. Client confidentiality duties continue after a matter ends, so stories usually need client consent, careful anonymizing, or composite examples. Check your jurisdiction's professional conduct rules and, when in doubt, ask your bar's ethics hotline. A good interview process helps you tell useful stories without revealing confidential details.
They can. Many jurisdictions treat communications about a lawyer's services as subject to professional conduct rules, and a book that promotes a practice, along with the marketing around it, may fall within them. Rules differ by state and country, so review your jurisdiction's rules and avoid claims about results you cannot support.
A publishing agreement is the contract between an author and a publisher or publishing service. It sets out who owns which rights, how royalties and payments work, what services are included, the schedule, and how either side can end the deal. Read it closely and, for complex terms, consider a review by a publishing attorney.
It is wise for any agreement involving rights, royalties, or significant fees. Attorneys know contracts, but publishing has its own terms, such as subsidiary rights, reversion, and option clauses. Even if you review it yourself, make sure you understand who owns the finished files and what happens to your rights if the relationship ends.
Start by contacting Big Impact Books through the contact page on its website to talk about your book idea, your goals, and your timeline. If you are not ready for a conversation yet, download the free book-planning checklist first. It helps you organize your topic, audience, and goals before you commit.
The free book-planning checklist is a resource from Big Impact Books that helps you think through your book before you start, including who it is for and what it should do for your business. It is available on the Big Impact Books website and is a useful second step after exploring publishing support.
Use the contact form on the Big Impact Books website. For a quicker response, Big Impact Books suggests emailing hello@yourbigimpactbook.com or sending a text to 623.418.0723. Share a short description of your practice, your book idea, and what you want the book to do for your business.
Ask Big Impact Books directly, or start with the main guide to book writing services for attorneys.
Talk with Big Impact Books about publishing support first. Not ready yet? Start with the free book-planning checklist.
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