Link∙Ability [IN]sights

Is There Still Value in Writing a Business Book in the Age of AI?

Livestream session – 23 April 2025

Host: Lynnaire Johnston  |  Guests: Jacqui Lane & Gillian Whitney

ABOUT THIS SESSION

Why a Business Book Still Matters – Even Now

The question sounds simple enough: with AI able to generate a book in hours, does writing one still mean anything? In this session of Link∙Ability [IN]sights, Lynnaire Johnston explored that question with two guests who have spent their careers helping business leaders do exactly that.

Jacqui Lane is a book coach based in Sydney who works with senior executives and consultants – people with decades of practical expertise who want to put their knowledge into lasting form. Gillian Whitney is a business book coach and visibility strategist based in Texas, specialising in helping coaches and consultants write, publish, and get their books seen in a crowded market.

What emerged from the conversation was a clear and somewhat counter-intuitive answer: the case for writing a business book is not weaker in the age of AI. It is stronger. Here is why.

KEY INSIGHTS

Session Summary

Why Leaders Hesitate to Write

        ◼  Fear – most often imposter syndrome – is the single biggest barrier. Even the most outwardly confident executives frequently doubt themselves when it comes to committing ideas permanently to the page.

        ◼  The root cause, according to Jacqui, is the fear of peer criticism. Speaking to a room feels different from publishing a book.

        ◼  Lynnaire shared her own experience: despite being ranked New Zealand's number one LinkedIn expert, she felt deep uncertainty throughout writing Linkability – and was surprised to find doors opening on publication rather than scepticism.

What Makes a Business Book Actually Work

        ◼  Clarity of purpose is the foundation. The most common mistake is trying to write the 'War and Peace' of a subject – cramming everything in without knowing who the book is for or what it needs to achieve.

        ◼  Jacqui works with clients on three questions before any writing begins: Who is your audience? What are their key challenges? What do you want the book to achieve for you?

        ◼  Gillian's guiding principle is the 'airplane read' – a book someone can finish on a single flight and walk away ready to act. Targeted, focused, purposeful.

The Book as a Business Asset

        ◼  A book signals expertise before you are in the room. It can pre-qualify clients, reduce repetitive discovery conversations, and open speaking and podcast opportunities that arrive in no other way.

        ◼  In an era of AI-generated content, a printed book carries reputational weight that no social media presence can replicate. Jacqui described it as an antidote to 'AI slop' – the flood of synthetic, interchangeable content that is eroding trust online.

        ◼  Lynnaire put it directly: a book is still the best business card you can create. Her guests agreed – Gillian describing books as 'business cards on steroids.'

Promoting Your Book: The Long Game

        ◼  Too many authors confuse a book launch with a book marketing strategy. The launch week is the beginning of the work, not the end.

        ◼  Authors need to think like marketers – not salespeople, but people whose job is to get the right book to the right people, consistently over time.

        ◼  Practical LinkedIn tactics discussed include featuring the book in the Featured section, creating a dedicated experience entry, and weaving it into posts consistently – as Linkability community member Akilia Torre does, posting about his book every week long after publication.

        ◼  Format matters: print, e-book, and audiobook each reach different audiences. Staging releases over time – print first, e-book later, audiobook later still – can extend the visibility campaign beyond a single launch moment.

AI Can't Write – But It Can Help

        ◼  AI is a predictive machine, not a creative one. Jacqui said she can identify AI-generated prose within a paragraph – the three-part cadence, the em dashes, the absence of genuine voice are all recognisable patterns.

        ◼  AI-generated content is not copyrightable, because copyright requires a human author. Why would any professional stake their reputation on something they cannot legally own?

        ◼  Gillian drew a clear distinction between AI generation and AI assistance. She used Otter.ai to capture a book spoken aloud while she was unwell – that is absolutely her book. The line is between using AI as a tool and handing it the authorship.

        ◼  Where AI genuinely adds value: generating title options, drafting back-cover copy, testing keywords for different audience segments, creating media releases, and structuring a manuscript from existing content such as webinars, podcasts, or course materials.

        ◼  Jacqui's caution: keep strong proprietary IP offline. Once content is fed into an AI tool, it may not be fully retrievable.

Copyright, IP, and the Legal Landscape

        ◼  Large AI companies have trained their models on copyrighted material, arguing this falls under the US doctrine of 'Fair Use.' Australia operates under the stricter 'Fair Dealing' regime, and the Australian government has so far resisted aligning with the American approach.

        ◼  Practical steps authors can take now: add an explicit disclaimer to the copyright page stating the book is not available for AI training; consider formally registering copyright for material you would be willing to litigate over.

        ◼  Gillian recommended following Jane Friedman as a reliable source tracking court cases and legislative developments in this space.

Should Senior Leaders Be Writing Books?

        ◼  Senior leaders, Jacqui argued, are more cautious about AI shortcuts than most – not less. Reputational risk at that level is acute, peer scrutiny is intense, and there is zero tolerance for anything that looks sloppy or synthetic.

        ◼  They want to be able to stand fully behind their book: 'I wrote this, this is what I believe, this is my insight.' They also typically have the resources to do it properly.

        ◼  Gillian's approach: use AI to help organise and structure existing accumulated content – webinars, podcasts, LinkedIn posts, course materials – into a coherent framework. The author still has to go back in and write in their own voice. But starting from a structured skeleton rather than a blank page can make the difference between a book that gets written and one that stays an idea.

Audiobooks and AI Narration

        ◼  Amazon has moved into AI-generated audiobooks (currently in beta). For nonfiction in particular, Gillian argued that readers want to hear the author's actual voice – an AI narrator creates a jarring disconnect from the relationship built through the book.

        ◼  Lynnaire noted the genuine difficulty of recording your own audiobook – much harder than anticipated even for someone with a professional broadcasting background. But the importance of voice, she agreed, is not diminished.

        ◼  AI synthetic voice tools vary enormously in quality. The decision, as always, comes back to what you are trying to achieve and how much you are willing to invest in doing it properly.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

A Business Book Is Worth Writing When…

Lynnaire closed with a prompt to each guest: finish the sentence.

Jacqui Lane: “…you want to make a positive difference in the lives of other people.”

Gillian Whitney: “…you want to share your message and your lessons with the world, because everything that you know, somebody else needs to hear. I truly believe everybody has a book in them.”

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Session Transcript

Edited for clarity and readability.

Introduction

Lynnaire Johnston

Today's question is one I've been sitting with for a while: given that AI can now generate books rapidly, is there still genuine value in a business leader writing their own book?

I'm joined by two guests with deep expertise in business book creation and author visibility. Jacqui Lane is based in Sydney and works primarily with business leaders, senior consultants, and executives – people with two or three decades of practical experience who want to share their knowledge in book form. And Gillian Whitney joins us from Texas. She describes herself as a business book coach and visibility strategist, helping coaches and consultants write, publish, and get their books seen.

Why Leaders Hesitate to Write

Jacqui Lane

The single biggest barrier is fear – most often showing up as imposter syndrome. The particular irony is that highly capable, outwardly confident executives frequently fall victim to it when it comes to putting their ideas in writing.

The root cause is the fear of criticism from peers. Speaking to a room feels different from committing ideas permanently to the page.

Lynnaire Johnston

That resonates deeply. Despite having been ranked New Zealand's number one LinkedIn expert, I still felt deep uncertainty throughout the writing of my first book, Linkability. The response on publication surprised me – rather than scepticism, I received genuine enthusiasm and found doors opening that I hadn't known were closed.

What Makes a Business Book Actually Work

Gillian Whitney

The books which do the most for their authors' careers are those built on clarity of purpose. The most common mistake is trying to write the 'War and Peace' of a subject – stuffing everything in without knowing who the book is for or what it's meant to achieve.

Target a specific audience with a specific idea. Make it only as long as it needs to be. Aim for the 'airplane read' – a book someone can finish on a flight from Dallas to Chicago and walk away ready to take action.

Jacqui Lane

I rarely get to the actual writing process with clients until they have answered three foundational questions: Who is your audience? What are their key challenges? And what do you, the author, want the book to achieve for you?

I spend two or three sessions on this with clients alone – because you can't 'pray and spray' your way to a book that makes a positive difference.

The Book as Business Card – Still Valid in 2025?

Lynnaire Johnston

A book is still the best business card you can create. Full stop.

Gillian Whitney

Business cards on steroids. A book signals expertise before you're even in the room. It can pre-qualify clients, reduce the burden of repetitive discovery calls, and open speaking and podcast opportunities that simply don't arrive otherwise.

Jacqui Lane

In an era of AI-generated content and eroding trust, a printed book is now even more credible than it was before. It is an antidote to what I call 'AI slop' – the avalanche of synthetic, interchangeable content flooding every channel. A physical book carries a stature and reputational weight that no social media presence can fully replicate.

Promoting Your Book: The Long Game

Gillian Whitney

Too many authors confuse a book launch with a book marketing strategy. The launch week is not the end of the work – it's the beginning. Even at book three or four, people would tell me they hadn't known I had written a first book.

Authors need to stop thinking like writers and start thinking like marketers – not salespeople, but marketers whose job is to get the right book to the right people.

Lynnaire Johnston

Akilia Torre is a strong example from our community: he posts about his book on LinkedIn every week without fail, keeping it visible long after publication. Practically, that means featuring the book in the Featured section, creating a dedicated experience entry, and consistently weaving it into posts.

Jacqui Lane

Understanding your audience's preferred format matters too. Some readers want print, others e-book, others audio. Staging releases over time – print first, e-book six months later, audiobook a year after that – creates a longer-term visibility campaign rather than a single moment.

AI Can't Write – But It Can Help

Jacqui Lane

AI was not designed to write; it is a predictive machine. It produces content in recognisable patterns – the three-part cadence, the em dashes, the absence of genuine voice – and I can identify AI-generated prose within a paragraph.

More importantly, AI-generated content is not copyrightable, because copyright requires a human author. Why would any professional stake their reputation on something they cannot even own?

Gillian Whitney

I draw a clear distinction between AI generation and AI assistance. I use AI to extract themes from transcripts, to help structure existing content, and to clarify where a story should begin. I spoke my entire third book aloud into Otter.ai while I was unwell – that is absolutely my book, even if speech-to-text technology helped capture it. The line is between using AI as a tool versus handing it the authorship.

Where AI adds genuine value: generating title options, drafting back-cover copy, testing keywords for different audience segments, creating media releases, and structuring a manuscript from existing content such as webinars, podcasts, or online courses.

Jacqui Lane

Keep strong proprietary IP offline entirely – not fed into any AI tool – because once it is there, it may not be fully retrievable.

Copyright, IP Theft, and the Legal Landscape

Jacqui Lane

Large AI companies have trained their models on copyrighted material, arguing that doing so falls under the US doctrine of 'Fair Use.' Australia operates under a stricter regime called 'Fair Dealing,' and the Australian government has so far resisted lobbying from tech companies to align with the American approach.

Creatives in Australia have pushed back strongly, and the government has signalled it will require tech companies to find a way to compensate copyright holders rather than simply exempting themselves.

Gillian Whitney

Follow Jane Friedman – she is a reliable source tracking court cases and legislative developments in this space. And consider adding an explicit disclaimer to your copyright page, stating that the book is not available for AI training. For your most significant work, think about formally registering copyright – particularly any material you would be willing to litigate over.

Should Senior Leaders Be Writing Books?

Jacqui Lane

Senior leaders are, if anything, more cautious about AI shortcuts than others. At that level, reputational risk is acute. Their peer group's scrutiny is intense, and there is zero tolerance for anything that looks sloppy or synthetic. They want to be able to stand behind their book completely – to say 'I wrote this, this is what I believe, this is my insight.' They also typically have the resources to do it properly.

Gillian Whitney

I encourage leaders to use AI for the heavy lifting of organisation and structure – not to write, but to help turn years of accumulated content into a coherent framework. The author still has to go back in, make it their own, and write in their own voice. But starting with a structured skeleton rather than a blank page can make the difference between a book that gets written and one that stays an idea.

Audiobooks and the Rise of AI Narration

Gillian Whitney

Amazon has moved into AI-generated audiobooks – currently in beta. I use multiple formats myself: print at home, Kindle when travelling, audiobooks in the car. But for nonfiction, I want to hear the author's actual voice. An AI narrator reading Lynnaire's book in a Texan accent would be a jarring disconnect from the relationship readers have built with the author.

Lynnaire Johnston

Recording my own audiobook was much harder than I had anticipated, given my professional background in communication. But I agreed – I would want to hear Jacinda Ardern narrate her own memoir, not a substitute.

Jacqui Lane

AI synthetic voice tools vary enormously in quality – some are poor, some are passable. The decision comes back, as always, to what you are trying to achieve and how much you are willing to invest in doing it properly.

Closing Thoughts

Lynnaire Johnston

I want to close with a simple prompt: finish this sentence – 'A business book is worth writing when…'

Jacqui Lane

…you want to make a positive difference in the lives of other people.

Gillian Whitney

…you want to share your message and your lessons with the world, because everything that you know, somebody else needs to hear. I truly believe everybody has a book in them.