257: Writing a Book Gives Your Ideas Depth and Longevity with Tiffany Hawk [The Medium is the Message Series]

This is the final episode in the series we’ve been doing called “The Medium is the Message”.

In this series, we’ve covered the mediums of podcasting, public speaking, video, TV, email, and social media - what makes each one unique and how to make the most of them.

This episode is all about the medium of the book and my guest is author and book coach Tiffany Hawk.

Writing a book allows you to develop your thought leadership in a deeper way and gives your ideas longevity.

A book can also be an important asset for you to have as a speaker, especially if you want to be a keynote speaker.

Tiffany and I talk about:

• How getting published is the ultimate vetting process and credibility marker
• What makes a book “a book” (the medium)
• The pros and cons of traditional vs. self publishing
• The timeline for writing and publishing a prescriptive nonfiction book
• The book proposal I’m working on right now with Tiffany as my book coach

About My Guest: Tiffany Hawk is an author and book coach who helps leaders write agent-ready books and book proposals. Her clients have landed literary agents, traditionally published with big New York Presses and small literary presses, self published, won awards, and seen their stories in places like Harper’s, the Los Angeles Times, Narratively, McSweeney’s, and The Atlantic.

About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals clarify their brand message and story, create their signature talks, and develop their thought leadership platforms. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power because it's through women's stories and visibility that we challenge the status quo and change existing systems. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.

Links:

Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/257

Join our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/

Tiffany’s website: https://www.tiffanyhawk.com/

Get Tiffany’s “How good is your book idea?” free assessment: https://www.tiffanyhawk.com/idea

Connect on LinkedIn:

• Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox
• Tiffany Hawk (guest) = https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanyhawk/

Good models for prescriptive nonfiction books recommended by Tiffany:

• Practical How-To: Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
• Mindset How-To: Rich As F*ck by Amanda Frances (also a great example of self-publishing the right way)
• Personal Self-Help: Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck
• Scholarly Thought Leadership: Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses

Related Podcast Episodes:

• Episode 186: From Hashtag to Podcast to Book: Developing Your Thought Leadership Platform with Elayne Fluker [Thought Leadership Series]
• Episode 250: Lessons Learned from 250 Podcast Episodes with Carol Cox [The Medium is the Message Series]
• Episode 256: Making the Most of LinkedIn as a Thought Leader with Tyrona Heath [The Medium is the Message Series]

Become Bookable Live Online Workshop - April 15, 2026
If you want to speak more but you’re not sure where to start or your efforts haven’t produced the results you want, I’m hosting a live online workshop called “Become Bookable: How to Get Speaking Invitations” on Wednesday, April 15th.

A lot of brilliant women assume they just need to pitch themselves more. But the real reason speakers get invited isn’t because they pitch harder — it’s because they’re positioned as bookable.

In this 3-hour interactive workshop live on Zoom, I’ll show you how speakers actually get invited — and help you clarify the positioning that makes event organizers say yes.

As a podcast listener, use the coupon code “Podcast100” to save $100 on your registration.

Learn more and register at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/bookable