5 Successful Business Book “Reference” Types For Growing Your Business

Posted on by Carol Abrahamson

Seeking successful types of reference business books? There are many hundreds of — perhaps 1,000(!) — successful business book types, including over three dozen reference types.

One of the most important decisions an executive makes about their book is its type. That’s because a book’s type and topic so heavily influence the resulting business growth. A type determines a book’s structural framework, point of view and voice. And success-bound executive authors spend significant time and energy deciding the type — or fusion of types — for their book.

We’ve identified 700+ proven business-building book types. And our 18-step Spark Ultimate Book Start System (complete with worksheets) will help you decide which to choose. Plus we reveal titles of two real-world examples of each — and the ones that often require less writing* — in our 2022 multi-award-winning, groundbreaking family of printed and digital workbooks. This excerpt from 666 Book Types For Building Your Business & Brand reveals a few of the many reference types for your book.

A General Reference
• The Only Grant-Writing Book You’ll Ever Need: Top Grant Writers And Grant Givers Share Their Secrets by Ellen Karsh and Arlen Sue Fox

• The 100 Best Business Books Of All Time: What They Say, Why They Matter, And How They Can Help You by Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten

A Handbook
• The Manager’s Legal Handbook by Amy DelPo and Lisa Guerin

• The Six Sigma Handbook: A Complete Guide For Green Belts, Black Belts, And Managers At All Levels by Thomas Pyzdek and Paul Keller

A Factbook (often requires less writing*)
• The Kids World Factbook: A Kid’s Guide To Every Country’s History, Climate, Government, Economics, Culture, Language, And More! by Bushel & Peck Books

• The Presidents Fact Book: The Achievements, Campaigns, Events, Triumphs, Tragedies, And Legacies Of Every President From George Washington To Barack Obama by Roger Matuz

Checklists (often requires less writing*)
• The Investment Checklist: The Art Of In-Depth Research by Michael Shearn

• Smart Moves For People In Charge: 130 Checklists To Help You Be A Better Leader by Sam Deep and Lyle Sussman

A Desk Reference
• The Product Manager’s Desk Reference by Steven Haines

• Arizona Landlord’s Deskbook: An Up-To-Date, Detailed Reference Book For Arizona Rental Property Owners And Managers by Carlton C. Casler

See our 18 steps, worksheets and more types and examples by downloading our free workbook, 77 Book Types For Building Your Business & Brand, in the sidebar to the right. For additional help, check out the related posts below, our other workbooks and our Getting Started on Your Business-Building Book individual consulting program.

We’re thrilled to help you create a successful business book that’s one of our reference types!

* Requiring less writing is a subjective judgment because some books of this type might have a lot of original writing — while some books of types without this designation may have a limited number of words.

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