How to write case studies and client stories in a business book

For the book as a whole, see how to write a business book; for getting the material from clients, see interviewing people for your book. Where it touches law and professional rules, it is general information, not legal advice.

What a case study does in a book

Scribe's guide I Want to Write a Business Book says case studies "are particularly effective in illustrating successful applications of your ideas, providing readers with concrete examples they can relate to and learn from." The Scribe Method's outline chapter suggests opening a chapter with a hook such as "a personal story, historical anecdote, shocking fact, or engaging question." A client story can do either job: open the chapter, or prove its point.

A book case study is not a marketing case study. It teaches the reader something they can use, and the client, not you, is the hero. If a story only shows how good you are, it belongs on your website.

Step 1: pick the story

List the client stories you tell often, then test each against its chapter:

• It proves one point. Write the chapter's thesis above it. If the story supports a different point, move it or drop it.
• The reader sees themselves. The client should be in roughly the reader's situation.
• It has a turn. Something was tried, failed or changed. A story where everything went smoothly teaches little.
• You can tell it honestly. You have the facts, the client will agree to it, and nothing in it breaks a confidence.

Keep a story where your method struggled. One honest failure often convinces more than another success.

Step 2: give it a structure

A four-part shape works for most book case studies: who, what went wrong, what was done, and what changed.

An illustrative example, not a real client. It fits the example outline in our business book guide.

Step 3: write it as a story, not a report

• Start in the moment. "In March she realized she could not make payroll" beats "The client was a design firm."
• Use the client's own words. One exact quote, checked against your recording, carries more weight than a paragraph of summary.
• Make results specific and confirmed. Give the number, the period and the comparison, checked with the client, or describe the change in words.
• Name the lesson. Connect the story to the chapter's point in one sentence.
• Say it is one result. A client's outcome is an example, not a promise to the reader.

Step 4: permission and anonymizing

Clients who trusted you with their problems did not agree to appear in a book. Before you write, decide how you will handle each story:

• Named, with written permission. Show the client the passage, let them correct facts, and get written agreement to the final version.
• Disguised. Change the name and everything else that could identify them, then tell the reader you have done so.
• A composite. Several real cases combined into one. Say so plainly in the book; a composite presented as one real person misleads the reader.

Changing the name is rarely enough: industry, city, company size, title, dates or one distinctive event can identify someone. For a checklist of what counts as identifying, the US health privacy rule is a useful model even if it does not apply to you: 45 CFR 164.514(b) lists 18 kinds of identifiers that must be removed for health information to be treated as de-identified under its "safe harbor" method, starting with names, geographic subdivisions smaller than a state, and all elements of dates (except year) directly related to the person. Test: would the client's business partner recognize them? If yes, get permission or change more.

Privacy and defamation law vary by state. Ask a publishing lawyer before you publish anything sensitive about a real person or company.

Professional rules that may apply

Some professions have their own rules on client information and testimonials. Check with your compliance team, licensing body or lawyer before the manuscript is final. Examples:

• Brokers and registered representatives. FINRA Rule 2210 defines a retail communication as written material distributed or made available to more than 25 retail investors within any 30 calendar-day period, requires a registered principal to approve each one before use, and requires testimonials about investment advice or performance to disclose that they may not be representative of other customers' experience and are no guarantee of future performance or success.
• Registered investment advisers. The SEC's marketing rule, 17 CFR 275.206(4)-1, sets conditions for any testimonial in an adviser's advertisement, including disclosing that it was given by a current client. Whether your book counts as an advertisement is a question for your compliance officer.
• Health care providers. If you are covered by the health privacy rule above, talk to your privacy officer before using any patient story; the de-identification standard quoted above is the rule's own test.
• Psychologists. The American Psychological Association's ethics code, Standard 4.07, says psychologists do not disclose confidential, personally identifiable client information in their writings unless they take reasonable steps to disguise the person, the person has consented in writing, or there is legal authorization.
• Lawyers. ABA Model Rule 1.6 says "A lawyer shall not reveal information relating to the representation of a client unless the client gives informed consent", with limited exceptions. Check your own state's version of the rule.

How many to include, and where

We found no style guide that sets a number, so this is our own rule of thumb: one main story per method chapter, plus shorter examples where a point needs them. Fewer, deeper stories beat many thin ones. Vary the clients by size, industry and starting point so different readers each find someone like themselves.

Plan the stories in your outline, not after the draft. On the outline worksheet, write the story you will use next to each chapter's thesis; an empty box shows you which chapters still need proof.

Examples from Scribe authors

From author stories on scribemedia.com; each is one author's experience, not a typical result.

• A story that carries the method. Jim Sholler spent 27 years as the person Fidelity called to fix problems, then wrote Solved in 7. His story shows his method through real cases, from a stalled dispute at Fidelity to the whiteboard session that finally found his wife's diagnosis. That diagnosis story became chapter seven, and he put it there on purpose. The story lists 7 Minutes, "To Crack a 13-Year Case". It also notes that his sister read the first draft and asked whether he was writing a memoir or training people; it was training, so they started over. That is the test for any case study: does it teach?
• Stories first, then action. Neuroscientist Paul Zak's rule for his books, according to his story, is "narrative first and science light". Immersion includes the time Sony brought him in to help improve a movie trailer, and each chapter ends with five things a reader can do. The story lists 1 month, "To book more paid talks than the book cost".
• A method built from many clients. According to his story, Timothy Arrigo's The Inside Out Method lays out a sequence built on what his company, Beyond Driven, learned from its clients; the story lists 5,000+ "Clients behind the method at Beyond Driven". He also put his own hardest experiences in the book, because, in his words, "If I'm going to ask the reader to go there with me, well, I better go there with the reader."
• Stories clients asked for. Harris Nydick's story says his clients kept telling him and his partner, "You guys tell really good stories. You should write them down." While the manuscript was in progress, he gave it to four college students and asked them to circle any word they did not like or did not understand. Testing your stories on readers outside your field is a good habit for any case study.

What most authors get wrong

• Making themselves the hero. The reader identifies with the client, not the consultant.
• Unconfirmed numbers. A client who reads an inflated figure about their own business will tell people.
• Thin disguises. A new name on a recognizable story protects no one.

Scribe Media, which makes this site, sells ghostwriting and book coaching for business books, including Scribe Compass ($5,000 on scribemedia.com/pricing), in which a book coach works with you on the audience, purpose, table of contents and a chapter-by-chapter roadmap. You can do all of the above on your own.