The first and maybemost important step in writingbook is coming up withgreat idea for some really useful or interesting book. The great idea makeswriting fun. The great idea makesbook easier to sell topublisher. Inend,great idea means you’ve gotshot at making good money from your writing. Unfortunately, many new writers don’t haveclue as to how to do this. Accordingly, I offerfollowing tips based ononefivezero or so books I’ve written andthree dozen books I’ve published:

Don’t pick something big and obvious…

The first thorough book on any important topic—the last war,current big business success,next medical breakthrough—can begood book that succeeds even topoint of becomingbestseller. But I respectfully suggest that you leavebig topics tobig writers. The problem with big, well-known topics is that they are well-known. And that means, very probably, that big publishers are already talking to big authors about writing books. Sorry. But that’sreality.

Find your own space…

A related point to this idea of staying away fromreally big topics is that you need to find your space. You will find it very hard to succeed—especially asnew writer—if you’re doing what’s already been done. Publishers, booksellers and readers will too easily respond to your book or book idea withfeeling, “Well, yes, but hasn’t [insert name of well-known, bestselling writer here] already done that?” By innovating, however, you may be able to find your own empty space—a niche that isn’t already occupied by some successful book or series or author.

Fortunately, you often don’t need to be wildly innovative to createillusion of existing innew space. Incremental innovation usually works well. All you need, sometimes, is to be just enough different that publishers, booksellers, and readers will say, “Oh, that seat is empty.”

A warning must be made, however. Your innovation can’t be to “writebetter book.” And it’s not that writingbetter book isn’tgood idea. It’s just that “writingbetter book” isn’t innovative. Too many writers think ofidea.

Testmarket appeal of your idea…

Here’s another technique for filtering and refining your ideas: You ought to writepress release for your idea to verify thatultimate book sells well asconcept. A press release isone-page news story that touts your book and proves to people who will help sell and promote your book—distributors, wholesalers, booksellers and magazine editors—that your book is special and unique and worth looking at. Your press release gives your bookchance to break out frompack of other books and get noticed. Any idea that can’t be distilled intogreat press release is risky.

You can see what book press releases are by visiting publisher web sites. You want to visit web sites and look for press releases for books likebook your idea may produce. While you’re doing this, look at any magazines that review books likeone you’re contemplating: Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, and so on. Getidea aboutsorts of books get people talking.

Buildlist of periodicals that will blurb your book…

If you’re consideringnonfiction book, you ought to be able to come withlist ofhandful of special interest periodicals (magazines, newsletters, newspapers, and so forth) that prove people are interested intopic of your book. If you want to writebook about raising Guinea pigs, conspiracy theories concerninglast president, or monetary policy in emerging economies, for example, one ofbest ways you can confidently predict people will buy and read your book is to verify that people are already buying and reading periodicals abouttopic.

If you do construct suchlist, includelist and subscriber count information in your proposal topublisher. The publisher can use your list to promote your book. In fact, asformer publisher, I promise youpublisher will look more seriously at any proposal that shows this level of author insight intomarketing ofbook.

Try to fit your idea intoexisting series…

Here’s another technique. If you can fit your idea intopublisher’s existing series, you ought to try that approach. While of course, we writers find it most satisfying to go our own way creatively, you’ll find it much easier to sell another idea that fits inexisting successful series.

I’ve always written about how to use technology for business and for personal finance. That’s my space. And I’ve got lots of good interesting ideas for books. But my bestselling book has been Quicken for Dummies (Hungry Minds onenineninethree-twozerozerofive). Would I like to writedifferent sort of personal financial management book? Yes. But to date Quicken for Dummies has sold one million copies in its numerous editions. The royalties on those salve away any creative disappointment.

Focus onsmall niche…

That last number I mentioned,one million copies of Quicken for Dummies, raisesinteresting point. As think aboutwriting opportunities you pursue, know that you can make good money onbook that sells ten thousand copies. Maybe as much as $onefive,zerozerozero. A book that sells twenty thousand copies or more isbig hit for both you and your publisher. And that means your best bet is often to go after niche.

Don’t just write another whodunit mystery, writewhodunit for children. Or better yet, writewhodunit mystery for Christian children or Muslim children or Jewish children. And then promote your book not just like allother mystery publishers do but also using religious education periodicals that go out to churches or mosques or synagogues.

Don’t worry about slicingmarket too small. Few books—almost no books—sell more than ten or twenty thousand copies. If you findgroup of one hundred thousand or one million people withspecial interest—even though that’svery small slice onplanet with billions of people—your book idea can producesuccessful work.

Verify your idea is big enough forbook…

One final idea and this is especially important for new writers. You need to make sure that your idea is big enough forbook—the content you’ll create is big enough to fill twofivezero pages or fivezerozero pages or whatever. Experienced authors can do this intuitively. I know which ideas of mine support two hundred pages or four pages of writing. But new writers often can’t gauge this very well. Ever readbook where bythird chapterauthor just rehashes material already covered in chapters one and two? That’sbook whereidea wasn’t big enough.

Especially for nonfiction books, you ought to try writingcouple of example chapters—maybe chapters one and four—to make sure you’ve gotbig topic. Your chapters don’t need to be pristine or perfect. But make sure that you can writecouple of good, rich chapters that aren’t redundant. When you’re done with those chapters, look at what other topics you want to cover and make sure that there’s still stuff left for at least two or three more interesting chapters. A bit of rehashing is okay, I think. But you don’t want people reaching fortelevision’s remote control insecond chapter.

This article was posted on November twosix, twozerozerofive