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Article:
Could Your Book Idea Be the Next Best Seller? by: Dawn Josephson Everyone has a unique story to tell. From explaining business processes to revealing our personal history, we all have a natural desire to share our experiences with the world. As a result, bookstore shelves are packed with numerous titles that promise to entertain, enlighten, and educate readers. Perhaps, then, the old saying that 'everyone has at least one book in them' is true. If so, how do you know whether your current idea really is book worthy or if it needs some fine-tuning to have maximum marketability? Before you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), put your book idea to the test. Use the following questions as a way to hone your idea's development and create a manuscript destined for the best-seller list. Can you state your book's purpose in 10 words or less? Many new authors face the challenge of wanting to give too much information at once. Instead of focusing on one specific idea, they try to wrap multiple concepts into one book. This approach not only makes it difficult to organize your book, but it also overwhelms your readers. With any good book, you can state the book's specific purpose in 10 words or less. Realize that your purpose is not the same as your theme or plot. The book's purpose is what you specifically want the reader to do or think as a result of reading your book. Now, a statement such as 'to live a better life' or 'to run a better business' is not specific. A purpose is not a generalization. It's a specific action that you motivate the reader to embark upon. For example, if you're writing a business book, your purpose should be to help your readers improve one specific business function, such as its marketing efforts, its customer service, its project management, etc. Your purpose should not be 'to teach business executives how to create better marketing materials, deliver improved customer service, establish long-term customer relations, increase employee retention, and locate the best new talent.' That's simply too much for one book to cover. Keep your purpose specific so you can deliver targeted and useful information. Does your book have a specific audience? While you certainly want a large audience to market your book to, you also want an audience that's targeted to your topic. Simply stating that your audience is 'business people' or 'women' or 'the general public' is not a targeted audience. Why? Not all business people have the same concerns, not all women are interested in the same topics, and not everyone in the general public will be able to identify with your ideas. When you narrow your audience to include those with a specific tie to your theme or who fit a certain demographic, you gain a marketing edge that can position your book more effectively. So instead of stating that your audience is 'business people,' perhaps you can narrow it down to 'company owners,' 'middle management,' or 'entrepreneurs.' Rather than target the broad category of 'women,' you'd have better sales by focusing on 'women over age '50
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