Do you feel overwhelmed with a course in miracles ideas? Instead of having one book inside does it feel like you have a raft of books ready to be launched?
It can be challenging to select the topic for your first book. Use these questions to guide your decision making process.
1. What problem will your book solve for your reader?
The most successful books have a clear focus and present useful steps to solve a specific problem for a specific reader. In fact, the more clearly you define your target reader and your topic, the easier it will be to market your book.
Which topic is more targeted?
Stress reduction vrs. Mediation techniques for Olympic athletes
Money Management vrs. Financial education for new college graduates
Spirituality vrs. Corporate executives and the power of prayer
The more tightly you can define your target reader and the specific problem your book will solve, the more successful your book will be.
2. How will your book contribute to your business?
If you are a corporate consultant, writing a book about French cooking might be a fun and creative project. However, it would not bring you more consulting clients. When you select your topic, make sure you have a clear path from your book to your products or services. Your book will position you as an expert. Use that positioning to your advantage and link your topic to your business.
3. How passionate are you about the topic?
When you write a book, you’ll be spending the next 3-5 years marketing it. If you pick a topic that bores you or does not resonate with your highest purpose, it will be hard to find the energy to market it effectively.
4. What gives you the credibility to write this book?
Take a good look at your training, education, and life experience. Do you have personal success solving this problem? For example, if you are writing about financial abundance but you are currently bankrupt, you have a credibility problem, both within your heart and with your readers. If you have never run a successful business, it will be hard to write a book telling others how to run their business successfully.
Many entrepreneurs who are new to their field are so excited about their training that they want to write a book on the topic. It’s better to select an area where you have some real-life experience so that you feel confident about your knowledge of the topic.
When you write a book about a problem that you’ve successfully mastered, you will write with first- hand knowledge of both the impact of the problem, the solution, and the possible pitfalls that people may encounter. Look to your life experience, both personally and professionally, and you’ll find plenty of great book topics.
