what you know best
As a newbie, my question is exactly the same with April's concern. How do you come up with ONE topic to write on?
Thank you for the last few posts! Please excuse the length of my post but I think it will be valuable.
We all have a wealth of knowledge and I am the type of person that can be overcome with my ideas. I actually have a rolling "idea" list. While there are many books I'd like to write, I focused on my expertise. In your case, what do you know most about? When I asked publishers and my agent why they chose me (or were considering me), none of them said "because you're the expert" - that was a prerequisite in their minds. Many of my query responses started with, "You are obviously an expert." Beyond knowing my stuff, here's what they said:
When I asked why they chose me, out of the heap of inquiries, it was because (1) I had a growing platform in my field (2) I had marketing savvy, and (3) I was flexible.
Apparently, I had proven at least the bottom threshold of nonfiction writing ability. No one said I was a literary genius.
When choosing your topic, think not only about what you want to write but what is the market? For example, I spent years in the college prep profession but with many recent changes in tuition, student loans and funding, financial issues are the hot topic. This helped me decide which book to write and where to bolster my platform.
I knew I wanted to write something to help students who were the first in their families to go to collge. I decided to focus specifically on scholarships. Parents and students always want to talk money first - even though academic preparation for college is the first subject in
my mind, it is not the first subject
in my consumer's mind. Money is the first thing they are concerned about.
I heavily researched my competition and found that they targeted high-achieving students with savvy parents. I wanted to reach a new, more diverse audience. Some publishers didn't embrace the "diverse" angle and they passed on the project because they didn't think it would sell the numbers they needed. My agent also told me that positioning the book as something different was essential but it would also be a tough sell. Since students get scholarship information from the internet, not necessarily from books, I focused on "Moms" as my book's primary target market rather than students.
My advice is that if you want to get signed, sell your book and make a difference in the world with your advice, knowledge, or research, you must understand the laws of marketing. Who else wants to know what you know and are they willing to buy a book?
If you are willing to accept the non-fiction world as a business proposition (my book proposal/business plan was longer than my first two chapters), then that should help you decide which book to focus on for your first publication.
PLEASE realize that I know many folks want to write a book to share knowledge or get something off their chests but in deciding which book to write first, you must think of the consumer and the market for your ideas. That is what ultimatley led me to write my scholarship book first rather than another idea (one of many!) on being a bridesmaid. (Sidebar: I've been a bridesmaid at least thirteen times - I lost count at some point!)
For example, in the next five years there will be the largest group of high school graduates in the history of America. That is an opportunity I did not want to pass up. In five to ten years these folks might be getting married and then, maybe, I might pitch my book on being a bridesmaid if I'm still in to it. I found that doing minimal research on the demographics of the U.S. helped me prioritize the order of my projects.
The choice of which non-fiction book to write should come from a marriage of your knowledge, your passion, and the needs of the marketplace.
Hope this helps and thank you again so much for asking this question. It will definitely help me design my presentation.
kimmer
