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How to select a great book topic
Selecting a hot topic for a book couldn't be easier. People are hungry for information, and people are buying books and e-books to feed their hunger. After you read my book, you will feel confident to choose your own topic, or you can literally pull your book topic directly from this book and use it! How's that for a deal?
Observe what's going on around you
If you're smart enough to read this book, you're smart enough to look around and determine what interests you and people around you. Think of what problems you've recently solved, and what problems others have solved. A solved problem could easily be the subject of your next book. People love to read how others have solved a similar problem that they currently have.
So, brainstorm a list of problems in your life and in the lives of people around you. Your friend Bob lost his job? Your sister's child had chicken pox? How did they cope or find solutions? While you're at it, start another list of unsolved problems evident in your corner of the world. Write down problems you wish you had solved. Aha! These subjects will really interest people!
How to lose the last ten pounds.
The truth about UFOs.
The straightest path to becoming a millionaire.
From your personal corner, your step-granddaughter is pregnant at age 14?
Your grocery bill is double what it used to be?
Your roof leaks?
These are problems waiting for book solutions! Unsolved problems make great book topics.
Spend a few minutes Googling
The Internet is a wonderful way to find what people are looking for at any given moment. You can search for almost anything. Search Google™, or you can use Yahoo!® or Mamma.com. Type in phrases like "top concerns of Americans," "best-selling nonfiction topics," or "popular how-to manuals." Common worries of 2009; etc.
And while you're on the Internet
Find out the most popular nonfiction books from the New York Times bestseller list, Amazon, and a Google's "search for books." Your findings will tell you what book subjects people are buying right now.
Try this. Go to www.amazon.com. From the tabbed menu running along the top of the Amazon home page, click "Top Sellers."
I did this one day in March 2008 and found a Harry Potter book, several other fiction books, and titles such as Natural cures "they" won't tell you about, How what you wear can change your life, How to profit from the demise of the dollar, and The official SAT study guide. I've paraphrased to some degree, but you get the idea.
Here's what I learned from spending a few minutes on Amazon that day. People are reading good fiction from already-best selling authors (Da Vinci Code, the Harry Potter series, and others). Secondly, Amazon buyers, buying over the Internet, are interested in non-fiction topics such as improving their lives and making more money. For these books, just about any author will do, even unknown authors or people who went to prison for lying to the American public.
The straightest route to book profits is the nonfiction book market. This is true for a number of reasons. Fiction readers prefer to curl up in a chair with a physical book. Fiction readers tend to purchase from authors they know and like. Fiction can be more difficult to write and deliver well. Also, many of the classics in fiction are available as free books. A reader interested in fiction could just download those. So stick with nonfiction unless you're feeling particularly bold and experimental.
Here is some more good news; if you didn't already know this, then you are going to smile. Drum roll please... ideas are not copyrighted, therefore any idea you see, hear, or read anywhere anytime, is yours to use for a book! You can create books around the same ideas that are covered in the Amazon best seller list, and turnaround and create a book on the exact same subject!
Copyright law protects the way in which authors express their ideas, so you want to make sure you do not plagiarize or copy book text outright. Additionally, you cannot use the title word-for-word either. But nothing is stopping you from creating a book that covers the same subject with a different voice. It's legal and guilt-free. This is why looking at bestseller lists are a great way to get book topic ideas.
Digging a little deeper
Groups of people willing to buy nonfiction books include hobbyists. At any given time, these people look for ways to spend their money on their hobbies. Their passion is your financial gain.
What avid hobbyists want and desire will always make great book material. Note: I did not say what hobbyists need. You may have certain opinions on what certain people should need or should read. But those are not necessarily good topics for immediate book profits. Those topics may be areas for you to dabble in at your leisure. However, if you want to make money at this, find what niche groups want, and hit those groups with your book.
Find hobbyists and niche groups by searching the web for "popular hobbies," "enthusiasts," or "what America is buying." Or, you can search for forums and discussion groups for hobbyists. In the forums, people talk with each other to share ideas. They exchange testimonials for equipment, upcoming events, and books.
One popular site where hobbyists hangout online is Yahoo!. Check it out. Go to www.yahoo.com. Click "groups." On the group's page, you'll see a list of categories such as Business & Finance, Religion, etc. Click on "Games."
On the Games screen, Yahoo! lists game subcategories followed by numbers. The numbers indicate how many discussion forums are available for that subcategory. These numbers reveal a lot. Notice how "role playing games," and "video & computer games" have factors of ten, or in some cases, factors of 100 more forums than other subcategories. "Wargaming" and "paintball" don’t even come close, although those categories are much more discussion-laden than "horseshoe pitching."
For fun, one day I continued selecting subcategories until I arrived at a list of over a thousand (yes a thousand) discussion groups on Yahoo! having to do with vampire role-playing.
Here's how I got there: Games >> Role Playing Game s>> Live Action >> World of Darkness >>Vampire: The Masquerade.
Some forums are open to new members, and you can join to read what everyone's discussing. Once in the forum, you can review discussion threads from today, yesterday, or a year ago. Don't go back too far if you want to find the hottest possible book topics. You can participate in discussions if you like. FYI, do not drop into a discussion group just to market a book; hobbyists consider this spam and will drop you from the group.
When you read and/or participate, you'll find what this group is buying. Skim the discussions to find what questions they are asking each other about products or traveling or information. What they are interested in buying is vital because passionate consumers love to research before they buy. This is an immediate book market. Create a book on how to select the best this or that on the market, related to the current wants of the enthusiasts.
Enthusiasts come in all shapes and sizes. Think brides-to-be, golfers, whitewater rafters, people who collect vintage baseball cards, wine connoisseurs, gardeners, frequent vacationers, video gamers, and parents who put their children into private tutoring, ballet, and violin lessons before age 3.
Some hobbies continually attract enthusiasts, like playing golf, watching football, restoring old cars, and listening to music. These are classics. Some hobbies seem to come and go in waves, such as Red Hat Societies participation, snow boarding, or line dancing. Pick either a classic hobby or a fluctuating hobby in its peak season for your best odds.
A big market on the Internet is the 20-30 set. Here's what they are doing right now, according to one survey. They're snowboarding, wakeboarding, traveling, camping, listening to music, taking photographs. They're drinking gourmet coffee, rock climbing, playing guitar, camping, dancing, looking for online love, shopping for computers and other electronics, attending sports events, studying the Bible, exercising, trying to find jobs, and watching movies. Any one of these subjects make a great book with a buying market.
How-to's and hot topics
The marketability of how-to books is limitless. Everyone wants an instruction manual, advice, and encouragement. Anything you know how to do, anything you've ever wanted to learn, or anything that's teachable at all, can become a how-to book.
How-to books for hobbyists are a good way to go, and this overlaps with the discussion above. A hobby how-to book could be anything from how to build a home from hay bales, to how to play Texas Hold 'Em, to how to understand Shakespeare.
One book publisher knows how hungry we are for how-to information, and has created a whole series of "Dummies" books around the market. The industry has similar book imprints, and all of them do quite well! "The Everything" series, "Idiot's Guide" series and others are cashing in on the how-to phenomenon.
You could cash in by creating books on any or all subjects covered in any of those books. Go to www.dummies.com, and check out their list of titles. Pick one you like, and move full speed ahead!
Even though the books have "Dummies" in the title, these books are popular because the authors do not treat their readers like dummies at all. The authors cater to a person who wants to find the easiest way to do something. When you've written your book and you've chosen a title, make sure you appeal to your readers' interests and intelligence!
If you use words like stupid, dumb, or hopeless in the title, make sure the meaning is clear and you are not insulting the individual reader.
Books can also target smaller niche groups.. You don’t have to write a universal book like How to use a computer (which may not be interesting enough to sell anyway in this decade). Books can cover more specific topics.
You can 1) create your book in a specific way for a specific niche readership; and 2) create additional books for different facets of the same subject, and sell each one separately!
Let's say you've decided to write a book on fishing. (FYI, this is one of those hobbies where enthusiasts are willing to spend money!). You could create: "How to Catch Freshwater Trout," "How to Tie Your Own Flies," or "How to Plan a Successful Deep Sea Fishing Trip."
Almost anything related to the hobby can become a separate book depending on how much detail you include. Clearly, "How to put on waders," probably isn't a great choice (though some would say it's impossible to underestimate today's consumer), because you would have to strain to fill up 60 to 100 pages on such a simple topic. You get the idea. You need to create a "book-worthy" book topic. Use good judgment.
Life itself requires instructions, as we know from "Life's Little Instruction Book." Life also qualifies as a good how-to book topic. There are numerous subtopics, and you'll never run out of ideas. Here are a few examples:
"How to ensure your child gets an A+ in math"
"How to have a successful garage sale"
"How to organize your home office"
While we're on the subject of how-to books, I'd like to make a quick point: you do not need to create a incredibly clever book title. Make sure the words "How to" are the first part of the title, and the rest should tell exactly what the book is about.
For example, which of these three titles would be best?
1. "How to have a successful garage sale."
2. "One weekend away from a cleaner house"
3. "How to sell your old shoes for a profit"
Although numbers 2 and 3 are clever, a little punchy, and correspond with the book content, I would recommend title number 1. "How to have a successful garage sale" sums up the book's topic; it will catch the eye of an Internet surfer who is interested in putting together a garage sale, and needs a how-to manual.
Anyway, back to the point. Any phase of life, way of coping with life, or large or small thing about life, can be the subject of a how-to book.
Looking young
Perhaps sixteen year old girls don't want to look younger, but from that point on -- and for most of the population in Western society -- looking young is a common desire. Everybody wants to find the fountain of youth, whether it's in a pill bottle, a special diet, surgery, or a book.
A book about staying or appearing young in the face of growing old always has a solid future. Here are some title ideas, and I'm sure you can come up with a truckload more.
"Drop ten years and ten pounds in ten days"
"How to look 28 forever"
"100 ways to look younger"
"Grocery store products that will help you look younger"
"Look 30 again without surgery"
"How to live to be 100"
This topic is red hot. Botox, surgery, chemical peels, lasers, diets, acupuncture, electronic pulses, mega vitamins, prescription teas, thigh cream, and teeth whiteners are being purchased by baby boomers, the elderly, and even women as young as 20 ! No one wants to look a day older than they have to.
Health
Health is a concern to anyone who is growing old, ill, or faced illness with a loved one or wants more energy or, basically, everybody. Health books are a good investment for you to make. Doctors don't have to be the authors. Anyone with any credentials, or no crendetials at all, can write books on health. Just make sure you don't claim to be a doctor if you're not one.
Use any of these health topics and guarantee yourself immediate interest, readership, and book sales!
Disease prevention and cure. As our baby boomer population ages, health concerns will afflict them, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, dementia, or some other malady. Give these people some hope. Create a book on how to cope, how to find the best practitioners, how to avoid disease triggers, or cures that American doctors are unaware of.
Natural remedies. People are curious about alternatives to standard medicine, and are anxious to try herbal, natural, or holistic treatments. Create a book on any disease that covers alternative cures. For example, "How to Treat Lymphoma, Naturally." Or, you could address natural supplements in general, "The best natural remedies for common ailments," or "Holistic health."
Diet. What we eat is always a hot topic. Dozens, if not hundreds, of diet fads exist. Pick any one of them for a book. Then there's obesity, general health, and also diet supplements like vitamins. Think "How to equip your kitchen for macrobiotic dieting." Or, "Eat to cure cancer."
Travel
People want to get in touch with the people they love. They want to experience different parts of the world. They want to see exotic things, and be entertained. Especially in America, adults work more than 40 hours a week, so people need good vacations. They research extensively to make sure they fully enjoy their precious few weeks off from work.
Here are some topics for you:
how to trade frequent flyer miles,
how to keep airport security off your back,
how to travel on a dime and get change, and
how to keep your children happy on long car trips.
Beyond the how-to's, you can find plenty of room for books on these topics:
the best amusement parks for your money,
top 100 campgrounds,
things you must see and do in Utah before you die, and
free things to do when visiting Washington, D.C.
Get the idea? The good thing about creating travel books is you may already know a lot about a place that other people may be interested in visiting. This makes it easy!
Money
Money makes the world go around (well, that and the earth's axis and planetary forces). Books abound on the topic of money. They do, but the market is nowhere near saturated. There's always room for more. From getting rich to just saving money day-to-day, people are interested in how-to books related to money. Ideas below:
"How to feed your family on less than $40 a week"
"How to get free stuff"
"How to pay almost no taxes"
"How to buy a retirement home for no money down"
"How to be richer than your parents"
"How to buy cars at auction"
"How to start a financial management business"
Life enrichment
In these days, more people are flocking to purchase self-help books. Self-help books are leaping off shelves at brick and mortar bookstores. People want to feel that if they read a self-help book, they have the power to change their lives. Whether or not this is true is moot.
Changing your life, soul searching, and helping thyself, are all great book topics.
As much as ever before, people want to know how to find peace with their pasts, how to be creative or spiritual in a consuming society, and how to find true love. There is no end to how-to books you could create in the category of self-help, or life enrichment. Here are a few more ideas:
How to marry for life
How to unbreak your heart
How to stay sane in a crazy world
How to meditate
A few more topics bound to explode
These fiery hot topics are on the rise. You can pull any one of these to use for your book. Then come back and pull another topic for your next book.
Using the latest electronics. We are a society obsessed with having the latest and greatest technology. Do a book on iPods, email/camera cell phones, wireless Internet, digital TV, or any combination of these items.
Home improvement. There's so much craze in this area that do-it-yourself (DIY) stores are on every corner of major cities. If you haven't been to a Home Depot or Lowes lately, then you are one of the few. Sure, apartment dwellers and young students have no interest in this market, but people with homes and money to afford them are in this market. In fact, some cable TV services offer entire channels dedicated to home improvement.
Especially of current interest are in-home automation systems. DIY home improvers are eager to learn about and buy things that will make their home lives more relaxing, high-tech, or fun. Create a book to teach them how to make their lights come on before they get home from their jobs, or how to press a button to adjust window blinds, music, or temperature. Or how Bill Gates' house works. Or how to add automation to an existing home, or how to build-in automation when a house is constructed.
Identity theft prevention. This is a great topic for books marketed on the Internet. People who purchase over the Internet want to protect their credit card information. Even away from the computer, consumers are on-edge about identity theft. Today, people shred their receipts, remove their personal information from the face of their checks, and cautiously cover themselves when they type in passwords at public terminals or ATMs. ID cards now have microchipes. People are worried. Tap into this market with a book!
Safety. Along the same lines as worrying about identity theft, people are worried about their safety from other things like crime, chemical warfare attack, and natural disasters. Watch the evening news tonight, and you can list at least twenty things that people are afraid of. When you talk about safety, you are speaking their language. Titles along the lines of "Prepare Yourself for Any Natural Disaster" would go over well, as would those like "Never Be a Crime Victim Again," "How to Defend Yourself in a Parking Lot," or "How to Prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)."
How-to manuals for any new product recently on the market. This harks back to the Dummies series, but takes it one step further. Target your book to people who want to buy the most current product in the marketplace. How to use the new model John Deere tractor. You will be sure no one else has a book like yours, and you can say so in your pitch.
How to survive any phase of life. People face numerous demons and battles as they live their lives. For many, when they're in need, they reach out to others for help. Support groups, private therapy, being with friends, starting over - these are all solid topics for a book. You could also reach out to certain people needing emotional assistance, such as:
How to get through the terrible two's,
How to cope with a cancer diagnosis,
Living with your own shortcomings,
How to live with someone who is dying,
Surviving high school.
Any of these will do.
Anything to do with pets. People pamper their pets more than ever before. Some pets are treated better than people. People who spend small fortunes on their pets will also pay good money for a book that gives them ideas on how to treat their animals more royally than they already do.
Write books on how to pamper your parakeet, homemade meals for picky dogs, where the pet spas are, how to train your kids to be cat-friendly, million dollar homes for mutts, which animals make the best pets, or pet psychology.
Traveling mixed with the subjects above. Not only are people traveling more, but they also want to customize their itineraries and their methods of travel with their hobbies and lifestyles. Try a few of these on for size:
Where to dine around the globe and still stay on a low-carb diet plan.
Hotels with the best exercise facilities,
How to travel exquisitely with large dogs,
Crime-proof your campsite.
Be creative. There's a market here.
Using the Internet to meet people. As I said, the craze is upon us. Everyone's online. Folks spend more time chatting with Internet buddies than they do talking face to face with actual friends. People need help figuring out how to get what they want. They want to find like-minded people, find a date, find love, and find support.
Hooking people up with people online is a huge market. Here are a few book topics for you: speed dating online, virtual music jams, taking online classes, hooking up with people who share your hobby, and finding online support groups.
Just about any topic that helps people network with people in the farthest reaches of the world will do. One of the appeals with online communing is distance does not matter. Help these people in foreign lands find each other with a book.
Topics of special interest to women. The facts don't lie. Women dominate the Internet, and they spend or influence spending of 80 cents for every dollar changing hands. What women want has never been so important to business owners and authors.
Certain topics appeal particularly to females. These include beauty, health, decorating, emotional support, and life enrichment. Women do a few things, generally, that men don't. They play bunko, wear make-up, and talk for hours to their girlfriends on the phone. They send more greeting cards, prepare more casseroles, and vacuum more often than men. They eat more salads and go shopping more often for clothes. They get more pedicures and love to dance more than the average man.
Keep two things in mind about women and books: if you want to attract a female market, you need to 1) write about a topic that women like to read about; and 2) you want to make the title friendly towards women.
Here's a female-oriented subject and title: Where to find great shopping bargains in Taos. And here's a male subject: Where to catch the most fish in Taos.
Here's a female-friendly title (same as above): Where to find great shopping bargains in Taos. And here's a male-friendly title on the same subject: Keep your money in your pocket in Taos. See the difference? Know your market; if you need to choose between one or the other, you're safe going with the women's title.
Sex. People don't need to sneak out of bookstores with erotic books in their hands anymore, and they know it. They are looking on the Internet for sex materials, toys, and books. The Internet is private, individuals can take their sweet time, and they can surf with or without a lover sharing their chair. There's been a recent book success entitled, Orgasms for two. There is room for more similar books. On the subject of sex, this is one case where a fiction book may also do the trick. You could create erotic short stories or a how-to-have-great-sex book. Either book would entice adults interested in this category (and incidentally, most adults are indeed interested in this category).
FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE THIS EBOOK
You may freely distribute this ebook to others without prior permission from the publisher or author, as long as it is NOT altered and this ebook is distributed in its entirety.
You may freely give away this ebook, bundle it with other products, give it away as a free bonus product, or make it available as a free download. You may not sell this ebook for money.
You can download free cover graphics and updated versions of this ebook at www.BookProposalWriting.com
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