When a prospective client contacts me, it can be tempting to say, “Of course your book is worth writing.” But not every book has merit because there are times when a market is heavily saturated. I believe you need to know what the obstacles to successful sales will be before you invest resources in bringing a book to market.
Initial Research
The most important first step to answering the question, “Is it worth writing my book?” is to establish a clear goal. This is begins with asking one very important question. “What is the topic I want to cover?”
Your book won’t have any power if you don’t narrow your topic down. It’s always easier to expand a topic than it is to narrow it down. Going on a research mission will help you focus.
If you tell me “affiliate marketing,” I’ll immediately ask if you are aware of the amount of competition there is for that topic. I’ll do the same for other popular topics. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t write a book on a saturated topic. It just means your research mission is going to be especially important.
I could do the initial research, but I prefer to have you do this, because it ensures you know first hand what is in the marketplace, it gives you the option of saving yourself my fees. I’m going to do a little research of my own so I can speak intelligently with you about your topic.
Where to Research
I used to say the public library was a good place to start research. Now, I say Amazon.com. Almost every book that is in print currently shows up there in either the new or the used book sections. You’ll find books that are out of print as well.
Your Amazon.com research will give you an overview of what the competition is for the topic. What are the titles that are already out there? How saturated is the market? You may decide the timing isn’t right and stop pursuing your chosen topic at this stage. Or you may find that there are doesn’t seem to be much of value available. This can be the green light to proceed.
How to Choose Your Approach
Once you know what the competition is, it is time to ensure the way you approach your topic is unique. How have other authors already approached the topic? While you are on Amazon.com, you can use the “Search inside Book” feature to get a peek at the table of contents and read an excerpt from many of the books.
Mark down any books that look especially interesting. You’ll want to go to a big-box bookstore to look at these books in more detail. You can also find out if they are available at your local library.
As you look over the books that are already in the market, you’ll begin to see where your topic hasn’t been covered before. Or you will see new ways of approaching your topic that no one has thought of before. That will become your guiding principle as you move forward. You want your book to stand out in the market, so you must choose a different approach.
With this information in hand, you are in a position to decide whether it is worth writing your own book. Even if writing isn’t your strength, you can enlist the assistance of a writing coach/editor to help you through the process. At the end of the job, you’ll be able to honestly say, “I wrote my own book.”