Brian Scott is founder of Book Proposal Writing a free website that teaches you how to write a book proposal. Download your free sample book proposal today. Read his blog for freelance writers at working writersnewsletter
Selecting a hot topic for a book is so easy. People are hungry for
information, and people are buying books and e-books to feed their
hunger. After you read this article, you will know how to choose your
own book topic and feel confident you can write a best-selling book
based on your topic.
Step 1: Observe what's going on around
you.
If you're smart enough to read this article, 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. A-ha! 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.
Step 2: Spend a few minutes searching the
Internet.
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 Bing.com. Type in
phrases like "top concerns of Americans," "best-selling
nonfiction topics," or "popular how-to manuals."
Common worries of 2009; etc.
Step 3: 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 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 bestselling 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... 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.