KNOW YOUR TOPIC
The first step to become an author, as noted in a previous blog post, is to know your topic. Many of you are probably thinking, “Well, duh! Of course, I’m going to write about what I know.”
But let me ask you this: Have you ever started reading a book and thought that the author had no idea what he/she was even talking about? They were way off topic or wrote about the topic as if they knew very little or only the basics, and even some of that was wrong …
Most of us have. This is why knowing your topic is so important.
Most of us would not even consider writing about neurosurgery unless we were a neurosurgeon, right? But we might think about writing something on Bitcoins or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) if we had been experimenting with them a little and had made some money. We might even think we are a quasi-expert.
However, unless we are in finance and understand everything about NFTs, how they work, and the variables that make them function as they do, then we are not even a quasi-expert. Yet, there are articles and books out there written by people who believe they are. This is not the only topic in which this occurs, but it is a great example.
The best way to write a book that sells and builds your name and credibility is to write about something you know very well.
If you are in a specific business, then a book about that business should be your first book. Computers, management, change management, and diversity and inclusion are just a few of the trending business topics.
If you are a counselor or therapist, then writing about your specialty would be your book. There are many people, parents and patients alike, searching for books on surviving trauma, neurodiversity, ADHD/ADD, and so much more.
In all honestly, for your first book, the better you know your topic, the faster you write that book.
Let’s look at the steps to picking the topic for your first book.
1. Brainstorming
Now that we know we need to be not just interested in a topic, we need to know about it, it’s time to think about it. This is where some brainstorming comes into play. There are plenty of ways to brainstorm, and you probably have a favorite method. So, your exercise in this step is to write at the top of the paper or screen—Topics I Know Really Well. Then Go!
2. Pick Out Your Four Favorite Topics
Take your brainstorming session and start picking out your favorite topics. Why the favorites? Remember in school when you were given a topic you didn’t like? It took forever to want to write the paper, but when you had a topic you liked, it was easy? It is the same idea. The more you like the topic, the easier it will be to write the book. So, pick four of your favorite topics.
3. Brainstorm Again
Well, brainstorm each of the favorite topics. This time, at the top of the page, you will type/write—What I Know About ______. Use one page for each. Give yourself about fifteen minutes with each topic. Think about what you know about that topic and put on your brainstorming page.
4. Find Your First Book
Look at the four favorite topic brainstorming pages. Which one has the most information? Which one makes you smile when you read it? Which one makes you want to expand even more as you review it? That is your first book.
Now that you have the topic of your first book, you are ready to think about your audience, but that is a topic for another blog post! In the meantime, find your topic and get ready to look at your audience next.
###
Ready to publish? CLICK HERE to schedule your consultation today!
Content credit: C. Storm
Image credit: Executium