Does your Book Have a Chance?

Make Sure Your Book Has Potential Before Writing It!book is just the first time you'll do that.
(Excerpted from The Well-Fed Self-Publisher: How toAlong the way, you'll do it on countless other
Turn One Book into a Full-Time Living, by Peteroccasions, as you craft: 1) email pitches to potential
Bowerman. Fanove, 2006.reviewers; 2) press releases to particular publications
"Crazy" Lives…or associations that have specific "hot buttons"; 3)
We've all known people who talk about their "crazy"articles for print/online publications which look for
lives, which, 99 out of 100, is just a life like mostspecific content; 4) promotional copy, commentary
other lives, or, at the very least, certainly not someand content for book signings, discussions, seminars,
Oprah-worthy existence. They exclaim, "I shouldspeeches, radio/TV interviews, other public
write a book; no one would believe it." Yeah, and noappearances, and much more.
offense, but I'd wager no one would buy it, either.We need to tune our marketing minds into
What we think is absolutely fascinating about our life"WRII-FM," that unspoken question in the mind of
is rarely so for others. So, Rule #1 of the SP game,the reader of any printed material: "What's Really In
and part and parcel of the whole Sales and MarketingIt For Me?" If the answer is, "nothing" or "not
discussion here is this:enough," then it's on to the next book on the
Write a Book People Will Want to Read.bookshelf, email in the inbox, or article in the
Painfully obvious, right? Total no-brainer? Well, asmagazine.
we've all discovered, few things are no-brainers,How's Yours Different?
especially this one. A corollary to this rule is: Don't letLet's assume that you've determined that your
ego or vanity ("Hooowee, I'm going to be ansubject matter is indeed viable. Next stop? Barnes &
author!") cloud your judgment and keep you fromNoble, Borders, or See how many other books there
asking yourself the tough questions to determine ifare on your subject. It might be a great topic, but if
your proposed subject matter is indeed salable.there are 20 titles that deal with it already, do we
Remember: a garage full of books is an amazinglyreally need a 21st? Yours had better be pretty darn
ego-boosting sight for about two hours. Tops.special, and to someone other than you (and your
Don't Go "Book Blind"!mother…).
Put another way, don't succumb to what I'll call "bookPlenty of Room
blindness," a common affliction of first-timeIn the case of my first book, there was literally one
self-publishers and even some more experiencedbook on the market on the subject of commercial
folks: when you become so enamored with the ideawriting: Secrets of a Freelance Writer, by Bob Bly. It's
that you've written a book and you're so intimatelya very good book, in fact it was the book that got
attuned to how much blood, sweat and tears wentme started in the commercial writing business. Still, it
into its creation (and by extension, how "incredible"was just one book. Bob's book is solid, substantive
you know it is) that you lose sight of the fact thatand straightforward. Mine was going to be just as
your market doesn't know any of this and needs tomeaty in its own right but more fun, whimsical and
be sold on all of it. That means content, cover, title,irreverent - starting with the title itself, The Well-Fed
subtitle, editing, and everything else that contributesWriter, and continuing on from there.
to a successful title - in the market's opinion, notSo, clearly, I felt comfortable that there was more
yours.than enough room for another book on the subject,
What's the Payoff?especially one with a different tone and approach.
Let's look at a clear-cut example of a book peopleMost importantly, the subject matter was very
want to read: a Top 10 title on The New York Timescompelling. I knew there were zillions of struggling or
fiction best-seller list. What makes such a book so"wannabe" writers out there who would be more
popular? With non-fiction titles, the subject isthan a little intrigued by a book that showed them,
undoubtedly topical and compelling, and thestep-by-step, how to make a handsome full-time
information is sufficiently valuable to enough peopleliving as a writer.
to translate to commercial success.A Book Proposal?
With fiction though, it's likely the draw of a marqueeHere's a great way to gel your thinking about the
author. What makes those authors so popular? Well,market viability of your book. About the time I'd
you could safely say that their books strike afinished my first book, and before I'd definitely
common chord in enough readers with compellingdecided to self-publish it, I put together a book
story-telling, rich character development, recurringproposal, which, of course, is the first step to pitching
themes or heroes/heroines (in the case of a series),agents and/or publishers. But even if you've already
authentic depictions of human nature, etc.made the decision to go the SP route, a book
Simply put, for a book to become a best seller,proposal is a wonderful way to get a reality check. It
enough people have to feel there's a payoff: aensures that you'll think this thing through thoroughly
feeling that's pleasurable or familiar, something theybefore taking the (financial) plunge. That means
can relate to on some fundamental level, etc. Willfiguring out what the book would cover, why there's
your book deliver that crucial payoff?a market for it, who would buy it, why they would
Tune in to WRII-FMbuy it, what your competition is, what your expected
All writing, if it's to be effective (i.e., get through tocosts will be, and much more.
your reader), must always consider the audience, asDon't make the oh-so-common mistake of
we just discussed. Throughout the entireoverestimating the appeal of a potential book idea.
self-publishing process, you'll need to keep yourPerhaps you do have a great book, but a little
reader/listener/viewer constantly in mind. Choosinghomework now will save a lot of headaches later.
the right (read marketable) subject matter for your