How close are you to your book project? You write the book that you want to write, take all of the liberties with it that you want to take, make the decisions based on what you want. And when you talk about it, you refer to it as “my book,” don’t you?
Yes, you came up with the idea and you put in the work and money. In order to create something that will sell, however, you have to consider your reader more seriously than you do your desires.
During the Planning Stages
The reader must be your primary concern. What does your reader need or want? What is lacking in the category of your book? Is there room for another book on the subject or in a particular genre? Your thought should be on the needs or desires of a particular segment of people and not on your desire to write a particular book.
While You’re Writing the Book
You must keep your audience in mind. For nonfiction, be intimately familiar with your competition so you are certain that your book brings something different, timely and valuable to the table. Organize your book so it is easy to use, and then write with clarity. For fiction, choose a genre that is currently popular or for which there is a wide base of faithful readers. And never lose sight of your readers as you tell your story, lest you leave them behind in a trail of dust. Climb into the reader’s head and stay there as you write the story expressly for him.
When Designing a Book
Think of your audience. Will the design attract or repel them? People who purchase coffee table books, for example, expect something they can display elegantly. Cooks and grillers might appreciate a spiral bound book for ease in using the recipes, for example.
When you Begin Promoting the Book
You must continue to think about your audience or sales will be dismal. By now, you should know who they are. Where are they? How will you locate them? How do they purchase books like yours—online mostly, in specialty stores or through other trusted outlets? Where do they congregate in person and online? How do they prefer to be approached?
It’s NOT About You!
When you become an author, it seems as though it’s all about you. You come up with the idea for a book. You write the book and you have to market it. But in order to be successful with your publishing venture, you really must take the focus off of yourself and concentrate pretty much fully on your potential readers.
I’ve met many writers who became authors just because it suited them. They wrote a book for a particular audience, but without much regard for that audience. It’s sort of like the seamstress living in a village of giants who loves making tiny dresses. All she wants to do is design and sew miniature dresses and then she gets upset when the dresses aren’t selling. If she’d thought more about her audience than her own desires, she would have been making clothes for giants and she would have been making many more sales.
Don’t be like the short-sighted seamstress. Enter into the world of authorship by considering your audience first and foremost.