People—even prolific authors—are stunned when they learn that I turn out a blog post per day and that my posts now number over 1,600. A common question is, “How do you come up with all those ideas?”
I think it is partly my background as an article-writer for so many years. I think it is something you can train yourself to do. But there are mornings when I get to my computer and wonder, “What am I going to write about today?”
Throughout a typical work day—responding to author questions; editing manuscripts, book proposal and back cover copy; writing my own promo material; conducting research for the SPAWN Market Update and for my own books and articles, etc., blog ideas will occur to me. I jot them down on sticky notes. A few days later, some make sense to me, others don’t. Here’s one note that I thought I would respond to today: “Write a book that matters.”
Rather profound, isn’t it? And definitely something important to think about. Does the book you are writing matter to enough readers that, with your diligent and energetic marketing tactics, it will sell enough copies to make it worth your while? Think about it, who cares that you lived an exciting or perilous life? Those who care about you, of course. But who beyond your circle of friends and loved ones? Will others care about your book of everyday tips for overcoming depression or your gripping adventure story? Possibly.
The thing is, readers want to know what they’ll get out of the reading experience. Will the ideas and tips in your book benefit the reader? Will the story give the reader what they want—escape, a good cry, a good laugh…
Consider the books you read and why you read them. Sometimes you pick up a book that speaks to you. The content of another book might fall flat. This is a reminder that not every book is for every audience. There are times when you just want to be entertained. You love a good mystery and you want to get lost in the story.
If you’re writing a book, make sure that you are writing it for a real audience—a large segment or even a small niche of readers who will embrace your book. Are you writing in a popular genre? Are you holding to tried and true techniques within your book? Is this book needed/desired by a substantial audience—it has a message they want to hear, it provides information and resources they need in order to succeed, and so forth?
So step one, if you want to reach a lot of people and/or build a bank account, is write a book that matters to a large enough audience. And most of you know what comes next. It’s important to know exactly who that audience is, where they are and how to approach them. It is never too early to be thinking about this. Wait until you finish the book and you may be stuck with a go-nowhere book without an audience.
If you have a book to promote or are writing one, consider purchasing my brand new book, Talk Up Your Book. It should matter very much to you because personality sells books. Many of the most successful marketing tactics rely on the author’s real-time, face-to-face attention. This is the only book I know of that focuses on this sort of promotional activities.
Order it now at Amazon.com Remember, you must type in my name along with the title of the book at the Amazon prompt. “Talk Up Your Book, Fry.” (This will do.)
Problems? Contact me: PLFry620@yahoo.com