Nonfiction Ideas

Probably the most important advice regarding finding and choosing a nonfiction book topic is to go to the market first and find a book for that market rather than finding a topic first and trying to find a market for that topic.  Keep this in mind in all areas you search for topics and when narrowing down your topics of your chosen book idea.

There are many ways to go to the market first.  You can do so by looking through magazines that are targeted to a specific group of people.  Mailing lists are another way.  Anywhere large groups of people gather with a common interest.  Find ways to go to specific markets first, whether it is through magazines, newsgroups and message forums on the Internet, mailing lists, etc.  Go to the market, and then search for a subject that sells.

Take a personal inventory of yourself to spark some ideas.  Find a place to go where you won’t be disturbed and get your pen and paper out and start making a list.  What are you good at?  What are you best at?  List things that you know well enough to teach to others.  What kind of work experience do you have?  What hobbies are you involved in?  Are you involved in sports?

What other skills do you have?  What do you enjoy?  What are you absolutely passionate about?  In any of these areas, do you have authority or credibility as well?  Take inventory of yourself and share your strengths with others.  Take a look at your personal, professional and spiritual life.  Search for areas you need to improve and areas you have mastered.

Often, the best thing to do is to simply get a lot of ideas.  Eventually, you will find a really good idea this way.  One of the best ways to get good ideas is to get a lot of ideas.  Don’t censor yourself on this one.  Write anything and everything that comes to mind.  You can sift through your ideas later, weed out the bad ideas and pick out the good ones.

You may find that it is a good idea to make yourself get in the habit of coming up with a certain number of book ideas per day or per week.  Once you get in this habit it trains your mind to stay constantly tuned in to book possibilities that you otherwise might have missed out on.

Start this habit now.  Start today.  Set a small goal at first, and then increase it later if you like.  Soon your idea notebook will be full of ideas.  Some ideas may spawn other ideas.  Some will be bad, some will be good.  Again, you only need one good idea to make a fortune.  Start small.  Starting today, for the next thirty days, try coming up with one book idea per day.

A simple thing you can do is take out a sheet of paper and start writing down things you love.  Write your hobbies, your interests, your TV shows.  Any category you feel like.  Explore your mind and write down stuff you truly love whether it is Coca Cola collecting, bird watching, sewing or fixing up cars.  When you get several things written down, sort through them and try to narrow and shorten the list down to your top 5 to 10 favorite things.

Now you will have a better idea of areas to further explore to find nonfiction book ideas.  I saw a book not long ago titled The World of Cheese.  To some people cheese is cheese, but to others, perhaps it is a passion or something they are simply nuts about.  There are a lot of people out there, so chances are if there is one person out there crazy about cheese, there are many others that will share that same passion and will buy your book on cheese!

We all have areas in life we would like to learn more about.  Some of us have goals to learn a foreign language, play piano or learn how to juggle.  There could be more obscure subjects you want to find information about but can’t.  Or, you can find some information, but it is really out of date.  It is time for you to write about what you need or want to learn.

Can’t find a book on a subject you’re interested in?  Write one!  You’re not an expert?  Who cares!  Write from research and by the time you finish your book you will then be an expert on that subject.  What book would you like to exist?  If it doesn’t exist and you would buy it - write it!  Sure it is better to already be an expert, but the plus side of writing from a beginner’s point of view is you are offering a fresh outlook on the subject.

Experts might skip over areas that a beginner won’t.  You are writing from the beginner’s point of view and it is likely you will both have the same types of questions.  What do you want to know?  What do you want to know more about but can’t find information on it?  Choose a subject you know little about but are very interested in.

Use random ideas to stimulate your thinking.  Pick a random word out of the dictionary.  How does it relate to your current idea?  Flip through a magazine and pick a random article.  Does this article interest you? Is there an aspect to this article that you could apply to your current idea?  Walk down the street and find the first object that is yellow.  Does this have any significance to your idea?

You might say to yourself there is no way a yellow sign has significance to your idea, but try to make a connection anyway.  Purchase a deck of creativity cards called the Creative Whack Pack by Roger Von Oech.  With it you can pick a card at random and try to make a connection to how it relates to your current idea you are working on.  Try to come up with random pieces of information and force yourself to make a connection to that and your current problem.

Computers and the Internet have created a new kind of software – Creativity software.  Use computers to generate ideas for you.  One such company is IdeaFisher at http://store.ideafishing.com/index.html. Use their software to help brainstorm for ideas.  There are hundreds of potential uses for creativity software ranging from problem solving to name development.

For your concern the main use will be helping stimulate your mind to come up with and enhance your book ideas.  Also see http://www.innovationtools.com and do a search on Google.com for “creativity software” or “brainstorming software”.  Check www.download.com and search for the same.

Creativity software and tools are like catalysts that boost your brain’s creative energy and in turn allow you to generate more ideas.  These programs also help you judge and enhance your existing good ideas.  See the appendix in the back of this book for a list of creativity software resources.

An obvious and perhaps the best place to look for ideas is your nearest book store such as Barnes & Noble or Borders.  Bring a little notebook and pen with you to jot down any ideas you have or titles of interesting books that catch your eye. A trip to the book store can be very stimulating to your creativity and will trigger a lot of ideas.  This is also a good time for visualization.  Picture your book on the shelves sometime in the near future.

When you start browsing through the book store, write down which sections you tend to gravitate towards.  Do you go to the cookbook section?  Computer section?  Business?  Photography?  Self-Help?  Reference?  What sections do you go to on a regular basis?  It’s good to try to get a good idea of what you gravitate towards as there are tons of topics to write about, and you won’t be able to write about them all.  Narrow down your interests so you can focus in on a more targeted subject.  Look through books in your favorite categories and see what’s selling. Is there anything missing you could write about?  What books are on the shelves placed with the cover facing you?  Shelf space in bookstores is valuable and books placed with the cover out are better sellers than others.

If you have already picked a topic to write about, try to find a book that is written in a format you might be able to emulate.  Is it a book written with chapters, a 101 solutions book, an encyclopedia format?  Try to find a model book.

Are there books that are out of date and perhaps you think it is time for you to write a competing book that is updated?

Within your favorite sections of the bookstore, what types of books do you like the most?

What are the best sellers in the best seller section?  Notice people shopping.  What books are they looking at?  What books are they buying?

If you want to get really crazy, try to get a job at a bookstore to get a feel for things.  What books are people looking for?  What books cannot be found?

Browse the newspaper and magazine sections in the book stores for ideas.

If you have some specialty book stores in your area, visit them as well.  There are used book stores, religious book stores, health book stores, alternative book stores, and many more.  A lot of times they won’t limit themselves to just books – so you might go to a health food store that sells more specialized topics on health food.

Alternative bookstores are another interesting place to look for unusual, offbeat book topics.  Here you will truly find some really obscure topics.  Take a look at Loompanics Unlimited at http://www.loompanics.com where you will find topics such as how to create a fake identity to advanced techniques on being a fugitive.  They are even looking for authors of similar controversial subjects.

It’s a lot easier to follow a pioneer than to be a pioneer.  The same rule applies to books.  Which is easier - pioneering a completely new category or type of book, or simply modifying a known success?  For every successful book out there you can bet there is probably a copycat version as well.  Whether it is a new type of low carb diet book or another type of Chicken Soup for the Soul book, they are going to have someone compete with them.

Is there a book that has already been written about, but you think you could do a better job?  Perhaps the existing book is out of date?  Could you write a newer more modern version with a fresh point of view?

You can add a twist on a current or old idea.  Instead of the Guiness Book of World Records, how about writing the Guiness Book of Wacky Records?

Years ago a book called How to Flatten your Stomach was written by Jim Everood.  Melvin Powers took advantage of the book’s success and wrote a book called How to Flatten you Tush and resulted in successful sales.  This is similar to a parody, but these are useful books.  Parodies are more for humor than anything else.

Compete with a hardcover book on the same subject, but with a lower priced soft cover version.

If a book you would like to write already exists, don’t be concerned.  Many books are inadequately marketed or titled and you can do a better job.

If you’re just starting off and this is your first book, you should make things as easy for you as possible.  Don’t reinvent the wheel, work in a subject area that has already proven itself.

What new twist could you add to an existing or old topic?  How could you take an old idea and recreate it in a refreshing new way?

Do you have a business that is or has been profitable?  If you don’t mind giving away the secret, put together a book and teach others how to start the same business.  This is best when your business idea, if started in other cities throughout the world, would not affect your business.  There would always be a chance of someone local getting your book, but this type of book usually sells pretty well, so it may be worth the risk.

Avoid writing and selling a book on how to make money just for the sake of selling the book – with no real proof that your idea really works.  In short, avoid writing and selling “money making scam” books.  You might sell some books in the short run, but in the long run if your plan really doesn’t work you are doing a disservice to the public and it will ultimately fail.  Sell a high quality business “how to” book and you will do and feel much better.