Nonfiction Ideas

Magazines are a goldmine to look for nonfiction book ideas.  There are hundreds of magazines on virtually any subject.  If you have a Barnes & Noble bookstore in your area go there and take a look at the vast selection to choose from.  If you don’t live close to one, try the following:

www.magazines.com

Also try BN.com and Amazon.com to search through the magazine selection.  If that doesn’t work, go to your local public or university library.  It is best if you can get your hands on the magazines in person, so you can look through them to see what types of articles they publish.  The good thing about magazines is they are tightly targeted to a group of people that are buyers as well.  They are already purchasing the magazine, so you can count on it that they are buying products and services related to that field.  What types of articles are being published?  Notice any trends or similar articles being printed in competing magazines?  What types of ads are being published?  Which ones repeat month after month?  Look at the magazines to find subject areas to explore further.

An excellent habit to develop is to force yourself to come up with at least one book idea each time you run into a magazine.  If you are in line at the grocery store, waiting to get your hair cut or getting your oil changed.  Flip through a magazine nearby and come up with a book idea that would match the market for that magazine.  Do this any time you see a magazine, even if you’re looking through magazines in a store or at home.  Another thing you can do is pick out magazines that interest you.  Either buy them or write down the subject the magazine covers.  This is a quick and easy way to get an idea of subject areas to focus on.  Also check www.mediafinder.com for books.

Are there any magazine articles in magazines that you subscribe to or read regularly that don’t exist?  Perhaps they should be written about?  Make a list of magazine articles you would find irresistible to read.  Perhaps one of these subjects could be expanded upon.  What articles leave you wanting more and could possibly become a book?

There are too many magazines to provide a complete list, but here is a short list to give you an idea of what is out there.  It is exciting, because each magazine is a potential market with thousands of readers that could buy your book.

Some of the hundreds of magazines out there include:  Coin World, Doll Costuming, Antiques, Comic Buyer’s Guide, Watch Time, Teddy Bear, Photo Techniques, American Woodworker, Home Theater, Outside, Gourmet, Runner’s World, Muscle and Fitness, Cat Fancy, Dog Fancy, Reptiles, Bird Talk, Wired and tons of others.

What type of classified ads in the magazines repeat month after month?  Most likely whatever they are selling is selling or they wouldn’t be repeating the advertisement.  Write, call or email the magazine and request a media kit/advertising information.  This is a good way to get a free copy of almost any magazine as well.  Like you did earlier, pick out several magazines you are interested in.  Find their advertising contact information online or while browsing the book store.  Request their advertising information and it is likely they will send you a copy of their magazine along with advertising rates and circulation information.  The circulation information is important, as you need to have a good idea how many people that magazine reaches.  The larger circulation the better, but many times smaller circulations are good because it is such a targeted market.

There are also trade and technical journals you will more often find in libraries.  These are more geared towards professionals and academic markets, but are worth looking into for ideas.

Libraries are another one of the great places to search for ideas.  Next to the Internet your local public or university library is probably the best place to search for ideas.  The best thing about it is that it is free.  Many times you will find millions of dollars of books, computers and librarians at your disposal.  This is one of the best actual uses of your tax dollars.  One of the most valuable areas of your library will be the reference section.  If you go to a good university library, you will have expensive reference books you can use for free which would normally cost you several hundred dollars per volume in some cases.

In the reference section you will find Books in Print, Encyclopedia of Associations and other extremely useful reference sources.  Take a look at everything when you have the time.  Try looking through something new each time you go.  Here are just a few of the many reference books to consider:

Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature

Encyclopedia of Associations

World Almanac

Directory of Trade Shows

Encyclopedia of Associations

Occupational Outlook Handbook

Books in Print

Books out of Print

Forthcoming Books in Print

Literary Agents of North America

Literary Market Place

Browse around with your pen and notepad making notes of ideas that come to mind.  Take notes of your favorite sections.  If you remember from your younger school years, the library runs on the Dewey Decimal System which is a way to organize all of the books.  This is another useful way to pick subject areas you are interested in writing.  For an in depth overview of the Dewey Decimal system, go to their official web site.  For a comprehensive listing of the main categories and sub categories of the Dewey Decimal System, go to

http://www.tnrdlib.bc.ca/dewey.html.

Dewey Decimal System Main Categories:

000 Generalities

100 Philosophy & psychology

200 Religion

300 Social sciences

400 Language

500 Natural sciences & mathematics

600 Technology (Applied sciences)

700 The arts

800 Literature & rhetoric

900 Geography & history

The Dewey Decimal System or DDC is a hierarchical classification system that divides knowledge from the broadest to the most specific topics.  Take the multimedia tour of the DDC and you’ll be amazed how massive it is and equally amazed at how many different subjects there are.  To view the tour, go to:

http://www.oclc.org/dewey/resources/tour

As you can see, there are a lot of subject areas to explore, especially when you visit a university library.  When you browse around subject areas that interest you, pick up books and take a look at how often they are checked out.  This will give you an idea of their popularity.  Also check to see if there are multiple copies of particular books.

Browse the library like you would browse your favorite book store, taking note of sections you gravitate towards the most.

You can also use the computers at the library to search and browse around at what books are carried there.  Take note of what books libraries have.  Remember the library market and when you are done with your book you may want to try to sell your book to the libraries.

Be sure to talk to the librarians if you are curious about specific topics.  They may be able to suggest books that are needed in certain areas.  They can tell you what other people are asking for and they could also give you some feedback on your idea and tell you whether it might be worth pursuing or not.

If you don’t feel like leaving your home there are thousands of libraries online that you can check out.  You won’t be able to read the books they have, but you can certainly search and browse the titles they carry.  To start off, go to Yahoo and you will see there are thousands of libraries to choose from at:

Yahoo Directory of Libraries

Sit in the comfort of your home to get an idea of topic areas you’re interested in.  Find your local library and search around before you make a real trip to that library.  Be sure to also check out the Library of Congress web site.

When you take a look at the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature, be sure to take a look at the most current index to see what articles are being published. Then you can see what topics are hot and what topics are not.

Check library and books in print to crystallize your subject even further.  Take a look at Books in Print and see if a specific subject has been updated lately.

You will no doubt find many ideas in your favorite libraries and probably many new techniques for finding ideas as well.  It is also a great place to get away from distractions and make yourself work on your book project.

One way to find a large audience and topic to write about is to ride the coattails of another’s success.  Celebrities, hot fad items, musicians, movies, politicians, games and many more will qualify.  When you write about such a subject, especially one that is really popular or known by just about everyone, you have a huge market at your disposal.  An example is the game of Monopoly.  Hugely successful, and someone wrote a book about the game to capitalize on the people interested in the game.  If you are dealing with current events or things that are widely publicized, you already have free publicity.  People interested in the subject will eventually search or browse around on the subject and will likely run into your book.

Here’s an idea: try combining two or more subjects and see if it makes an idea.  You never know what you will come up with.  Examples include: Sports and Dogs, Art and Gardening, Humor and Politics, Cats and Movies, Religion and Relationships. Try browsing BN.com and combine some subject areas to see if you come up with some good ideas.

Is there any way you can live a member of a market you are going to write for?  Sure you can.  You can subscribe and read the magazines people in the market read.  Go to trade shows and other special events.  Read the newsgroups and message forums on the Internet.  Find others that live near you that are involved in the subject you are writing about.  Are there local clubs you can join?  Start with the magazines and web sites related to your field of interest and go from there.  If you are writing from research or a topic you are interested in but still new at, this is a good way to approach it.  What dreams does this person have?  What is their income?  Are they married?  Do they have kids?  The more you know about your audience the better.