book writing
The Elusive Perfect Reader
October 6, 2011
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Today's post is by Lynne Klippel, a best-selling author, publisher, and book shepherd. Since 2004, she's been working with coaches, speakers, and entrepreneurs who want to write a nonfiction book to showcase their expertise and build their business. Her business, Business Building Books, focuses on the marriage of internet marketing and publishing and has helped clients from 6 of the 7 continents. An avid reader, Lynne used to get in loads of trouble as a kid for reading books instead of doing her chores. Lynne lives in Missouri with her husband, three sons, a bunch of pets and tons of books.
One of the first questions you’ll hear from a publisher, writing coach, or interviewer is “Who should read your book?”
Most of us want to say, “Everyone!”
While you probably do have information in your book that will help many people, it is highly unlikely that everyone in the world will need to read it. Drat!
When you take time to get very clear on the characteristics, needs, and desires of a specific group of readers, you’ll be able to write your book faster and more effectively. Plus, you’ll be much more successful in your book marketing efforts.
Let’s start with a few examples of clear descriptions of perfect readers:
- Women aged 40 to 60 who have children and aging parents
- Divorced fathers who share custody of their children
- High school students who want to get into an Ivy League university
- Young adults aged 20 to 30 who left organized religion but still seek spiritual connection
- Corporate presidents or vice presidents who plan to retire in the next five years
- Women in their twenties with an eating disorder
- Parents whose grade school children act out in school
Each description brings a specific person to your mind, right? You may have pictured a friend, relative, or acquaintance who fit that description perfectly.
Now, it’s your turn to describe your perfect reader. Consider these key areas:
- Demographics: age, gender, marital status, profession, and socioeconomic status
- Challenges and stressors your reader faces that cause her to worry or look for help in a book
- Hopes, dreams, and goals
- Personality style—does he like facts and statistics or stories and humor?
- Time management—is she too busy to read long chapters?
- Current information-gathering practices—does he read, look online, go to seminars, take classes, or depend on others for new information?
- Fears—this is one the most important area to look at. Your book must provide a solution to a fear or group of fears if it’s really going to help your readers thrive.
You will continue to refine the definition of your perfect reader as you write your book. One of the best ways to do this is to teach some classes and see what kinds of people attend and resonate with your material. If you don’t enjoy teaching, notice the kinds of people who visit your website or comment on your blog.
The more you study and learn about your ideal reader, the more targeted you can make your book. Real people read books. When you can capture the essence of the perfect reader for your book, you are one step closer to becoming a successful author!
If you are ready to become a successful author, capitalize on your strengths and build from there. To identify your author strengths, complete the free Author Assessment at www.BusinessBuildingBooks.com.
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Luciano Sill
from Luciano Sill on Fri, 2011-12-16 13:01I cannot thank you enough for the blog article.Really thank you! Will read on...
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What Publishers Want From an Author
August 24, 2010
by Shennandoah Diaz
If you have already written a book, or even if you are just considering writing one, you may have asked yourself what it is that publishers are looking for. Unfortunately, there is no magic formula a writer can follow for guaranteed publication. What works and doesn’t work varies by genre, publisher, and other factors outside of the writer’s control. Still, there are some basic elements every publisher considers when evaluating a potential project. Those elements are: content, market, competitive titles, and author platform. We will cover each element in basic terms for the purpose of this post, but we do provide greater details on each of categories in our free white paper “What Publishers Want.”
Content
Though certain elements vary between fiction and nonfiction, any book, no matter what the genre, must be compelling, marketable, and memorable.
Compelling: It must be a topic that people are interested in.
Marketable: There must be a significant number of people interested in the topic.
Memorable: The writing should be good and should stick with the reader.
Market
Publishing is a business. In order for publishers (and authors) to make money, they need to sell books. So, when publishers look at a project they ask themselves: What is the market for this book? Who would be interested in this topic? How many people constitute that segment of the population? How often do they buy books and for what reasons? You need to be able to answer those questions before you even start writing.
Competitive Titles
The next thing publishers consider is your competition. This is key for many reasons. First of all, it shows them who your market is and the size of your market’s demand. If books on your topic are doing well, they are more likely to consider your work. Second, publishers look at how your book differs from the competition. If you provide enhanced content, an innovative approach, new research, or a more user-friendly voice, then they will be more likely to consider looking at and possibly acquiring your book. However, if your book is too similar to an existing one (especially one that has done well), or if your content is weak or poorly executed in comparison, then a publisher will be less willing to consider your project.
Platform
We discussed this in great detail before, and we can’t stress enough how important it is when evaluating your potential success as an author. Publishers need to know that you have identified your audience, that you are speaking to the needs and wants of your audience, and that you are continually and actively engaged with them even before you have a book.
Understanding how your book measures up in terms of content, market, competitive titles, and platform is essential to your publishing efforts. Weakness in any area can be improved upon, but too many issues in one or more categories can seriously hinder your chances of being published.
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