The WMF Archives

by N. Strauss

A few years ago, I started work with a coauthor on a book for the business market. The subject was online communities. When we had finished a few chapters, we began shopping around for a publisher and sold the book to New Riders/ Peachpit.

The process of writing the proposal and selling the book was actually quite straightforward. In this 4-part series, I'll explain step-by-step how to do it.

Research the market

Let's say you're going to write a book on corporate blogging. First, you want to find out what other corporate blogging books are out there. How will your book be different? What gap will it fill? Are there enough people who want to buy a new corporate blogging book?

A friend mentioned to me yesterday that she's working on an epic poem about the Black Plague. If she doesn't manage to publish this poem, this woman can legitimately claim to be a misunderstood genius, unappreciated during her lifetime. That's how art works -- an artist follows her vision and hopes the world will respond.

However, no one will give you misunderstood-genius points if you fail to sell a corporate blogging book. Better to do the research in advance and avoid wasting your time. Plus, you’ll use this research later in your book proposal.

Easy market research on Amazon

You can find a huge amount of data on Amazon. Do keyword searches to look for books on your topic and see how Amazon has categorized them. Also click through the category menu and look around in your book's category.

On Amazon, select the option "Books," then click on "Bestsellers," and analyze the bestseller list in your book's category. (Note: when considering Amazon sales rank statistics, be aware that these update frequently. You may therefore want to track them over a period of time.)

Use Amazon's "Look Inside" feature to browse tables of contents and get a feel for specific books. While you're there, make a note of who's publishing books similar to the one you plan to write. They might be good publishers for you too.

More easy market research

Search on Google to find websites, blogs, and online forums related to the subject of your book. What trends do you observe there? Are there hot topics that everyone is talking about? See what books are being discussed and reviewed in your niche.

You can also do some research offline by visiting bookstores and libraries. Look at what books on your book's topic are on their shelves or in their catalogues, but don't forget to check publication dates. Ask booksellers and librarians what kinds of books people are looking for related to your subject area. Is there something specific that readers are looking for and not finding? When doing this type of offline research, be aware that you are dealing with a relatively small set of data, so your conclusions might not be representative of the book market in general.

Competition is good

Does your book have competition? That's actually a positive sign. If no one's publishing books about your topic, the reason probably isn’t that no one's had the same great idea you have. More likely, there's just not enough demand.

Think of how to differentiate your book from its competitors. What unfulfilled need can you address? What unique angle can you bring to the topic? The answers to these questions will shape your book proposal, as well as the book itself. And they will depend on the profile of your target reader, which is something I'll discuss more about in Part 2 of this series.

Watch this space

A little market research now can save you from wasting a huge amount of time on an unviable project. It might also give you ideas for new directions for your book.

And your understanding of the market -- and your book's place in it -- will allow you to write a much stronger book proposal.

Next week, I will talk about how to define your target reader and start planning your content.

Would you like to be a misunderstood genius, unappreciated during your lifetime? Try writing literary fiction. Check out Creative-Writing-Now.com's guides on how to write a story or how to write a novel.

How to Sell a Business Book - Part 1: Market Research