Pitch Your Idea to Yourself

I am contemplating a couple of non-fiction book projects which may require substantial research.  I’m not exactly a subject matter expert on the subjects but I’m about half way there. I have quite a bit of work ahead of me no matter what project I decide to give my attention to.  It’s time to pitch the projects to my strongest critic…

Myself.

So in order to make an informed decision I need to answer a few questions about each project.

Are there other books on the subject? If there is it doesn’t mean my book won’t have a place of its own on the bookshelf.  What can I do that would differentiate my book from the others? What does the existing book (or books) lack that mine can provide?  I ran into this a couple of months ago with another research idea.  I discovered another author had written a similar book a year ago.  In reviewing the earlier work it was obvious that I had nothing to add at the moment. He had nailed the subject. Good thing I asked the question before starting huh?

Why am I qualified to write this book? That’s where the research comes in.  I have a passion for the subject, but that in no means makes me an expert. I need to do my homework first so that I sound like the expert I want to be.

Is there enough material on the subject? In other words – do I have enough “real” material to fill a book. Too often authors make up for their lack of expertise by filling their works with unneeded prose.  My job is to show that I can fill the pages of a book with relevant and meaningful material.

Is there a market for it? This can be tricky and requires its own effort in research.  Who would buy this book?  Is the market big enough for a publisher to take a chance on it? Who are the publishers that would take a chance on it?  You may find that a specialized niche publisher may be your ultimate target.

How does the competition do? For those books that are similar to yours in subject matter, how do they do?  Check out Publisher’s Weekly for insight and market analysis.

If you haven’t noticed already, by answering these questions of yourself before starting your project you will be better positioned to do the same when you pen your proposal to a publisher!