A little forethought goes a long way in producing your best work and maximizing your opportunities for book sales. In the excitement of writing and producing your long-awaited book, authors often overlook some of the basics. Poor planning can result in a garage full of unsold books and dashed dreams. Here is the first of our tips on making your book the best it can be:
While you are writing your book, take time to consider this question: “Who is your audience?” Please don’t answer “everybody!” There are over 150,000 books published in the United States alone every year. That’s your competition when you think that “everybody” is your audience! Instead, concentrate on what it is that makes your book stand out in your subject field. Tailor your book to a specific audience and then go deep into that niche. It’s a lot easier to appeal to a specific group – say grade school teachers in Christian schools – than to everybody on the planet.
Using our hypothetical group – grade school teachers in Christian schools – what can you learn about this group? A little research on the internet and in a public library will tell you: How many there are, what they teach, demographics, where they live, how much they are paid, their concerns, thoughts on teaching, children, education today, politics, what publications they read, what they do for fun, and the list goes on. You need to become an expert on your audience in order to show them why they should buy your book.
Now, let’s answer that question again. Who is your audience?
