3 Ways to Evaluate Your Book Idea

It may not be true that everyone has a book inside them, but it sure seems like it’s true that everyone you meet has got at least a dozen good ideas for a book. Alas, a good idea is essential, but it’s not enough. You’ve got to write the book. That’s going to take a while and a whole bunch of work. So, before you sit down to write that first word, take some time to evaluate your book idea.

Talk to your ideal readers

Real people read books. Demographic descriptions don’t. So, find some people like the people you’re writing for and go and talk to them.

Have some conversations. Pay attention to their concerns. What are their pain points? What are the problems they wish there was a magic solution to? Listen and ask questions. Pay special attention to the words they use to describe their problems.

Don’t just discuss ideas. What books do they like? Where do they get their information? If you can identify the books, blogs, podcasts, and anything else they regularly get their information from, you have a pretty good idea who your competition is.

Check out the competition

Ok, you’ve had your conversations and have a pretty good idea of what’s on your prospective reader's minds. It’s time to check out your competition.

Click over to Amazon. Remember those words you heard them used to describe their problems? Use them to search Amazon for other books that address the issue. Check out the evaluations of the books. Read the reviews, especially the ones that talk about what readers did and didn’t like.

While you’re checking out the books, pay attention to who wrote them. The authors who wrote the books your prospective readers like are the ones they consider experts. Check out their websites. Look for blog posts and articles they’ve written.

Use their words to search on Google. That will help you identify articles and blog posts and their authors.

Refine your thinking as you check out the competition. Note how you agree and disagree with the people your readers consider experts.

Test your ideas

Don’t commit to a year or more writing a book if you’re not sure how your ideas resonate. Test your ideas in articles, blog posts, and conversations. Sharpen your thinking.

Ideas are a dime a dozen. Great books are treasures. They deliver value to readers and to their authors. But writing a book takes a lot of time and effort. Before you start, evaluate and sharpen your ideas.