Tuesday, August 27, 2019
As the author of 67 mainstream books, one of the techniques I use to find good book topics is to identify obstacles, roadblocks, or irritations that people face. As patterns began to emerge… aha, this could be the book topic. Over the years I’ve found that if you notice as few as two people experiencing a problem in their personal lives, careers, or organizations, you have enough preliminary evidence to begin exploring the topic altogether.
New Potential Topics
Here are other ways to find a topic, one or more of which may be right for you.
1. Talk to your local librarian (particularly the librarian in the business reference section, if you offer how-to presentations for business or career development). Often, librarians keep a roster of books and topics that are frequently requested.
2. Tap the industry influentials. Richard A. Connor, my co-author for Marketing Your Consulting and Professional Services says “Those who serve, influence, and regulate members of a selected niche are able to identify hot industry topics and those destined to become hot.” By meeting such industry influentials and establishing relationships with them, you can find today’s hot buttons – key issues affecting your targeted industry. Such issues are the keys to good speaking topics.
3. Read USA Today, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and other trend-identifying publications. In a nutshell, if you can get out in front of most of the rest of the pack on a particular emerging topic, you might be able to carve out a niche for yourself for many years.
4. Talk to meeting planners. Many a successful book topic has sprung from a
meeting planner’s request to a speaker to provide a certain type of program. Suppose you bone up on a topic in short order and successfully present it. Why wouldn’t you consider to offer that has book title?
5. What do you naturally find intriguing? Think back to the last time you saw a provocative T.V. show, listened to a captivating radio program, or read something in a book or magazine that intrigued you.
6. What’s missing? When you look at business practices, educational institutions, government, or human interaction in general, keep a keen eye out for what’s missing. Often, great book topics arise because someone was astute enough to conclude that, say, business executives were sufficiently deficient in some skills area or leadership technique such that a book could be developed to fill the gap.
Jeff Davidson is “The Work-Life Balance Expert®” and the premier thought leader on work-life balance, harmony, and integration issues. Jeff speaks to organizations worldwide that seek to enhance their overall productivity by improving the work-life balance of their people. He wrote Breathing Space, Simpler Living, Perfect Timing, and Everyday Project Management. Visit www.BreathingSpace.com or call 919-932-1996 for more information on Jeff’s keynote speeches and seminars, including:
* Managing the Pace with Grace®
* Achieving Work-Life Balance™
* Managing Information and Communication Overload®
AuthorYOU is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the author who wants to be seriously successful. Ongoing education programs delivered face-to-face and online, the weekly Book Publishing Tips ezine, webinars, member-only events, monthly live programs, and the mini one-day Extravaganzas are tools designed for authors pre, during and post publishing of their books. Become a VIP AuthorYOU member at AuthorYOU.org.
Latest posts by Judith Briles (see all)
AuthorYOU is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the author who wants to be seriously successful. Ongoing education programs delivered face-to-face and online, the weekly Book Publishing Tips ezine, webinars, member-only events, monthly live programs, and the mini one-day Extravaganzas are tools designed for authors pre, during and post publishing of their books. Become a VIP AuthorYOU member at AuthorYOU.org.
Latest posts by Judith Briles (see all)