Although I can ask 9 out of 10 people if they want to write a book in their lifetime and get a resounding YES, the fact remains that less than 1 in that 9 will ever do anything about it.
For those that do take their desire to write a book one step further, the challenge that stops them dead in their tracks is picking an idea, topic and market to tackle.
Should they go with an idea they like?
Should they copy someone else’s idea?
What is the right answer?
Inside The Ultimate Information Entrepreneur’s Success Guide we provide a complete system for matching your passions, skills and knowledge or access to information with top selling ideas…but at the end of the day, there are TONS of successful book ideas all around us.
Today, I wanted to share 3 recent examples with you – not with the intent of getting you interested directly in these book ideas, but more to share the context and general places to look for top selling book ideas.
1. Widespread Passion You Can Share
Who hasn’t had a passion for firetrucks and fire stations when they were growing up?  Who wouldn’t want to know more about their local institutions and history? Here’s an article about a 15-year old Haverville UK teen who decided to dig into city archives and put together a quick book about the history of his town’s fire department.
Setting aside this was done by a 15-year old for a minute (tells you that ANYONE can do this at any point in their lives), what are some other institutions you have a passion for or some historical interest/knowledge with that you know others would love to read about?
- Town history
- Town’s haunted buildings
- Town’s jails
- Town’s general store and economic history
- Town politics
- Town’s top industries
While these may not start out to sell tens of thousands of copies, they can quite easily sell thousands of copies, get your name in the press, build a following which can also give you additional ideas for more books and can be turned into a series that you write about other towns or the country overall.
Can you think of a locally significant landmark, institution, or group that would be of top interest to people in your town?
2. Writing To Help Relieve Pain
Another cathartic way to write a book is to write about a painful or challenging experience or time in your life. We all have our struggles, it could be…
- a learning disability
- low self confidence
- abuse (emotional or physical)
- addiction problems
- raising a disabled child (physical or learning disability)
- looking after multiple generations
- relationship issues
- loss (of a close person in life)
Robin Shaye is profiled in this article, now sharing her experiences and tips through writing and giving speeches based on her years of domestic abuse, divorce and raising children through it all.
While your challenges may not be related or even as severe, nevertheless we all have worked through setbacks and challenges that can help others in the future. Should you wish it, this can be an entirely new life mission and living for you – it can start with your own book.
Through these challenges we possess two very powerful elements that can produce great books…1) Empathy – an inside understanding and emotional attachment to what others are going through and 2) Tips and techniques that have been learned to work your way out of these challenges…very valuable for others who are about to follow in your footsteps
What challenges have you overcome in your life that would help others?
3. Collective Collaboration On Topics
Have you heard the term “crowdsourcing?”
One of the major changes in business funding, collaboration and co-development is the concept of bringing a group of like-minded entrepreneurs into a group driven by a similar passion, interest or purpose to develop new things…books are increasingly being written following this trend.
For example, this mother of an autistic child is calling out for other parents to contribute to a book to help parents raise autistic children. Taking the lead on a project like this puts her (or you if you were to do something similar) at the front and center of your own book with contributions from others to help raise the level of interest and value of the content.
Now It’s Your Turn…
What topics are you passionate about that you could open the door a crack to have other “experts” or experienced people in your marketplace contribute?
As you can see, there are many ways to find topics and create a new career and direction in your life based on writing a book.
Don’t wait and wonder why it never happened in your life, getting started really is the hardest part, once you get rolling you will be amazed at where your action takes you.
