Perhaps, if I hadn't had the call I had recently from a strong potential author, I would not have had the inspiration to write my first post of 2013. Perhaps if I had not had the call, I would not have had this level of confusion in my head. Why? Why in the world would someone who is thinking about writing a book write to something that does not play off of their strength? A rhetorical question, obviously, but certainly something to think about--even if you aren't so "wisdomly challenged" (yes, I made that up).
I realize that my blog comments could be filled with all kinds of reasons to write poor fiction instead of the next breakthrough health book if you're a doctor who has come up with a state-of-the-art weight loss and diet program. "It's best to follow your heart" would probably top the list. But, even though I partially buy in to that kind of thinking, I am not sure I could ever be completely won over to it in this case.
So help me understand this:
You have it going on over here: platform; credentials; consumer interest; consumer demand, even; and passion, knowledge, and credibility. But you insist on writing over here in the land where nobody cares, where they have "been there done that" so many times that the books on that subject are on sale at Dollar Tree, where if this lukewarm topic of a book is somehow published the market will spew it out of its mouth, where if one more sentence is read someone is going to jump...
Really?
And, you know, a plea of ignorance could be made on this poor person's behalf, but that argument would be trumped by the fact that I gave my professional advice about what the market is hot for right now AND I told them that right now they have all the markings of being a successful, best-selling author if they write on this one thing to start. How could my implied message of "YOUR SITTING ON A GOLD MINE," be met with a response like, "Well, I hear what you're saying but I think people really need to hear about..."? What?
Truth be told, people do not want to hear what they need to hear—at first. They want to hear what they want to hear. You have to then sneak in what they need to hear somewhere in the middle. It seemed as if this very lesson was being played out right there in the conversation.
How to Write to Your Strength
So you know what? Just to get this off of my chest, here is how to write to your strength. (This can be applied to your blog, your self-pub project, as well as any project you are submitting to an agent or publisher.)
- Consider your career. Are you at the top of your field? Are you a sought-after expert or professional? Have you discovered any breakthrough technology or method of doing something that can potentially change a person's life--physically, mentally, or spiritually?
- Consider your hobbies, special gifts, or talent.
- Consider your education. Does it add credibility to what you are known for in your career or your hobbies, gifts, or talents?
- Consider what you are passionate about. Does your passion shine through any of the areas mentioned above?
- Consider what people always want to know from you. What do people ask you about most often?
- Consider trending topics (not fads; fads are too short lived) in the book industry. Which of the trends match with 1, 2, or 3 and 4 and 5 of the above? In others words, do people's interest in you come from 1, 2, or 3? Are you passionate about that? Does it match a trend in the industry? If yes, create a writing project within this context and you'll win.
A follow-up question for another day is how can you find out what topics are hot in the industry? For Christian authors, start here.
That is all for me today. I would write a proper conclusion to this post, but until I have a follow-up call with that author I doubt that I will feel resolved. So no conclusion just yet. I do hope my rant was not just a rant for rant's sake but that it provided perspective, insight, and a bit of help to those who may need one more encouragement that purposefully aiming your book in the right direction is a key to success. Purposefully hitting a target is almost the definition of success in any area of life, right?
Let me know what you think. What are some other ways you can write to your strength and be successful?