Unless you’re in the textbook or academic field (where there’s a need for very specific, academically accurate and impartial information) then you shouldn’t just write about what you know – you should find a way to write about it in a way the reader will want.

In fact, I’d argue that many academic books would benefit from an injection of sensationalism. It’s a great way to engage the reader when you take a position (either for or against something)  but most academic texts have to keep a sense of balance which is why they’re often so dull for the reader. Then again – they’re about information not entertainment.

Also, academic books are rarely written with the goal of massive financial success in mind. So, if you want to make money from books – then don’t model them! They’re often too niche, too research-intensive, a pain to edit and proof, and likely to go out of date by the time you’ve published them.

Seriously, some book topics just haven’t got a big enough market or universal appeal to make it worth your while. And, if the niche is tiny, then books are rarely the best model for making money. There are other things you can sell to a niche audience though which we’ll share inside the members area.

Summary

So that about wraps it up – I’ve shared loads of tricks and creative strategies for helping you come up with ideas. I’d suggest choosing 2 or 3 that appeal most to you and see what comes up. Of course – a great book idea is one thing – but there’s a long way to go before you’ve got a great book and are selling loads of copies. Take a look at the Publishing Ladder of Success and you’ll see what I mean!

Jump on The Bandwagon

This is the “creative” model used by most big publishers. Their researchers and analysts look at what’s selling well and encourage the publisher to cash-in on the trend while it’s still hot!

The good thing about jumping on a Bandwagon is that readers usually have an insatiable appetite for their chosen subject. If they’ve read all the Stephenie Meyer books they’ll be hungry for more – so your vampire book – if pitched well can find its way in. You can bet if readers devour one book on a subject they’ll want more – just fit in and get ready for sales.

Just look at any mainstream publisher’s lists and you’ll see the same sort of stuff – the more of it there is – the more they’re making money from it.

Lampoon (Jump Off) The Bandwagon

Again, you can use the “Go Against The Grain” approach (see earlier about mis-matching) with trends too – a book entitled “The Danger of Low GI Diets!” or “It’s Not A Secret Stupid!” or “The Law of Attraction Requires Action” are all ways to tap into an audience who is sick of the mainstream pulp and popular books while also getting the “true believers” interested enough in reading it too.

Copy Cat Books Abound - pic by -Sel

Currently Popular trends as I write this…

• Vampires
• Witches and Wizards
• Pirates
• Law of Attraction – The Secret
• Finance and Debt
• Low Carb Diets (How low many GI books do you need?)
• Twitter and Social Media

Universally Popular trends …

• Spirituality and Religion
• Relationships
• Health and Diets
• Celebrity
• Romance
• Travel

An example of a direct Parody of a popular series in its own right would be the “Barry Trotter” books by Michael Gerber (and not the guy who wrote The E-Myth – an excellent book – I might add). Plus, the best-selling book of all time – “The Bible” – was parodied (to much commercial success) by Richard Dawkins – with “The God Delusion”.

This approach is the best way to come up with “How To” book ideas. I’d suggest using Brainstorming and Mind Mapping (see earlier) to generate ideas using the “Big Problem” as your central theme. Make sure it’s a problem people really want solving though else you’ll have a book that won’t sell. Here are the steps…

1. Choose a Market
2. Define Their Biggest Problem or Need they’re seeking
3. Think of Ways To Solve/Answer It (Your Big Promise)
4. Include Their Big Problem/Need in the Title
5. Include Your Answer/Big Promise in the Sub-Title

No need for examples here – they’re all over the place!

Books That Appeal To The “Human Condition”

Most humans share many good and amazing traits – and on the whole I like humans – well I am one too!

However, there is also a dark side (although it’s just human nature) known as “The Human Condition” – which is a powerful place to dig for universal themes to base your book idea on. While not applicable to everyone, all of the time, we can all relate to many of the following:

• Greed
• Laziness
• Complacency
• Procrastination
• Superstition
• Aggression
• Jealousy
• Spite
• Self Interest
• Need to be liked/loved
• Insecurity
• Impatience
• Fear
• Nosiness
• Hate
• Schadenfreude (enjoying/being fascinated by another person’s mis-fortune) etc.

Pic by practicalowl

Making a book that appeals to one (or preferable many) of these human conditions is bound to get a good response, cause some buzz and provide you with a book people will want. Just think how popular Get Rich Quick Schemes are? Most of us know they’re rubbish but they continue to sell because they appeal to the greed, laziness and self-interest in all of us.

Examples of Books That Are Successful (Though Not Necessarily Good!) Due To Their “Human Condition Appeal”

• The Secret by Rhonda Byrne: Get what you want simply by thinking happy thoughts! (Laziness, Self Interest, Superstition, Greed)
• The 4-Hour WorkWeek by Tim Ferris: Enjoy the lifestyle of the rich without having to wait for retirement (Laziness, Impatience)
• The One Minute Millionaire by Mark Victor Hansen and Robert Allen: Become a Millionaire The Easy & Fast Way (Laziness, Impatience, Greed, Self Interest)
• All the Childhood Abuse Books: Tragic Stories of People’s Misfortunes (Fear, Schadenfreude, Nosiness)
• Pulp Romance: Mushy, Feelgood, Stories (Need to be loved)
• The Bible: Answers all our questions – about where we came from, why we’re here and where we’re going (Superstition, Fear, Insecurity)
• Celeb Books: Tells the story of their rise and fall (Nosiness, Jealousy, Schadenfreude)
• True Crime Memoirs:  (Nosiness, Aggression, Schadenfreude)

I could go on but I think you get the point!

This uses elements of matching and mis-matching as well as big picture and detail to produce lots of ideas and content to bring out a full range of creative flexibility you may not have thought you had. What you do with the resulting content is up to you but it’s likely that inspiration for the following elements of your book can all be covered…

• The big idea, benefits or promise
• A title and subtitle
• The main chapter headings
• Your target audience
• Words for the blurb

There are three main ways we sort data in our minds. They are:

1. Chunking Up (where you’ll get all the benefits and reasons why)
2. Chunking Down (where you’ll get all the detail)
3. Chunking Laterally (where you’ll often find the weirdest stuff and metaphors)

This is useful to know because, what most people describe as creativity is really a form of chunking up and chunking laterally – and when you’re not feeling creative it’s almost always because the details are bogging you down.
So here’s what you’re going to do…

1. Get a big sheet of paper
2. Write a theme, topic, audience, main idea or your subject in the centre (draw it as a picture too if you like) – I’ll choose “Being An Author”
3. Draw the lines as shown below
4. Use the questions below to help you chunk in all the directions (up, down, lateral) and negatively (left) and positively (right) from your main theme

Here’s an example of a completed Creativity Matrix…

Now, if you’re more analytical and prefer to work to a proven formula then here are some other useful tools to spark your imagination to come up with potentially profitable and definitely brilliant book ideas…

Some people are more motivated by what they don’t want than by what they do. You’ll likely have a tendency to one extreme or another and this tendency can leave blind spots in your creative thinking. So follow these steps and see what comes up…

• Choose a target audience – we’ll go for authors again
• Divide your page into 6 columns – with Pain to the left and Gain to the right
• List all the things your audience “is afraid of”, “hates”, “doesn’t want” in the third column
• List all the things your audience “is excited about”, “loves”, “does want” in the fourth column – you should have something that looks like this…

• Now, consider the consequence of each item moving left for Pain and right for Gain until you’re finished – you should have something like this when you’re done…

by Benedict Campbell - Wellcome Images

Virtually all of the items on this list could be used as the basis for a book – with most powerful words and ideas at the extreme left and right. Have fun with it and see what occurs.

Meta Program: Matching Vs Mis-Matching

You know how some people will always think of a counter example to anything you say? Well they’re mis-matchers. Then there are those that agree with everything you say or find commonality when there’s none – they’re matchers. Now, as I said – most people will be a mixture of both under certain conditions – so don’t be tempted to start labelling other people or yourself. For the purposes of creativity all we’re trying to do is increase your flexibility and options to expand your creative potential. Let’s get started!

(Matching) Go With The Grain…

1. Find a “Universal Truth” (really an over-simplified generalisation or compelling question) that baffles many people – like: Why does time speed up as we get older? Why don’t men listen? Why are all politicians liars? Why are some people lucky?
2. Promise to give your readers the answer to this “mystery”
3. Make it amusing

Examples of successful books using this Matching approach:

• The Luck Factor (What Makes Some People Luckier than Others?) – Richard Wiseman
• Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps – Allan and Barbara Pease
• Making Time (Why Do We Experience Time at Different Speeds?) – Steve Taylor
• The Tipping Point (What Turns a Small Event/Idea Into A Global Phenomenon?) – Malcolm Gladwell

(Mis-Matching) Go Against The Grain…

1. Find “Conventional Wisdom” or “Outdated Dogma” in your area – for publishing it could be “Getting Published is Difficult”
2. Attack the conventional wisdom aggressively …
3. Write a compelling headline or mission statement or manifesto for change – an example “Getting Published Is Easy – When You Know What You’re Doing”

Examples of successful books using this Mis-Matching approach:

• The God Delusion (God Exists? Prove It!) – Richard Dawkins
• Blink! (Big decisions need lots of analysis? No they don’t and here’s the proof) – Malcolm Gladwell
• Emotional Intelligence (IQ is linked to success? No EQ is a better indicator!) – Daniel Goleman
• The Gorillas Want Bananas (Textbook marketing works? 80% of it doesn’t!) – Debbie Jenkins (and me!)

The Old Risk & Reward Rules

Traditionally, the publishing pecking order went (and still goes in many cases) something like this…

The bookstore (via the wholesaler) is the main link to the customer (and therefore the money) for a geographically defined area and so the bookstore lays down the law to the publisher. Bookstore Law includes: crippling discounts (55% and up), stretched-out payment terms (90 days+), paying bribes to guarantee visibility (read this article from The Times if you don’t believe me http://su.pr/2Y14b3) the option to return in any condition/destroy/remainder any unsold books – for a full refund.

The publisher (sometimes in cahoots with the agent) is the main link to the bookstores and so they lay down the law to the authors. Publisher Law includes: not accepting  submissions unless through a recognised agent, paying pitiful royalties (typically 7-10% of whatever’s left once the bookstore has been paid – of which a percentage will have to go to their agent too), preventing the author from taking other book deals elsewhere, paying the author once per year – assuming they’ve made more money than they got paid as an advance.

The poor author (who, don’t forget, is the only one providing the raw talent) is at the bottom of the pile and lays down the law to nobody. This pecking order also translates into a pretty unfair divvying up of the risks and rewards.

The following charts illustrate a typical risk (based on effort, opportunity cost and financial exposure) – reward (based on retail price of book) split for the old publishing model…

It hardly seems fair that the stakeholder who risks the least should be rewarded the most but – when there was no internet, no social networks and no other way to reach your target market other than by getting your book on the bookshelves – they had a monopoly on the vital asset – customers and got paid accordingly.

The New Risk & Reward Rules

With the new rules in effect the pecking order looks quite different…

The bookstore (via the wholesaler) is one link to the customer (and therefore the money) along with international online bookstores (like Amazon and many smaller specialist stores), ebook retailers (using mobile technology and the internet), mail-order bookstores and Print On Demand book vending machines (such as The Espresso Book Machine).  Traditional bookstores can no longer lay down the law because they no longer have exclusive access to customers. This means crippling discounts (55% and up) are no longer tolerated, stretched-out payment terms (90 days+) are no longer acceptable, wasteful returns policies are no longer viable. Added to this, the highstreet bookstore (with shelves and carpets) has the highest overheads of all the retail channels.

The publisher is one link to the bookstores (via the wholesaler) but the author now has the option to cost-effectively self-publish (with distribution built-in). Old-style Publishers can no longer lay down their law because they no longer have exclusive access to the retail channel. This means agents are no longer tolerated by authors, the pitiful royalties look bad compared to what the author could make by going it alone, the author will expect more control over their content in the various formats enabled such as ebooks and audio.

The empowered author (who can finally see a way to be paid fairly for providing the raw talent) is now in a position to choose their own publishing route. This new level of choice for the author and the new routes available means the distribution of risk and reward is shifting to a much more balanced picture.

The following charts illustrate a typical risk (based on effort, opportunity cost and financial exposure) – reward (based on retail price of book) split for the Publishing 2.0 model…

The result is that publishers playing by the new rules and their authors can decide to tolerate traditional bookstores but they no longer have to give in to their demands.

Most traditional bookstores have had it their own way for too long and until they adjust their terms or shrink their overheads, something they’re still very much resisting, in light of the new rules, many of them will lose the new game and go the same way of the myriad record stores who were casualties of the same recent shake-up in the music industry.

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Publishing Academy is giving Free 30 Day Insider Access to anyone who buys one of their growing list of official guidebooks: http://www.publishingacademy.com/buy/guidebooks
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ENDS

WORDCOUNT 898

NOTES FOR EDITORS/JOURNALISTS
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

IMAGES
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Author photos & Images attached. For higher resolution images contact us:
http://www.leanmarketingpress.com/contact

WEBSITE LINKS
—————–
Article: Why Bricks & Mortar Bookstores Are No Longer The Best Place For Auathors & Publishers To Sell Their Books
http://su.pr/5RgUO4

Discussion: The New Rules of The Publishing Game
http://su.pr/2Eqr78

Publishing Academy Website
http://www.publishingacademy.com

The Wealthy Author on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1905430698
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1905430698/ref=nosim

ARTICLES
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The Publishing Academy faculty comprises experienced speakers, writers, authors and publishing professionals with a wealth of experience publishing, writing and selling books. We are always happy to provide free content in return for a “plug” for www.PublishingAcademy.com, http://www.leanmarketingpress.com/contact

JOE GREGORY

—————–

Along with Debbie Jenkins, Joe Gregory has run the independent non-fiction publisher Book Shaker (http://www.bookshaker.com) – famous for paying unprecedented royalties – since 2003, is the co-founder of The Publishing Academy ( http://www.publishingacademy.com) and co-author of ‘The Wealthy Author: The Fast Profit Method To Write, Publish & Sell Your Non-Fiction Book.’ http://www.publishingacademy.com/102-6-1-7.html

1. Choose a main theme or topic – let’s say Publishing for this example
2. List general words that define publishing at the top of your page (landscape format) with a row each
3. Under each general word write down all the details, options and alternatives you can find for each main heading
4. You’ll end up with something like this – and pretty much any one of these deeper topics could be a whole book in itself.

Examples:

• Grammar = “The Complete Guide To English Grammar for Non-Fiction Writers”
• Print on Demand = “How To Self Publish Your Book Using Print on Demand”
• Publicity & Press = “The Author’s Guide To Being Your Own Publicist”

Pic by killermonkeys

Meta Program: Internal Vs External

If you’re self-motivated you’re able to get satisfaction for a job well done regardless of whether you get praise or criticism or not – if you’re other motivated, even if you think you’ve done a good job, you’d easily doubt yourself if you faced criticism from others. It’s likely you’re a mixture of both but this exercise will help you to fill in the gaps and increase your behavioural flexibility – which means more creative options for you! Here’s what you do…

1. Choose a target audience – we’ll go for authors
2. Make two columns – Self and Other
3. List all the things you think your audience would want in your own dominant column (so if you think you’re motivated more by others start on the right or if you’re very self-assured start in the left)
4. Now next to each item in the first column think of a complementary point for the other column (chances are you’ll find this more difficult)
5. When you’ve got a complete list (as below) look for any words that could be the basis of a book

Examples:

• Work your own hours = “How To Take Charge of Your Time As An Author”
• Stop taking orders from your boss = “How To Write A Book & Sack Your Boss”

There are several conflicting stories of how meta-programs found their way into NLP but the most widely-accepted story is that Leslie Cameron (and her colleagues) did research in order to discover whether patterns could be found that were typical to a person across various different contexts. Through their research they found varying thinking patterns and called them meta-programs. Meta-programs indicate how people make sense of the world and how a person may react in a given situation.

by Benedict Campbell - Wellcome Images

Rodger Bailey and Ross Steward built on this to design a commercial application, commonly known as the ‘Language and Behavior Profile’ (or LaB Profile) which enabled interviewers to detect 13 distinct categories of meta-program that are important for job motivation and performance. Their work was further extended and developed by Shelle Rose Charvet – and is considered the best source for information on the subject by many NLPers.

Here’s a list of 4 common patterns (it’s worth remembering that, by their very nature, these patterns are generalisations and should not be used as labels for yourself or other people):

• Generalise (big picture) – Specific (detail)
• Internal Motivation (do what you please) – External Motivation (do what pleases others)
• Towards Motivation (seek pleasure) – Away Motivation (avoid pain)
• Matching (look for similarities) – Mis-Matching (look for differences)

So, now you know the background and the basic patterns – here’s how you can use this knowledge to expand your brain beyond your habitual thinking to tap into enhanced creativity…

Choose an overriding theme (you could base this on your prospective target market or your area of expertise) – sum it up in a simple word/phrase and then have a massive brain dump of any words, phrases or ideas that come to mind. This is often better if you have two or more people to bounce ideas off…

I recommend using sticky notes and sticking them all over a wall. Then, once you’re done, take any down that jump out at you and then see how you can combine these ideas to make new connections. Pay attention to any new ideas that pop into your head too – that will be your unconscious mind making links you didn’t see by “trying” to be creative.

You’re not really aiming for a specific end product from this approach but you’ll be surprised what ideas seem to miraculously pop into your head when you do it!

Brainstorming

Pic by jurvetson

If you’re working alone or in a small group (3 or less) then I’d strongly encourage you to use Mind Mapping instead of Brainstorming. However, although it’s an old approach, nothing beats Brainstorming for collaborative creativity.

Here are my rules for getting the best out of Brainstorming sessions

1. Pose a central “question to be answered” or “outcome to achieve” like – “How many ways can an author make money from books?” or “We want at least 30 book title ideas to do with Publishing”
2. Choose one “scribe” or “facilitator” (it’s this person’s job to LISTEN carefully and WRITE down what people say)
3. Write down EXACTLY what people say – “Parrot Phrase” don’t “Para Phrase”
4. Put EVERY idea up – even if you think it’s stupid or a repeat
5. Nobody is allowed to discuss the merits (or not) of ideas going up – they can only add ideas – I like to ban the word “but” or “yes but” when doing this
6. Once all the ideas are up – find a person who’s very detail oriented and critical – and let them make a pros and cons list of all the ideas and rank them in order of importance

The Right Way: How Wealthy Authors Do Get Wealthy & Why You Don’t Even Need To Sell Millions of Books To Be One Too

Now, here’s how a wealthy author’s Money Funnel will look…

You’ll notice that as your fans want more of you (including your personal time and attention) the price goes up and the number of people who are willing and able to spend money on it will go down. This means that you can maximise profit and minimise your exposure to delivering time-intensive services by valuing (and pricing) your own time very highly.

The net result of setting things up like this is that you become both rich in cash and rich in time! True wealthy by anyone’s definition.

If you’ve enjoyed this article and want to learn more about the specific kinds of products and services you should offer I recommend you watch these videos from Simon Hazeldine…