So you want to write a book? But perhaps you’re daunted by the odds? Believe it or not, there is a way to stack the odds in your favour – though less than 5 per cent of writers seem to know about it. If you want to give yourself a fighting chance, then it’s worth spending the time doing some research before you even write a word of your book.

How Publishers Think

When an agent or publisher looks at a book, they want to know it will sell. It is as simple as that: they want to know your book will make money. I will be blunt: if you are a good writer, if your writing is polished, if you are entertaining and witty, that is the icing on the cake. What matters is whether your book will sell and who it will be sold to.

Consider this – 70% of books published don’t make make a profit or even earn back their advance. This is why you need to stack the cards in your favour as much as possible before you approach an agent or publisher.

The approach 95% of writers take is to write a book and then think: ‘who will I sell it to?’ In fact, a slight shift of thinking is needed. First of all, you need to identify your target readership. Suppose you are a divorce lawyer writing a book. Are you writing for: the general public, trainee lawyers, professional lawyers, for example? Each of these groups of people will have different needs and requirements. They will all read a book for different reasons.

Importantly, once you have identified your specific target audience, you can then understand what their needs are and what motivates them. It also enables a publisher, ultimately, to market your book as they can work out where your readers ‘congregate’ – magazines, clubs, associations, ezines, etc – so that they can target their publicity.

Profile Your Readers

Ideally, once you have identified your target audience, you need to step inside their skin so that you can write a ‘profile’ for them. Are they male or female? What is their social class and level of vocabulary? How old are they? What are their top 3 goals? What do they like reading? Which clubs and associations do they already belong to? Which publications do they read or subscribe to? What are their top 3 frustrations? What makes them angry? What makes them happy?

Hopefully, you will see the merits in understanding your readers as your book can then provide some of the solutions to their problems and frustrations. In essence, you are giving them what they are already wanting or looking for.