How to Choose the Topic for your First Book

First Rule: Choose a manageable project for your first book publishing adventure!

If you are only a little bit like me, you have many great ideas for even greater books! Some of these ideas will be easier to realize into 'real books' than others. I give you an example:

You have several short stories lying around that you think would make a nice themed anthology or collection - great idea and a very manageable project.

You plan to write the ultimate reference book about xyz, including a lot of pictures, an extended bibliography and a lot of maps - not a good idea for your first project, as things might become quickly overwhelming for a new author.

Task 1:

Make a list of all possible projects you have in mind and note against each how much time and effort it would take to convert them into a 'polished', edited and ready to be sold book.

Second Rule: Know what you are writing about.

Actually, this should go without saying, but still, knowing your subject and knowing what to write about it - and what not - makes for better books and happier readers ;-) So, choose a subject / topic you know lots about, as in 'real life knowledge'. Just writing something because it might sell but without your heart, mind and knowledge behind it will most likely not work. Hint: Vampire Romance Novels and 'erotic masterpieces' like the two books below have been already done to death.

Task 2: Make a list of subjects you are a real expert in.

Third Rule: Do some market research.

After you have settled on a topic / subject you would like to write about, have a look at what is already published on the subject, what areas are not covered or where only 'bad' books exist. In short, find out which book is still needed in your chosen field. What book would you like to have read when you got interested in xyz or what kind of book would you like to recommend to somebody who is just getting started or generally interested in this genre?

Task 3: Take your previous lists and compare your results with what is already on the market and what is still missing.

By now you should have an idea about:

1. The work involved to take your manuscript to the next step.

2. Be sure that you write about a topic that you know inside out.

3. Have chosen a topic that hasn't been done to death.

4. Know which kind of book is still missing in your target market.

Finally a few tips and tricks to get your manuscript ready for publishing on Amazon.

For the print version, via CreateSpace, the layout of your book can be as fancy as you like as you will submit your manuscript as a PDF-file. But bear in mind that color photos INSIDE your book will increase the price of printing dramatically. If you need to include photos or illustrations, try to keep them to black and white.

Ebooks have other restrictions like tables not displaying properly, images not lining up as you think they should and as a general rule, the less layout you have, the better and the easier your life and that of your readers will be. Also images will not display in color on older e-readers, but they will do so on newer ones. As a rule of thumb:

• Keep formatting to the minimum: bullet points, bold and italics are ok, tables are a big no-no, pictures depends.

In the end you might need to adjust your layout differently for both types of publishing, the printed and the electronic way, to give your readers the best possible product.