Write Useful Books

1. Design your nonfiction book for long-lasting recommendability

Your book's promise should appear in (or at least be strongly implied by) its title and/or subtitle.

Problem-solving focus: Design your nonfiction book as a problem-solver rather than a pleasure-giver. Identify a specific problem or goal that your ideal reader has, and structure your book around providing a clear solution or path to achievement. This approach makes your book more recommendable and valuable to its target audience.

Clear promise: Ensure your book's title and subtitle clearly communicate its promise to the reader. This helps potential readers quickly understand if the book is relevant to their needs and increases the likelihood of them purchasing and recommending it. Consider using a format that directly states the problem your book solves or the outcome it delivers.

• Examples of clear, problem-solving titles:
  • "How to Stay Alive in the Woods" by Bradford Angier
  • "The Workshop Survival Guide" by Rob Fitzpatrick and Devin Hunt
  • "Atomic Habits" by James Clear

2. Test and improve your book before writing through reader conversations

Listening and teaching are part of writing.

Reader conversations: Engage in two types of conversations with potential readers before writing your manuscript:

1. Listening/understanding conversations to verify and improve your scope
2. Teaching/helping conversations to refine your table of contents and structure

Table of Contents (ToC) optimization: Create a detailed ToC with clear, descriptive language and subsections that outline the book's main takeaways. Use this ToC as a blueprint for your book's educational design and to guide your conversations with potential readers.

• Tips for creating an effective ToC:
  • Use clear, descriptive titles for sections and subsections
  • Include the primary learning outcome or takeaway in each title
  • Add detailed subsections to provide a comprehensive overview of the content

3. Create an engaging reader experience by front-loading value

At least every few pages, you want your reader to be thinking, "Oh wow, I can use that."

Value-per-page: Focus on delivering consistent value throughout your book. Aim to provide useful insights, actionable advice, or thought-provoking ideas on every page to keep readers engaged and motivated to continue reading.

Front-loading strategies:

• Begin with your most impactful content to hook readers immediately
• Rearrange your content to insert pieces of real value earlier in the book
• Consider starting with your book's "big reveal" or main takeaways

Editing for engagement: Use your Table of Contents to visualize the reader experience by adding word counts to section titles. This allows you to identify and address:

• A slow start
• Long slogs without major insights
• Sections with high word count relative to their value

4. Leverage beta readers to refine your manuscript

Beta readers are neither paid professionals nor kindhearted friends. Rather, they are actual, honest-to-god readers who want what you're creating so badly that they're willing to endure an early, awkward, broken manuscript just to get it.

Beta reading process: Start beta reading early, when your manuscript still has problems. This allows you to catch and fix big issues before investing too much time in detailed editing and refinement.

Gathering feedback: Look for three types of insights from beta readers:

1. Qualitative insights from their comments
2. Quantitative insights based on where they become bored or stop reading
3. Observational insights on how they apply the book's ideas in their lives

Iterative improvement: Run beta reading in 2-8 week iterations, with 3-5 deeply engaged readers per round. Use their feedback to continually improve your manuscript until it meets the following criteria:

• It's easy to recruit new beta readers (Desirable)
• Most readers are receiving value and reaching the end (Effective and Engaging)
• Some readers are bringing in their friends (recommendation loop is running)

5. Implement effective seed marketing strategies

Launch is a year, not a day.

Seed audience: Aim to get your book into the hands of 500-1,000 seed readers before relying on organic growth. This initial audience will help fuel word-of-mouth recommendations and kickstart your book's success.

Marketing options:

1. Digital book tour via podcasts and online events
2. Amazon PPC (pay-per-click) advertising
3. Event giveaways and bulk sales
4. Building a small author platform through content marketing

Content marketing approach:

• Repurpose your manuscript content as marketing material
• Share drafts, excerpts, and behind-the-scenes insights
• Create a consistent content schedule to stay accountable
• Capture email addresses to convert interest into a loyal audience

6. Optimize your Amazon presence for increased sales

Your first challenge is in enticing potential readers to click on your cover instead of someone else's. After that, your store page must convince them that your book is, in fact, the best available solution to their current goal or problem.

Cover design: Create a "clickable" cover that makes a clear promise and is legible as a thumbnail. Ensure that your book's promise is immediately apparent from the cover image alone.

Amazon store page optimization:

• Write a compelling book description that speaks directly to the reader's situation and goals
• Use visual callouts (headers, lists, bold text) to improve skimmability
• Fill out all available sections, including author profile, editorial reviews, and additional product images

Reviews: Aim for 20-40 verified reviews to establish social proof. Encourage a steady stream of organic reviews to improve your book's placement in Amazon's algorithms.

7. Engage with fans and leverage piracy to your advantage

Folks love being able to get in touch with an author, and engaging with those fans will help create both super-evangelists and marketing/PR opportunities.

Fan engagement: Make yourself available to readers by sharing contact information and responding to questions or comments. This approach can lead to increased evangelism and serendipitous promotional opportunities.

Leveraging social media:

• Monitor mentions of your book on social platforms
• Engage with readers who discuss your work
• Use reader questions as content for your author platform (e.g., creating video responses)

Piracy strategy: Instead of fighting piracy, leverage it to your advantage:

• Use your book as lead generation for a broader business (e.g., consulting or training)
• Include hooks in the book that encourage even "free" readers to engage with your platform or additional offerings
• View piracy as a form of social impact, potentially reaching readers who couldn't afford your book otherwise

Last updated: September 5, 2024