Many people say that they want to write a book but they don’t know how to get started. The first step is knowing what you want to write about. You need to come up with a brilliant book idea that people will want to read. There are five ways you can come up with ideas for a nonfiction book.
1. Choose a genre.
A genre is a particular category of art, music or literature. Think of what you’re interested in, e.g. health and fitness, money management, internet marketing, parenting, sports, etc. Search online for popular nonfiction genres/categories. Try not to choose a genre that is too broad. Go through sub-categories as well to find the right topic to write about.
2. Cultivate a wide social network.
The people you meet might have interesting stories to tell. Talk to your friends, family, colleagues, and church members about their hobbies, jobs, values, beliefs and problems they may be experiencing. Attend seminars and webinars to learn more about your chosen topic. Read books, magazines and blogs about the topics you find interesting. You can also join a forum to get more ideas.
3. Think of your own circumstances.
Do you have a mysterious health issue that needs to be solved? Do you have a weakness that you’re trying to overcome? Think of your skills and talents that other people might find useful. Consider your strengths and weaknesses. Learn something new and then write about it. For example, you may not be comfortable with public speaking. You could read books, listen to webinars, and attend meetings that help you to gain the skills you need to become a public speaker. Then you could take everything you learned about public speaking and write a book.
4. Search for questions and answers on Quora.
Quora is an online platform where people can ask questions, connect with people who provide quality answers and share their knowledge on various topics. Use Quora to find topics to write about. See if you can answer some of the questions people ask. You can also come up with ideas for a nonfiction book by reading the answers given.
5. Use social media.
Do your research on Facebook and Twitter. People tend to go on social media and talk about their problems. Use the Search bar and enter keywords. You may find tweets about problems people may be experiencing or a Facebook group that may be talking about a particular issue. For example, I typed ‘building your confidence’ in the search bar on Twitter and I found a lot people had a lot to say about confidence. Some ideas I came up with include: building your child’s confidence, building the confidence of your consumers for your services, and building back up your confidence after a sports injury. These are some great ideas that can be used to write a nonfiction book.
