“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” ~Alan WattsChange can be tough, and especially when it’s career change. But me? I’m loving this whole deal. I can’t lie.
As I dance down the path of the Great Kindle eBook Publishing Experiment (because people? I am living my DREAM), I’m learning more and more every day – and of course I’m here to share it with you. It’s just because I love you so much, you know. 😉
But seriously, I wish I could chronicle EVERY SINGLE thing I’ve learned – but if I did that, I couldn’t get all of the actual experiment done. But over time, I’ll share it all, one way or another. I’m thinking this will all make for some great ebooks one day.
I’m back to the pre-writing phase again, and as such, I’m back to covering it here on OWP. That’s one of the benefits of this experiment – I’m constantly going through the publishing cycle and am constantly in at least two phases of the cycle concurrently – the marketing phase is ongoing and there are several projects in my pre-published portfolio that are
If you’re looking for ideas for your ebook, there are lots of ways to get moving toward inspiration. For example, the other day I shared an idea about using Google Analytics in order to figure out best-selling Kindle ebook ideas.
Today, I’m sharing an idea I learned from Tim Castleman, another of my new favorite Kindle publishing and marketing experts. I recently got ahold of a copy of Castleman’s 2015 KD Blueprint after enjoying several of his Kindle books through my Kindle Unlimited account.
Castleman offers an entire plan to succeed in Kindle publishing in the video, but he doesn’t give it away, so I’ll just tell this one secret today and offer you the link to the actual product in case you’re interested in knowing more.
Anyway, I like his take on how to come up with best-selling Kindle ebook topics and niches – it’s pretty simple and seems effective. I see it as a sort of brainstorming process.
4 Places to Find Ideas for Non-Fiction Kindle eBooks (From Your Own Life)
Castleman suggests you take 15 minutes and write down the following categories and information in a notebook or spreadsheet.
- Jobs – All of the jobs you’ve previously held. Consider things like your special training, degrees and personal experiences involved in your career – recent as well as distant past.
- Skills – In addition to special career skills, consider personal and non-professional skills as well that people might want to learn more about. Some examples: sewing, painting, fashion, home decorating, etc.
- Hobbies & Interests – Again, almost anything goes. In this case, if you’re interested in it, chances are someone else is too. Your hobbies and outside interests are fodder for best-selling ebooks too.
- People I know – Castleman jokes that if you’ve got none of that and your life is totally boring, you should make a list of interesting people you know. Now, I say that even if your life is totally amazing, you ought to make a list of people you know who are interesting. Collaboration can be a beautiful thing.
My Litmus Test: How to Use Your Gut to Test Your Kindle eBook’s Market Viability
A few little extra points that come from my own experience so far, and will help in the non-fiction ebook idea generation process:
- Would you buy the book you’re writing? Make it so, and you’re much more likely to sell it.
- Does the cover appeal to your eye? Think about which covers make you click, and make your cover resemble them more.
- If you read one of your own books, do you find yourself interested and reading more than you expected to? If not, rewrite it. It should draw in the reader, even if she’s also the author. Seriously. Just try it. It happens to me all the time, and so far? My books are selling like hotcakes.
Stay tuned! I’ve got cover redesigns, page rewrites and more to discuss in the coming week. 🙂 Plus: tools I’m using, ones I tried that sucked and more. Want to be sure you don’t miss a post? Head over to the sidebar and sign up for a free email subscription. I’ll send you one email each time I post.
What are you working on right now? Let’s talk.
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