So you want to make a book?
Part 1 The first set of questions to ask yourself.
So you want to make a book? Did you just start singing, “So you want to build a snowman?” Here are a few things to ask yourself.
Who is the book for?
Who will buy this book?
What do you want to accomplish by releasing the book?
Answering these three things will tell you a lot about what kind of book you should make. By kind, I don’t mean, Sci-Fi, Mystery, or Romance! I mean, hard cover, softcover, black and white, or full color. The possibilities are vast but the reasons for each one are pretty specific.
Who is the book for? If your answer is yourself, that’s a healthy answer but you need to think about the time, effort, and money involved in making a book if it is really just for you. If it’s for your family, church, or business, then that changes the equation a bit. We will call this a practical need book. Maybe you think there are potential readers who will need the book? There’s a speculative element in that answer. That opens up another door. Let’s move to question number two and see if we can get some more clarity.
Who will buy this book? If you answered, “yourself” for question one and “yourself” for question two then you need to jump to question number three. For other options, maybe the buyers are potential readers. Or if you have clients, employees, church members, then you have what we call the practical book need. You might not sell these but you will distribute them in a variety of ways. You might ask, “What’s the difference in question one and two?” Determining who will buy the book can further clarify who the book is for. It’s a way of drilling down a bit further to get at your motivation.
What do you hope to accomplish by making this book? If it’s for you, then it’s probably a chronicle or memoir or personal history. If it’s for potential readers, then you hope to sell copies, grow your fanbase, and start the process all over again. Maybe eventually get the attention of a conventional publisher. Or, if you fall under the practical reason, then you hope to share information or teaching with your readers and clients.
Whatever your answers are, then in the next post we can start to find the journey you need to take to fulfill your quest to make a book.
This is the Why and How Book Project, a newsletter about making book decisions from start to finish.