How to Choose a Topic for Your Self-help Book in 3 Steps

From learning how to train a badger to pickling nuts to dealing with micromanagers, there are hundreds of self-help topics to write about.

And there is an audience for every topic.

People want to learn.

Everyone wants to improve.

But hold your horses; you can’t just willy-nilly pick any random topic.

What do you know about pickling nuts?

Read on to find out how to choose the right topic for your book.

3 Steps to Help You Choose the Topic for Your Book

1. Choose a specific topic – narrow it down

2. Define your audience – i.e. your reader

3. Write about what you know and love

Before you even begin to gather your ideas and put together your book outline, carefully consider exactly what you want to say, who you want to say it to, and why you want to share it.

WHAT? WHO? WHY?

1. Your topic must be specific

Don’t choose a topic that is too broad.

One book will not be able to cover everything. Zoom in.

For example, instead of choosing a broad topic like How to Train Your Badger, be more specific and narrow it down to something like How to Train Your Badger to Write Your LinkedIn Posts.

Note: Don’t confuse the topic with the book title. That comes later.

(Although sometimes it can be the same thing.)

Your book topic answers the question, “What is this book about?” It covers the subject of the book, whereas the title is the name given to the book.

Do Nothing is the title of the book in the image below. These two words don’t tell us what the book is about. However, the subtitle hints at what is covered in the book — its subject and the topic.

Find an excellent summary of "Do Nothing" -->The Therapeutic Bookshelf (FB)

2. Define your audience

A broad topic might not reach the audience you want to address. Decide who you think needs your solutions. Who will benefit from reading your book? Now write to that one type of person. This will help you focus and keep track of your purpose, making your book more effective.

For the Badger book, your audience will be badger owners who don’t have time to write their own LinkedIn posts. (The market is huge – tap into it now before someone else beats you to it.)

3. Your knowledge

Choose a topic centered around what you know and what you are passionate about. Remember your why. Why do you want to write this book?

Passion – pet badger and training it to do things for you. Writing content for LinkedIn.

I want to share my passion and expertise with other badger owners who struggle to keep up with writing LinkedIn posts. Given the demand, I know my ROI will be extensive.

“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”

~ Toni Morrison

Got Topic. What’s Next?

Now that you have an idea for your topic, let’s chat about how you can start your book-writing journey and why coffee, or a straitjacket, is an essential ingredient.

I am passionate about helping professionals write their first book. This includes coaching you from the first word through the writing process to publication and even beyond.

Are you ready to start your book-writing journey? Not sure where to start? Let’s have a chat. Your first consultation includes a complimentary book outline and chapter template.

If I'm not reading, writing, walking,

or learning how to pickle nuts,

you can find me on LinkedIn.

Shamila Iyer

Author coach and book editor