How to Find a Good Topic to Write a Book About
Finding a good topic for a book not only helps capture the attention of readers, but it also helps the author. The more interested you are in the subject you are writing about, the easier it will be to motivate yourself to sit down and actually finish the book. A good topic will appeal to agents and publishers and can also help inspire a great title.
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Instructions
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Make a list of 25 topics that interest you, and be specific. Don't just list history as a topic, but rather list specific historical events or periods. Rank the topics in the order of interest you have for each one. Narrow the list down to your top 10.
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Show the list to at least 10 friends or family members. They should be people you trust. You want to get an honest opinion. Have each person rank your top 10. Average out the scores and narrow the list to the top five choices.
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Go to a bookstore or use the bookstores's online database to find other books which deal with the top five topics. Some subjects have been written about so much that it can be difficult to bring a new spin on the idea. Cross out the overused topics or get even more specific to make it unique. For example, pirates have been written about by countless scholars and authors, but only a handful have written about Benjamin Franklin's connection to pirates during America's conflict with Britain. Narrow the list to the top three choices.
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Write out outlines for the top three topics. This lets you see whether the topic has enough information of interest to fill an entire book. A true story might not have enough events to justify an entire book, but it might if you decide to make it historical fiction. If all three topics have enough for an entire book, rank them to see which one holds your interest most.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep your eyes and ears open for topics. Subject matter for books can spring from articles found on the Internet, newspapers or magazines, or look into your family history.
Boil your story down to a line or two and ask strangers their opinion to get a better view of the market.
Experiment with genres. The topic might work better as a thriller or romance.
Stay away from worn topics.
Don't start writing the book until you are sure there is a full story to be told. You don't want to get many pages in, only to find out there isn't enough material.
Worry and anxiety can kill creativity.
References
Resources
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