10 WAYS TO FIND THE BEST BOOK IDEAS FOR NEW WRITERS IN NIGERIA No matter how experienced or talented you may be as a writer, coming up with the right book idea can be sometimes challenging. Whether you’re a brand new writer or a seasoned author already in the field, it can sometimes be extremely difficult to find book ideas for your writing project. Getting great book ideas by passively hanging on to bouts of creativity hardly ever happens; to get great ideas for your writing project; you’ve got to actively hunt them down — furiously. And I’m here to show you how. But first, you need to understand that it isn’t a question of having ideas; but is actually of recognizing those ideas you already have.
It’s not about finding ideas, it’s about growing ideas as they come
Here’s my list of 10 ways to find book ideas for new writers in Nigeria.
10 WAYS TO FIND THE BEST BOOK IDEAS FOR NEW WRITERS IN NIGERIA
#1. Put up something for your friends. Ask your friends what they like reading most and try writing something for them. Start up a writing project imagining that your friends are your target audience, keeping in mind that they can have similar tastes with other people out there.
Come up with an idea that is common to their book tastes and start writing piece by piece; asking for relevant input as you go. Once the first draft is complete, try to get some honest feedback from them. Of course your friends are unlikely to be fierce critics, if the first draft of your book is not up to expectations; so make sure you try to get honest feedback from them, in order to avoid them just telling you what they think you want to hear.
#2. Write about an unpleasant experience. Human beings are drawn mostly to reading, watching and consuming traumatic stories that highlight the hardships other people may have passed through and then eventually overcame.
So, consider putting up a book about the most upsetting experience you’ve ever had, in a way that your readers will benefit greatly from. Talk about your experiences, the characters involved, the circumstances as they played out, and every other element that will enhance the natural flow or sequence of the story. Keep in mind that while you struggle to tell the world about your most upsetting experiences, it’s likely that people will benefit tremendously from hearing how you’ve gone through unpleasant circumstances or difficulties, and how you managed to come out of them; with all the useful lessons you learnt through it all.
#3. Write about someone who’s greatly impacted on your life. Is there anyone who’s left a lasting impression on your personal life or within your career? There’s a great book idea for you.
Maybe it was your best school teacher, youth leader, business advisor, or simply an older friend or family member. Think about how they’ve impacted your life, pick out specific lessons they’ve had on you and dedicate the book to them. This platform makes for an incredibly empowering book idea.
#4. Write about the biggest problem facing your industry. You can start up a writing project about the major issues rocking your industry.
Start by discussing any major issues or problems you can identify within your industry and thoughtfully propose strategic new solutions. Male sure you give solutions based on the working experience you’ve had using them. It’s even better if you’ve actually tested the solutions yourself. This will be particularly useful if you can come up with practical and cost effective solutions to the challenges other businesses in your space are facing. This will help you position yourself as an expert.
10 WAYS TO FIND THE BEST BOOK IDEAS FOR NEW WRITERS IN NIGERIA
#5. Record talks, workshops and other works you’ve given and have them transcribed. If you regularly get the opportunity to deliver talks, hold in-house workshops, webinars etc, to teach people about a specific subject matter.
This is an opportunity to have them recorded and then subsequently transcribed into readable format. By filing in the gap to complete each thought, and making necessary editing to make the finished work highly relevant; it can be used as a great book idea. With this kind of piece, you’ve got the potential to reach a very large audience.
#6. Write about answers to questions you mostly get. Start recording questions and queries people ask you on a daily or weekly basis; especially if you’re a public speaker, or hold a blog or something of that nature, or generally any position that exposes you to people in that capacity.
Every time someone asks you a question, write it down. After a while, you may see trends. If your friends or co-workers want answers on particular topics, then it’s highly likely that others are seeking the same answers as well. Using this approach; you can actually come up with a great writing piece. This approach can as well apply to parents too. What questions are your kids always asking? This is a potentially great book idea, for creating fun, an educational and relevant book for children. If you aren’t getting a lot of questions; you can use search engines like Google, or even Quora and see which questions are ranking well within your areas of interest, weigh in on them, and attempt to answer questions you feel qualified enough to answer.
#7. Research on a topic you don’t know anything about and write. Try challenging yourself to write a book on a topic you know absolutely nothing about. Choose a topic you nothing about and challenge yourself to write a 1000-word book on it.
Start with a 1000-word essay and see if that piques your interest, and then continue researching, and then try to determine if or not this could be a viable book idea for you. You never know; you may end up being fascinated with your discoveries and decide to continue with the writing project. Your research could even lead to new, interesting and life-changing ideas for your writing career.
#8. Write about things you daydream about. Start a book about the object of your fantasies. For instance; you could write about a dream or aspiration you frequently fantasize about like maybe a dream of becoming the youngest professor in your time. Start by explaining the separate events and circumstances that led to your aspiration. What inspired it? And what makes you think you can achieve them. From there you can easily develop a story from this.
Break it down into a section for a mini biography, and then another section for developing your story. You’ll also need to research on other areas that may be relevant to the story. Make sure that your story is tailored to help people reach for their dreams and not give up, no matter the odds. This kind of book idea has a lot of potential, as people tend to gravitate towards success stories.
#9. Write a book you wish already existed. Identify a need in or outside your industry, and write a book about it, with proposed solutions for them. Think about any subject that you’re genuinely interested in.
Are there any books that you wished existed on these subjects, and yet do not exist? Here’s your book idea, start a writing project on a research (book) you have been seeking for. As long as there are obvious gaps in the market where you can share your market. Or is there something you want to learn more about but can seem to find enough information on? Then go ahead and start your book project in this great idea.
10 WAYS TO FIND THE BEST BOOK IDEAS FOR NEW WRITERS IN NIGERIA
#10. Write about your vision for the next three years. By writing down your vision for the next three years and sharing it, you are publicly committing yourself, which provides further motivation for you to achieve that vision. This unique book idea gives you the opportunity to create some truly inspirational work.
It gives you the opportunity to look closely at your current priorities to really determine which are needful to getting you where you have projected for your immediate future. Documenting this journey for the world to see, can also have a massively positively benefit on the lives of a larger audience who desire the same path and transformation.
Finally…
The best book ideas come from within, from your everyday experience, your past, your present, a projected future, your dreams, your fantasies, find ideas from the stories of others, needs, discoveries, from typical everyday interactions with people, conversations, and thousands of others.
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