Blogger: Rachelle Gardner
Are you the kind of writer who has several book ideas (or even written several books), possibly in different genres? If so, you may be wondering where to start. Which book should be the first one you write, or pitch to agents and editors?
It’s a question worth asking, and you’d do well to put some serious thought into it. Here are my tips:
FOR NON-FICTION:
Spend some time on each idea, one by one. First work on a rough outline of what the book would be. List the themes and topics you’d want to cover. Ask yourself: is there enough material here for a whole book? Consider whether you’ll be able to gather the information needed to fill a book on this topic. Is there enough to say?
Marketplace: Are there other books on this topic? Too many? Is there room or need for another one? Can you identify a hole in the market that needs to be filled? If there are no books on this topic, consider why. Is there a need but no one has filled it yet? Or is this something that people don’t want to read a book about?
You: Consider whether you’re the right person to write this book. Do you have any qualifications that would cause book buyers to trust you? Do you have a platform with which to sell this book?
The idea itself: Try to be honest. Is it unique, or derivative of many other books you’ve seen? When you talk with people about it, do they seem to get it? Do they respond with excitement, curiosity, inquisitiveness?
Put all your information together and a picture should emerge of each idea’s viability and chances of selling.
FOR FICTION:
Where is your heart? Others might have different advice, but consider writing the novel that is most on your heart and mind right now. Always save your book ideas in a file, and add to them when the muse strikes. But you may want to write the one that’s speaking to you.
Get some input. You could carefully craft a one-sentence hook for each of your book ideas, then show them to a group of friends or fellow writers, asking them to rank the ideas in order of interest. This might help, if there is some similarity in their answers. Perhaps a clear winner will emerge. But you might get a variety of responses. So again, you’ll need to choose the book you are ready to write. With fiction, the idea is important, yet secondary to the writing.
What about market trends? You do need to know what’s going on in the marketplace, but it can change at any moment. What editors are looking for today might not be what they’re seeking eight months from now when you finish your novel. So don’t chase trends.
The first book sets you up. If you haven’t sold any books yet, be aware that branding is important, so the first book you sell will set you up to begin creating your brand. Make sure that first book is something you want to write, and make sure it begins establishing a brand identity that you’ll continue.
Do you have a variety of book ideas or entirely written books? How will you decide where to start?
Photo by Agence Olloweb on Unsplash
There are books I’ve written that
won’t see the light of day.
None of them are bad, in fact
they’re more than just OK.
There are Navajo, and ‘Nam Marines
whose stories won’t be told
and even some Civil War scenes,
“Lady Stonewall”, a captain bold.
I truly wish it wasn’t so,
but I don’t have a choice.
I should not have been so slow
to give these guys their voice.
Learn ye something from my sorrow;
you will not always have tomorrow.
Andrew, your last two lines truly struck me. Thank you for reminding me not to assume I’ll always have time “tomorrow”.
Praying today won’t be too bad for you.
Not just serious thought, Rachelle, but also serious prayer. When I ask God for discernment and wait expectantly for his answer, inspiration for one of the projects begins to outweigh the others. Whether that specific project is directed towards publication or merely my own edification . . . that’s another topic for serious prayer.
Being newly retired (coming up on three months), I’m still in the process of finding a new normal for my writing. Continuing with projects started last year, I’m in the final editing process of a New Testament-era novel (3rd in a series), roughly half-way done with a USA history book (4th in a series), and just beginning pulling my teaching notes together for a Bible study I taught years ago and turning it into a book. This is one of eight to ten I’ve developed and taught over the years.
Meanwhile, in the last two days, ideas for two new Bible studies have come to mind. One would be a six-week, short study; the other probably longer, but I haven’t started the outline yet. That may be a today task—right after I type the idea for the six-week study with a rudimentary outline. No, wait. Two months ago an idea for a Bible study came to me, which I plan to teach this fall. I’d better work on that.
Hello David! Congratulations on the retirement!
Rachelle, you have proposed a valuable exercise, and it is one I would like to engage as a challenge once I am beyond my current deadline. I keep a list of manuscript potentials, but in all candor, they are simply ideas I find interesting. At the moment, there are eight list items, and each is no more than a paragraph.
Using the questions you posed above, I believe I’ll start fleshing those out and giving an honest evaluation of their potential.
Thank you for sharing!
This post couldn’t have come at a better time. I lead a writing community and one member recently asked, “How do you choose your next writing project?”
I’ve been wondering too as I work through many ideas. How do I choose which one to tackle first?
Your tips provide a simple structure I believe will be helpful. Thank you!
Great, very timely post, for me. I’m considering whether to start in with the next novel in the series I’ve planned or allow something new to arise. I’ll ponder your points. I do write down story ideas in a journal.
I write historical fiction. The first completed novel won a finalist spot in a contest with a traditional publisher. The second (needs editing) appeared to have caught the interest of a couple of agents through a query. The first is a romance; the second women’s fiction. Any thoughts (from anyone) which one I should go with? I guess what I’m looking for is a number in favor of one or the other. p.s. Also, I’m a bit confused on branding–both are written in a particular time period (gilded age) but, because one is romance and one is women’s fiction–can I use the time period as a brand, or will I be locked in to a style as well? We should write the book of our heart, but should it get published, branding seems to say otherwise.
Hmmm … yes I’m bouncing back and forth between YA and MG at the moment. I have several finished manuscripts and am trying to decide which one to polish next!
Thank you for addressing this topic, Rachelle. I’ve never seen it broken down in this way. As a landscape designer who’s also a degreed historian, who teaches and speaks on spiritual gifts, but has traditionally published gardening and children’s books, you’ve hit squarely on my dilemma. It’s difficult to find an agent who gets me. I had one for a year. She quickly found homes for two of my new children’s book manuscripts. However – as a humanist – she didn’t understand my reluctance to sign a contract with a publisher who touted their “manifesto”…this was a CHILDREN’S book publisher. We parted on good terms, but I wonder: is it possible to have ONE agent for an author who wears multiple hats? Should Christian authors only partner with Christian agents, regardless of their writing genre?
For someone who wakes up in the middle of the night all the time with new ideas (some okay, some terrible) this was helpful to narrow down which to act on or not.