Research is not a part of the writing process that I particularly enjoy, but it is absolutely necessary. You have to do it, do it well, and do most of it before you get started. I'm realizing I may only have done an average effort with it, and as a result, I have lost a day of writing.
I'm not too worried about this because I know it is better to start well and build momentum, rather than muddling through a faulty premise. To put it bluntly, you need a razor sharp statement about why your book is different. Your audience has to know without hesitation that your book is the answer to a problem they have that is worth solving. That is, of course, if your book is targeted to a business audience.
One purpose of my book is to cut through all of the B.S. of social media. Sometimes I wonder if God didn't invent social media to see how we would use it, you know, as a test. There is a lot of power there and using that power well is a huge responsibility. Some people are not trying to abuse that power, they are just clueless about how to manage it. In some ways, this is a lot like the process of writing a book, isn't it?
Today as I organized my chapters and major points, I realized I have several social media books in me – using social media to grow a small business, building sustainable relationships, enhancing customer service, increasing referrals, …. and much, much more. I am so glad my friend Judd Hoekstra made a comment on yesterday's post that cautioned me to focus on a few key points, rather than trying to "boil the ocean." I really like that, because that's exactly what I was preparing to do. Judd knows what he is talking about as he has co-authored several books with legendary business author Ken Blanchard.
Would you like to hear my great aha for the day? For months I have submitted proposals to traditional publishers. To their credit, they were much more approachable than I had expected, especially considering I wasn't using an agent. My challenge was to sell them on my book idea, why it was different than anything else on the market, and why that market would line up to buy it. I did an equitable job at this, as one of them gave me a verbal yes.
However, now that I am writing solely for my audience, having elected to self-publish, I am experiencing a freedom of expression that would have been stifled by thoughts of …."I hope my publisher agrees with this." I know my customers, and I'm sure you know yours. There is an understanding with them that you have that is beyond words. When you know, you know; and whenever you have to check that against a distant third party, a portion of your message is lost forever - maybe the most important part.
This may be my first lap around the track of book publishing, but I now sure of one thing: If your book is going to be different, it has to be the one you want to write.
Photo Credit: PaperbackWriter
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