How Do I Know If My Book Idea Is Any Good?
What’s the best way for me to figure out if my book idea is any good?
There’s this great cartoon of a doctor holding up an x-ray to a patient and saying, “It looks like you’ve got a book in you.” In the x-ray, there’s a book lodged in the patient’s ribs.
If you’re reading this, you probably feel a lot like the patient, metaphorically, of course. Instead of wondering if your book idea is any good, let us help you figure that out.
Great book ideas start with the premise!!!
The very first step you should take when trying to figure out which book you should pursue first is to sit down and write out a premise of your book idea. The premise of your book is basically its thesis statement.
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“What are the important factors I should consider
when I am developing my book idea?”
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But what if you have two book ideas and can’t decide which to write about first? The premise is a great way to compare ideas and share them with friends and fellow writers. There’s a lot of power in putting an idea on paper. As agents, after we hear a writer tell us about their new book idea, we’ll say, “Okay, let’s put it on paper.” That’s an excellent place for us to wrestle with the idea and try to make it better. Without a premise, that book remains just a thought in your mind.
There are a lot of important factors to consider when developing your book idea and creating this premise. Here are a couple of key questions to get you started:
- What is it you want to say?
- What is the central idea of your book?
Don’t forget to have fun with this. Creating a thesis statement might give you flashbacks to that awful course you took in college. Or maybe distilling your book idea down to a statement makes it feel like it’s lost some of that magic quality we give to art. Don’t let it. You’re simply giving yourself a handle for your idea.
And if it helps, go to lunch with a friend and share your book idea with them. The best way to craft a better premise is to talk about it. Take the first step to figuring out if your book idea is good and write your premise.
Take Action: Learn the Rest of the Process for Developing a Good Book Idea Here.
Before you spend countless hours writing a book proposal or fleshing out chapter summaries, you need to know if you have a good book idea. We’ve got an awesome course that’ll help you strengthen your book idea. It’s called “How Do I Know If I Have a Good Book Idea?” Through these videos, you will discover the essential elements of a strong, marketable book idea. Whether you’re just getting started or revising a current manuscript, this course will help you focus your efforts for the best possible result!
