When you’re in the preliminary stages of writing a book, your immediate network is a great resource for quickly finding out the reality picture of how well your book’s core message conveys to your audience. At the same time, it’s important to stay true to your message without allowing your friends to have too much influence. If you are writing a book about dogs, your friend might be more interested in a book about cats—so you have to know what you are and are not willing to change.
Identify the people you know who match the profile for your ideal reader.
Before beginning to write any book, you should hopefully have a clear picture the ideal reader, what their situation is, and what factors are most likely to motivate them to buy your book. Are you marketing to Millennials? Generation X? Baby Boomers? Is your audience struggling with weight issues? Trying to start a new business? Look through your list of contacts and circle the names of a few friends who are the closest match to your ideal reader. It is their perspective that will be of most value to you.
Get feedback on the title, cover, and table of contents before you write the content.
The title, cover, and table of contents tend to be the things that people look at when deciding whether or not they want to buy a book. Before you develop the content, you need to make sure that you’ve captured your audience’s attention with topics that are perceived as relevant.
Remember—the value of your book and your message may be obvious to you, but the one thing you can’t provide for yourself is outside perspective. Get other people involved as early as possible to ensure that your message comes across as clear, concise and compelling to them.