The best place to start looking for a good topic is to first search your life and experience. Write about what you know. The odds are good that a lot of people would like to know what you know.

Another important technique is to write about subjects of great interest to you, with the help of research. The more passionate you are about your subject, the better the book. Once again, keep this in mind. "If you read on any topic for just one hour a day, you can become an expert

three years. In five years you can become a world expert!"

Surprisingly, most aspiring authors I meet have adopted the habits of today's video generation. They don't read enough. Instead, they spend as much as 25 1/2 hours a week in front of the TV, and read less than an hour a week, just like most of the population.

In my view, you can't be a successful writer unless you also spend the necessary time reading. Plus, reading great books is the best low-cost way to interact with many of the best minds in the world. Ideas for good book topics can also come by doing a lot of active listening. You'll discover what interests people and what they gripe about. A successful book can be compared to a successful entrepreneur. Both solve human problems, the basis of business success.

How to get the book produced Here are the key points:

1. Get a copyright

2. Get an ISBN and Library of Congress number

3. Typeset the manuscript

4. Arrange for the photography

5. Print the book

For guidance on these items and others, see my title, HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK & SELL A MILLION COPIES. You can get a copy of the e-book by going to: http://www.publishabookandsellamillioncopies.com

Don't let the production side of a book intimidate you. It's no problem. The simple truth is, producing the book once it's written is the easy part. Also, there are lots of people, such as book printers, all over the U.S. who are only too happy to help you just by making a few phone calls. That's why I focus here on marketing information, which is far more valuable and the hardest to come by. It's your book marketing program, not production, that determines your level of success.

The all-important book cover or jacket

Before the book is produced, you'll need to make some decisions on size and whether it's hard or soft

cover. Generally I recommend most books be printed in hardcover. The perceived value is greater. For perhaps one or two dollars more in costs for hardcover versus softcover, you can charge a price of $5 to $50 more! Tip: One simple method of producing a book which you can be proud of is this. Go to a bookstore and buy a book whose size, design, and paper weight appeals to you and use it as a model. Just ask your printer to give you a price quotation on producing your book in a similar style.

Designing the book jacket The jacket

copy and design are extremely important. There are situations, such as in bookstores, where impulse sales are possibilities. Also, while less important to a mail order buyer, an exciting cover invites pass along sales, gifts, and special volume sales to book clubs, newsletter publishers, associations, cataloguers and premium users.

Elements of a good book jacket include:

1. Title

2. Powerful graphics

3. Benefits of the book used as subheads or bullets

4. Brief description of contents

5. Author information

6. Comments from experts or well-known readers

Most book titles, jackets and copy are incredibly dull and boring.

Why? They are often prepared either by the author from a "me" point of view instead of the reader's, or by an editor who doesn't have a marketing focus. Think of a book jacket as an ad for the book, a crucially important part of the marketing program.

1. The title of a book has a large responsibility. It should draw attention, make the book stand out from all others, telegraphically communicate what it's about, and cause a browser to want to buy it.

2. The jacket graphics ideally help to: A. Telegraphically communicate the title. It should be large and bold enough to be easily read, even when the book is reduced in ads to the size of a postage stamp. B. Dramatize any photography that is used. C. Help make copy easy to read. Avoid sans-serif typefaces, except possibly in the title. Also avoid overusing reverse printing (black and other colors with white printing). Instead, use black and dark colors on white or light backgrounds. Tip: Work with a graphic designer experienced with books who can supply you examples of previous work you really like. Expect to pay somewhere in the vicinity of $1,000 to $2,000. This could be the best investment you'll ever make in your book.

3. Benefit of the book. Incorporate in the form of bulleted points at least five or six benefits a reader will get from your book. These should come from the ad you've previously written. Tip: An effective marketing technique is to include after each bullet point a book page number, i.e. "See page 141", etc

4. A brief description of the book's contents should be printed beginning on the inside front flap of your book jacket. If you've done a good job on the ad, you can use this copy as its basis.

5. Author information. Include a photo, background and qualifications of yourself or the author if it's someone other than you. Tip : Have a professional photo done in conservative business attire. Avoid casual clothes. For greater effect, always look into the camera, having the effect of eye contact with reader. A sincere smile is more effective than a serious look.

6. Comments from experts or well-known readers can help. Getting "blurbs" to use as testimonials for your jacket is not usually a problem. It's often as simple as asking an expert if they'd review and comment on your manuscript. Most people tend to feel flattered and/or glad to help. Ideally, what you want to strive for is to have three or so well-known experts on the book's subject quoted on your book jacket. Of course, get permission to use the quotes. Tip: A simple way to get a usable quote from a busy expert is to send them one chapter on a subject of their expertise for their suggestions, as well as a quote. Offer to list them in your acknowledgments and to send them a gift of six copies when the book is printed. You'll often get some helpful editorial assistance plus a fan of your book, which can help sell a lot of copies! To illustrate how important I consider the book jacket to be, here is my current procedure. For my forthcoming books, after I write the ad and before the book is written, I have the basic jacket designed (the blurbs are not yet included). The book jacket is a powerful living tool to assist me in discussions with distributors, bookstore buyers, libraries, schools, foreign publishers, licensees, book clubs, etc. Perhaps the most important function of a book jacket designed early for me is personal. Every time I look at it, I get excited. It helps keep me motivated to prepare a great book that lives up to that fabulous cover! No authors of whom I'm aware use all these unconventional little known but highly effective strategies. Try them for yourself. You will be delighted with the results! I'd appreciate hearing your success story!

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