Publishers, literary agents, consumers, and the
media will ask you this question. How will you answer them?
The vast majority of books lack saying something
revolutionary and many can present something evolutionary. Whereas few books,
especially non-fiction ones, offer anything wildly and dramatically new, many
can take an existing concept and present it in a new way.
Here are some ways for your content to be fresh and
truly new:
-
**Actually discover or create something new and write about it.
- **Revise or refresh outdated content.
- **Retool old content so it ties into current events.
- **Crossover industries -- maybe your prior book on leadership in business can be applied to coaching Little League.
Many books get sold on a promise, on the notion that
a book will deliver something of value to the reader. It is sold on perception --
the market’s goal is to paint a picture of consumer need or desire and to show
how the book leads you to fulfillment. Sounding as if your book’s new is
important to many.
What makes something sound new?
·
Includes
the latest data on…
·
Based
on a recent study….
·
For
the first time (ever, in a decade, in our lifetime)…
·
Never
before published materials…
·
Cutting-edge science…
·
From
behind the doors of Corporate America…
·
Confessions
from...
·
Learn
the revealing insights of an expert in…
·
A
look into the future…
·
What’s
trending…
·
Breakthrough
solution to…
The media and book publishing industries are jaded.
They are skeptical about results, truth, something being new, and the words
coming out of an author’s mouth. But if you do your research and see how you
can honestly position yourself and show how you bring a new approach to things,
you’ll be in demand. You can’t just claim you are unique or new -- you must
demonstrate it -- and quickly.
And if you can accurately claim you are saying
something new you must be prepared to support or prove these claims or
theories. How does that diet really work? Who did that business strategy prove
successful for? How did your approach to selling, relationships, parenting --
whatever -- change the bottom line or lives of others and can that performance be
replicated by others?
Other ways to be :"new" :
- Merge two different ideas, from two different disciplines, and create a new approach to something
- Merge two different ideas, from two different disciplines, and create a new approach to something
-
Dress
up or mask the fact you content is not so new by using humor, stories, or words
of enlightenment/inspiration to inspire readers
-
Be
comprehensive and aggregate existing ideas or information in ways other books
have not
Whether
you truly have something new to say, seek to say it in a new way. In order to
get people interested in you or your book, you want to seduce them with a short
pitch. We
use an email or Tweet to incite curiosity. For
the media, we use a press release. For
consumers, we use book jacket copy. For
sales, we have a tip sheet with key information.
So
before you get to have your book read, bought, or reviewed, you must lure
someone in with the hope and hype that you have something timely, relevant,
unique…and new.
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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and
ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, Media
Connect, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter
@theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This
is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2014.
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