Can You Sell an Idea for A Book? – 4 Steps Simple Steps for Sales

Are you harboring a book idea but are uncertain about its viability in today’s saturated market of author marketing agencies? Unsure if the investment of time and resources is worthwhile? You’re not alone in pondering these questions. As Amazon becomes increasingly competitive, there’s a prevailing notion that fame or a substantial following is a prerequisite for self-publishing success. However, this belief is inaccurate.

Gone are the days of blindly guessing about a book’s potential on Amazon, whether or not a book will do well on Amazon. The aspect of book idea validation, or book market research, provides essential metrics, analytics, and tools that empower authors to gauge a book’s potential before embarking on the writing journey. While not a guaranteed formula for sales and success – it’s no silver bullet – book idea validation offers a comprehensive understanding of the book market landscape.

If you’re keen on uncovering the intricacies of your potential book market and equipping your book with a better chance at success, then delve into the enlightening domain of book idea validation. This process doesn’t eliminate uncertainty but gives authors valuable insights before committing to the writing endeavor. Explore the tools and analytics available to demystify the landscape and enhance your book’s prospects.

Key Elements of a Successful Book Idea

If you’re a renowned writer with a substantial email following, you can seemingly write about anything, leveraging your platform for success to a certain point. However, for most of us, that scenario remains a distant reality. The challenge lies in ensuring your book captivates the right audience and shows up in front of them, organically surfacing when they search online platforms like Amazon. This underscores the importance of creating a book that is organically discoverable.

To maximize the chances of your book being naturally found by your target readers, three critical factors need verification:

1. Demand: Is there an active search for your book idea?
2. Monetary Willingness: Are people ready to invest in such a book?
3. Competition: Is the market flooded with similar content?

Now, let’s delve into how you do it.

The Four-Step Process for Effective Book Validation

You’ll need to perform four steps to answer the questions above.

While these steps might seem somewhat painstaking, they are positively a piece of cake compared to the potential disappointment of investing time in a book that ultimately fails. Consider them a preemptive safeguard.

If the prospect of undertaking these steps feels overwhelming, there’s an alternative—self-publishing programs that can swiftly handle the validation process for you. Now, let’s explore the details of these four essential validation steps.

Step 1 – Arrange Your Data

We will be observing a lot of imperative information as we step through this process. Therefore, it’s great to ensure you’re organized. To streamline your efforts, consider using the free Book Idea Validation worksheet. It includes essential headers, equations, and helpful recommendations, saving time and ensuring a structured approach to this vital undertaking.

Step 2 – Research Your Idea For the Book

Regrettably, Amazon doesn’t disclose the search volume of how many people are searching for something on their platform, leaving us in speculation, assumption, or guessing. However, two methods can provide more accurate data to figure out how many people are attracted to your idea or phrase:

The first method, a free approach, involves utilizing Google’s Keyword Planner. Input your idea or phrase (requires a Gmail or other Google-related account), and the tool will check your phrase and furnish suggestions along with the monthly search volume of the number of people typing that similar phrase on Google every month. While Google and Amazon differ, both being search engines, Google’s data often correlates with Amazon’s interests. If there is interest in that topic on Google, there’s usually a relational interest on Amazon.

The second method introduces the KDP Rocket. This program suggests book ideas and provides monthly Google and estimated Amazon search data, offering insights into the idea’s current revenue on Amazon. You can gather substantial data to inform your book idea validation process by leveraging these approaches.

If the number you get in step 7 is an amount you’d be happy to earn, proceed to the next step.  Also, you can compare these numbers between different ideas and see which seems more profitable.

Step 3 – Evaluate the Profit Potential of Your Idea

While finding out that there is an interest in your idea is exciting as a result of step number 2. It’s important not to get carried away, though — as we’ve discussed, interest doesn’t necessarily mean the idea will turn into profitability. Discerning whether an idea can represent a well-paid book involves a careful process. Here are the steps corresponding to the numbers on the worksheet:

1. Kindle Store Search: Look for your idea or phrase from the preceding steps in the Kindle store.
2. Amazon Best Seller Rank (ABSR): Note the ABSR for the top 14 books.
3. Kindle Sales Calculator: Use a free Kindle Sales Calculator tool to convert ABSR into books sold per day.
4. Gross Daily Revenue: Multiply books sold per day by the sales price for each book to get the gross daily revenue.
5. Author Earnings: Multiply the gross figure by 0.7 (if priced between $2.99 and $9.99) or 0.3 if it’s sold for any other amounts – this shows the actual author earnings after Amazon’s.
6. Total Daily Author Earnings: Add daily author earnings figures and divide by the number of books calculated (e.g., divide by 14 for the front page).
7. Average Daily Earnings: This provides an average daily earnings figure.

If the figure from Step 7 aligns with your financial expectations, proceed to the next step. Additionally, compare these earnings across different ideas to identify the most profitable. This meticulous approach ensures you’re gauging interest and assessing the tangible financial viability of your book idea.

Step 4 – Assessing Competition in the Market

A popular and profitable book idea is enticing, but it draws competitors. Even after navigating the earlier stages successfully, your task isn’t complete, and you still have work to do. Like Goldilocks and the perfect porridge, you must find the right balance between competition and interest. Too little interest may mean minimal competition but a lack of profit potential. Conversely, high interest often means fierce competition, posing challenges in earning revenue.

The key is to find the golden mean of an idea with enough interest but low enough competition. To strike the ideal balance, consider the following metrics when evaluating competing books:

• Total Kindle Store Results: The total results for your idea or phrase in the Kindle store.
• Top Book ABSR: The ABSR is the highest-ranked book.
• Top 3 Book Results’ ABSR Average: The average ABSR for the top 3 books.
• Top 14 Book Results’ ABSR Average: The average ABSR for the top 14 books.

So far, we’ve only looked at the numbers. These figures gauge the overall competitiveness of a book idea and enable easy comparisons. While numbers play a vital role, some aspects require qualitative assessment. Before making a decision, consider the following and use your judgment:

• Title and Subtitle: Are they chosen with your idea or phrase in mind? Are they targeting that phrase or term?
• Book Cover: Is it eye-catching or lackluster? Books with unappealing covers are more accessible to beat.
• Description: Is it well-written and engaging, or dull and uninspiring? Authors possess a significant opportunity to gain a competitive edge in this aspect. Additionally, it’s worth checking if they have formatted the description to present well on Amazon.
• Author Reputation: Consider the reputation of the competing authors. Going up against renowned authors may pose challenges.

For those who wish to skip the number-crunching and maintain their sanity, explore KDP Rocket. This tool automates the process, providing a comprehensive analysis in seconds. Integrating quantitative and qualitative assessments ensures a well-informed decision among the competitor’s author marketing agencies for your book idea.

Allow Amazon to Uncover What’s Popular

In the journey of finding a compelling book idea, perseverance is vital, echoing the childhood mantra, “If at first, you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.” Crafting a successful book idea isn’t a simple task; otherwise, everyone would flourish.

After diligently following the steps mentioned above, one might consider revisiting the drawing board, either opting for a completely new concept or delving deeper into the initial idea. In the latter case, exploring niche variations becomes crucial. Utilize the Amazon search bar by appending each alphabet letter to your idea (e.g., My Idea a, My Idea b). Amazon’s autocomplete feature will reveal the most searched-for phrases related to your seed idea, aiding in the quest for specificity. Simultaneously, consult the suggestions from Google’s Keyword Planner for additional inspiration.

This process offers a creative boost, helping generate more refined and niche ideas. As the groundwork for book idea validation concludes, it’s time to contemplate whether the approach works.

Beyond Book Validation Idea

The proof lies in the journey of starting from scratch with a pen name devoid of fame, email lists, or existing author marketing agencies. In just 2.5 years, leveraging the outlined process, nearly $100,000 in revenue was generated from a modest collection of six books.

For those aspiring to replicate this success, adhering to the validation process is crucial. Realizing that the idea stands a robust chance of financial success can transform the writing experience. Writing with the assurance that the effort could translate into monetary gains is a substantial motivator.

This comprehensive approach not only equips writers with the tools for successful idea validation but also serves as a beacon for those grappling with the fear of taking the leap into book authorship. With a validated idea, the writing journey becomes more approachable, offering peace of mind and a tangible pathway to potential success.

FAQ’s – Frequently Asked Questions