The whole world is connected to each other because connections always help us in our bad and good times. It’s the connection that motivates one person to another like a chain reaction. We have seen how people can inspire others with their life stories, which show the journey of a human through rough times and sometimes inspiration is also drawn from the good experiences too. So, when such people come out in the open and talk about a situation that seems ordinary but is simply extraordinary then that person always thinks of helping many other people and one of the easiest ways is to write a self help book. A self help book is nothing but a collection of a personal journey and how that person dealt with it. The aim of such books is to instruct and guide people who are going through similar issues which can be social, emotional, physical, psychological, etc. But for a common man “Is it easy to pen down a book? Well not that easy too, that’s why people do research about “How to write a self help book?”
So, we are going to discuss what are the key points to write a self help book. They are as follow:
1. Find the core of the book, which means which problem the person is dealing with the book.
2. Keep the narration crisp and believable. So, people connect to it spontaneously.
3. The writer should know his audience and reach of the issue.
4. People need answers and solutions to overcome similar situations and problems.
5. Though it’s like sharing your experience, the medium is a book. So one has to mold it that way.
6. The Book should have catchy yet informative titles and subtitles too.
Finding The Core:
Most of the self help book writers are immature and new in the field of writing a book. They usually choose very general ideas when they start penning it down such as sexual abuse, domestic violence, depression, weight loss, fighting some deadly disease, etc. All these topics are very common and that is why the writer can connect to a vast audience. But the catch 22 situation is that this vast audience has been listening to these topics since ages. So, to attract their attention a writer has to choose a more specific topic and make that topic as the core of the book. Like if a writer chooses to write about his struggle with depression, so rather than choosing depression as the core topic, tackling depression at menopause (the writer is a female) should be the core topic. This more specific approach will help the writer to connect better with the people suffering from the same issue.
Narration Should Be Crisp And Believable:
Once the writer has chosen the core issue which he/she wants to tackle with his/her own book. Then comes the second most part of the book is the narration. As narration is the medium through which the writer’s journey will be explained in words. So, it has to be very soul touching so that it feels like the reader’s story only and that is possible when the writer narrates in a believable tone. Along with emotional connection which is mandatory for believable content, the writing of the book should be clear and to the point. So, that reading is easy and crisp and the reader is engrossed in it readily.
Know Your Audience:
Understanding the target audience is also very crucial as they are one who will buy your book and read it. So, the writer should be well aware of which type of audience will be drawn towards the issue tackled in the book. The writer should know which people will benefit from the work he/she is putting up in the market as a book. Not only that the audience’s preference in terms of language, culture and religion, occupation are considered to make a book into a success story. Like if a writer is writing a book on parenting then the audience is parents not the kids and grandparents. Then in parenting external environments and factors play an important role, like the occupation of parents, food habits, lifestyle, geographical division etc. So while narrating one’s struggle during parenthood these factors need to be considered while writing a self help book.
Audience Need Answers And Solutions:
Well, the main aim of the people who read self-help books is to look out for new answers and solutions to the common issues faced by the people across the globe. As the self help books are meant to create an atmosphere for the people to talk about it with others without any pre-fixed ideas. Sometimes the audience also knows what’s inside the book because the problems are everyday issues but reading others’ success stories motivates the reader to go ahead and take the necessary steps to overcome their own problems. The solutions can be as simple as expected or it could be completely new out of the box idea. So, experimentation chains also take leads from such solutions. Like in the health and food industry multiple books on weight loss are present and every human knows that excess eating can cause weight gain, so any book in general targeting weight loss may not be so successful. But when the same issue is tackled by books like focusing on the Keto diet, Intermittent fasting, calorie deficit, etc are launched in the market, they sell like hot cakes. The reason is that such self help books focus on the century old issue in a new manner thus attracting readers attention. Plus these specific kinds of books will tell you the nutrient power of different food items along with their role in weight loss. How one can modify their diet to achieve the best results etc. So, newness and solution is another major key which will help in reaching a vast audience.
Also Read – How To Promote Self Published Book
The Medium Is In Book Format:
Well, we can not deny the core of the book is the journey of the writer and how he overcomes the problem, but at the end of the day the medium to share the journey is a book format only. So, the writer should know “How to write a self help book” and also keep in mind that it has to be commercially viable also, only then the writer can help the maximum number of people. The book can be in paperback or digital format. It will need correct marketing and promotional strategies to reach its target audience.
Book Needs To Be Catchy And Informative With Titles and Subtitles:
Last not the least when discussing “How to write a self help book” the writer should remember that information given in a different way always attracts people’s sight. So if the writer wants to connect with huge numbers or masses and classes at the same time. Then the content has to be really catchy so that it has the ability to hold the people’s attention at the first go. The titles and subtitles really help in fulfilling this demand. Like if a writer is writing about addiction and struggle to quit in his book then he should choose a very catchy title so that people want to grab the book to read. For example, on the same topic you have two books to choose from, first titled “Dead While Living” or “Addiction Is Killing You”. So, it’s pretty natural that the attention moves to the first title.
So, when it comes to “How to write a self help book” there are no fixed rules as such as it is a nonfiction genre and the topics can range from simple issues to the most complex ones. But as discussed above certain things need to be checked before you plan to write a self help book. These will help in putting up a condensed informative piece of writing which will inspire, motivate and instigate the conversation about the issue covered in the self help book.
