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In a recent article of the Advanced Christian Writer agent Les Stobbe wrote about how to set your manuscript apart to attract the attention of acquisitions editors and thereby land a contract. He detailed four examples of what he called “tipping points” that turned a seemingly ordinary book into something unique. While the article focused on impressing editors of publishing houses the same principle can be applied to selling self-published books. After all the real reason editors are attracted to manuscripts is their salability to readers. In this blog post I will recap Stobbe’s four examples and demonstrate how they provide a “tipping point” to pique reader’s interest.
Add Photos
One way to take an ordinary topic and transform it into an experience for your readers is to add photographic elements to illustrate and extend your book content. In Stobbe’s example the author wrote a book on dieting and chose to prepare meals and took photos of those meals. This provides an added value element to the book’s content. Apply this principle to your non-fiction (and even fiction) titles. For example if you were writing a book about family life could you take photos from your own family to illustrate the concepts? WinePress authors, Billy Jack and Aleta McDaniel, added a full color insert in the book chronicle the details of his journey as a burn victim in their book Dead Man Breathing.
Full-color inserts in the book Dead Man Breathing.
Foreword and Endorsements
Even a book as basic as a Bible study can cause readers to take notice if accompanied by endorsements or forewords written by well-known influencers. A positive recommendation by leaders in your target reader’s world adds that final element of credibility. Today’s book buyers are choosy when it comes to spending money on their titles and endorsements alleviate consumer risk. When author Leone Nunley chose to tell her story of struggle and triumph while supporting her son after a traumatic accident left him brain damaged, she knew her story would touch many people across the nation. He goal was to reach out to other families whose family member experienced trauma after war. Her book gained the attention of former president George Bush and business tycoon Donald Trump. These endorsements will go a long way in building interest with Nunley’s readers.
Former President George W. Bush and business tycoon Donald Trump.
Think Outside the Box
Readers are looking for content that goes beyond the ink on pages. Today with the growth of digital books there are opportunities for authors to add multimedia elements to their books that provide specialized interest to readers. Consider including videos, photos and sound-bytes directly connected with the book. Clark Burbidge, award-winning author of the book A Piece of Silver, wanted his young audience members to be excited about the message connected with his Biblical picture book. For his reprint he produced a novelty ring necklace engraved with the message of his book. Similarly, he produced t-shirts associated with the underlying message of his trilogy, Giants in the Land. Other authors have also provided online content that engages readers, including: downloadable study questions, activity sheets, recipes, puzzles and patterns.
T-shirts to help book promotion.
Add a Twist
A recently released book, Sherlock Holmes and the Needle’s Eye uniquely combines Biblical fiction, Bible study and sci-fi to provide a creative twist that intrigues readers. If you have a book topic that is fairly common consider adding a twist to the concept and or story. In his soon-to-be-released book, Ten Practices of Effective Boards, author Ken Coley tackles the topic of board governance but adds a very creative twist. Written in a fable format Coley illustrates important topics by telling a story about a school established by a group of dogs. This book will examine Christian school boards with a humorous take on some of the most critical challenges that face boards as they wrestle with the dynamics of their responsibilities.
Conclusion
Stobbe provides the answer on how to add the “tipping point” elements to your book by recommending that authors start the creative process from the very beginning of writing their books. This will provide time to refine and develop your added-value ideas that ultimately help books sell themselves!