Choosing and Researching
a Topic for an eBook

This section is in reference to creating new eBooks, but to some extent it can also be applied to creating web sites, or individual web pages. If you are writing pure fantasy you may not need to conduct any research, but for most other genres you will probably need to do some factual research. Even when writing fiction, there are often details that you will want to be accurate. Historical fiction, in particular, takes a great deal of research to be historically correct. Of course, if you are writing non-fiction, you will probably need to research your topic -- unless you know it all by heart!

First, choose an area or general subject you know something about. Something you either have expertise in, or feel passionately about. A favorite hobby can be a good starting point. An unusual life experience can also be a good topic, though you have to be careful with that one -- nobody wants to hear how wonderful you are -- be sure it is something of general interest.

Take your general topic and brainstorm around it. Turn off the critical part of you mind for a moment, and just note down everything that comes to mind in association with that topic. Don't judge these initial ideas yet, but let them flow freely. No one will see these but you, they are fodder for further research, not refined search proposals.

Take this list of general ideas and go through them one by one with a critical eye. Evaluate their merit as possible subjects for your book. Consider related ideas or concepts. Develop three or four ideas that hold potential as book topics.

Next, determine how many books are already out on that topic, and how large the market is. There are two general theories about this. One says that you need a new idea, with no competition, to succeed. The other approach states that the existence of books already published on the subject is proof of its potential, you only need to present the same information more clearly, expand on the subject, or price your product more competitively, to succeed. The reality lies somewhere between these two extremes. An idea can be so unique that nobody is interested, or the market can be so saturated with books at all pricing levels that there is little room for yet another book on the subject. Find an area that has a proven demand, but put a new twist on it, or approach from a new angle.

Go to Amazon.com and see what books are available on your topic. See how they rank -- the higher the rank, the more demand there is for that type of information. Then go to Google.com and see how many web sites there are with free information about that topic. Don't get discouraged if there are a great many -- oftentimes people would prefer an eBook they can read off-line, even if it costs a few dollars, rather then spending hours reading on-line. You will need to weigh the availability of free information when choosing a price for your eBook however.

Finally, select the key words or phrases that describe your topic, and use WordTracker as we describe in Search Engine Optimization to see how popular those search terms are in relation to the number of web sites devoted to the topic. If your main search terms don't have a KEI of at least 100 you need to check if that is due to few searches (lack of interest) or too many competing sites. If it is too many sites, you can minimize the problem by keeping your price low - but if there is a lack of interest, your sales will never amount to much. Perhaps you will decide to proceed on it as a labor of love, but don't expect great returns.

This preliminary research to select your topic should have given you some ideas about researching the details you need for your book. Read other books on the subject and look at web sites covering that topic. Visit related discussion groups, and look at their archives. Are there recurring questions you can answer in your book? Do you see common misconceptions that need to be clarified? What do people find most interesting about that subject?

Be sure to view all web contents with a skeptical eye. Do not repeat as fact the assertions made without evidence to back them up. Look for independent verification. A misconception repeated 100 times by 100 people who read the same erroneous source does not make that statement true. Finding and debunking commonly held misconceptions is a great way to add value to your work.

Don't restrict your research to web sources, however convenient those may be. Use your local library! Use inter-library loan to get scarce books on the subject. Visit the nearest university library for a better selection of factual sources. Look for Master Theses and Doctoral Dissertations that touch on your subject matter. If you can find archival or museum resources relevant to your research they will add professional credibility to your statements. If your subject has an historical aspect, find contemporary newspaper reports that shed light on how the topic or event was viewed at that time.

Finally, organize your research so that you can find material when you need it. Keep computer files of relevant web references. Put as many references in one file as will fit, so that you can search them all at once. For short notes taken from other sources, type them into your computer files as well. Use file folders to organize papers, photocopies, and other material too bulky to be worth the time of transcribing completely. Number these references and type summaries of them in your computer files, so that any keyword search in your file will lead you back to related print materials.

Then write away! If you come to a point where you need a specific date or reference you know is in your files 'somewhere' use a unique string of letters (like ZZZ) to mark the spot, along with a reminder note if necesary, and keep on writing. Go back to look up the detail later, and fill it in using SEARCH and your reference string (ZZZ) to quickly find the right place in the text. Don't interrupt the flow of your writing to look up facts, unless you absolutely have to because the missing detail affects subsequent text.

Cast your research net far and wide, organize, and then write. Do a little bit every day and soon you will have an eBook! (Don't forget to proofread, re-write and proofread again ...)