As an author, you might be going about your everyday life when thoughts come to mind, laying the groundwork for your next (or first) novel. Such thoughts might be a bit vague or so detailed that you can see, smell and hear the story unfolding in your mind. Turning your latest book idea into a published novel is part of “the quest” you will encounter time and time again when you choose writing fiction as a profession. Testing the market should also be part of the initial process, before submitting a manuscript to a publisher, and, perhaps, even before writing a story.
What does “testing the market” mean and how does one go about it? You might think your latest book idea is great; that doesn’t mean readers will agree. Before investing all the time, emotional energy and effort it takes to write a book, it’s wise to determine whether there’s a market for the story. Making this determination is called “testing the market.”
Is your latest book idea marketable?
If you want to earn income as an author, you must sell books. You can write 10 books this year but won’t make a profit if no one buys them. This is why testing the market should be a critical part of your writing process. Here are a few ways to determine whether your latest book idea is marketable:
- Use a reputable search engine to conduct a keyword search for your latest book idea. If the SERP (search engine results page) provides links to books on similar topics, it suggests that there is a currently a market for your book.
- Visit the websites of authors who have books for sale that are similar to your latest book idea to check how well they’re selling.
- Also, check “best-seller” websites like New York Times, Writer’s Digest or Christian Writer’s Market to review their updated lists.
- Go to brick-and-mortar bookstores to see if their shelves have a lot of novels similar to your latest book idea.
If so, that’s great; your next challenge will be figuring out how to make your book stand out from the others so readers will want to buy it. Remember to use these four resources for testing the market to save yourself a lot of time and trouble when a new book idea comes to mind. If there isn’t a market for your latest book idea at this time, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad idea; the timing might not be right. In such cases, authors can write the idea down and come back to it later if the market changes.
