How to ensure your book has a wow factor – book promotion tips part 1

Books need a wow factor if they are to make you as rich and famous as you intend, right? so here goes:

There are 4 types of wow:

​Author wow
You are an important part of the mix. Your own personal story or journey should be part of the brand. Do you walk your talk? Do you have the authority to write on your topic? Do you have a ‘tribe’ or following already, so that you are have a readymade market waiting for your book? Are you a speaker or trainer with opportunity to sell your book at the back of the room? If so, then you have author wow.

Style wow
There are 2 kinds of style – your writing style and the way your book looks on the page

• Analyse existing books that you like and see how they lay out lists, resource boxes, case studies, quotations, subheadings and so on. Your book needs enough white space on the page and needs to be easily navigated by people in a hurry. It needs clear signposts. You do judge a book by its cover and layout. Make sure yours looks fab.
• Your writing style is part of your brand. Use your natural voice. Be accessible, simple, don’t exclude the reader with words they won’t understand. To find your voice I suggest you write a Shitty First Draft fast, and then go back and edit it.

Content wow
What will you put in your book? What ingredients? Will you use anecdotes, case studies, tips, lists, statistics, graphics, cartoons, photographs, a bibliography, an index? Be sure your ingredients follow a set pattern or recipe to keep your content consistent. Ensure the reader feels compelled to keep reading. A book must inspire, support, entertain or inform. It must have a purpose. Define your purpose and stick to it.
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Story wow
All books need story. Yes, even non-fiction. Your story, the stories of your case studies. These stories need to leap off the page and be as visual and compelling as fiction. I have devised a tool to help you add spice to your stories. This means you need to add Specifics, Place, Incident, Character and Emotion. This is what I teach in all my life story classes.