Writing A Book Based on Mistakes

There are many types of self-help books, and one of the most appealing books in this genre promises to help people avoid common mistakes.

Who doesn’t want to avoid mistakes? Mistakes cause lots of problems, from simple embarrassment to terrible catastrophes. When I think back on the mistakes I’ve made in my life, I get filled with negative emotions, and a book that would  help me avoid these feelings in the future would certainly be appealing.

However any book that arouses negative emotions in the title can also arouse negative emotions when someone is considering purchasing your book.  While people want to avoid making or repeating mistakes, just thinking about mistakes can be depressing, and depression often leads to inaction—including not buying your book.

One way to make your prospective reader stay focused on your book’s self-help message is to make it clear that mistakes in any given area of life are limited.  A title like “The 12 Biggest Mistakes Women Make in Dating and Love Relationships” by Lyn Kelley is a good example of how a title can help the prospective reader feel that a problem is manageable. The title suggests that the author has determined there are only a dozen really important things to learn to avoid a broken heart.  Not a 100, not even 50, just twelve. The title also implies that the author has some secret knowledge that will help the reader out, and without this knowledge, painful mistakes will be made.

Another good title is “Finding the Right One After Divorce: Avoiding the 13 Common Mistakes People Make in Remarriage” by Edward M. Tauber and Jim Smoke. The title and the subtitle present a double punch in grabbing the prospective reader’s attention.  The title "promises" that the reader will learn how to find a partner after a divorce, and the subtitle makes the promise even better telling the reader that he or she can avoid painful mistakes.  The word “common” also engages the prospective reader, suggesting that mistakes are really likely if you don’t read this book.

Another good title is “Investment Mistakes Even Smart Investors Make and How to Avoid Them,” by Larry Swedroe and RC Balaban. This title makes the prospective reader feel that mistakes are okay, even smart people make them, and that when you read this book you’ll be as smart as the smart people.

Self-help books written to help people avoid mistakes lend themselves to a clear format, which can be both easier to write and easier to read.  The introductory chapter should make the reader feel that it is okay to make mistakes in the specific subject area, everyone does. You might want to draw on some aspect of psychology or human behavior to make the book more authoritative and help the reader understand how and why mistakes are made.

Then, each chapter or section would:

• State a common mistake.
• Provide anecdotes or personal experience to help the reader understand how this specific mistake is made.
• State a solution to the mistake.
• Explain how the solution will avoid future problems and lead to a more positive outcome.

Even as I write, I can think of several books about making mistakes that I would like to read, or maybe even write!  

To App or Not to App

Mobile devices and apps are changing the way we live. It is estimated that 50% of American adults now own a smart phone and most people will download dozens of apps each year. Besides smart phones, apps are used on tablet devices like the iPad and the new generation of e-readers like the Kindle Fire and the Color Nook.

Lots of people I talk to in the helping professions want to create an app. It's exciting to think that your advice, your video, or some exciting digital tool you create, would be as close as a person's pocket or purse. When a person needs help, your app is there.

So what about you? Do you want to create a self-help app?

 Although I’m a big advocate of apps, particularly those that solve address life's everyday problems, it's important to note that creating an app is not a small endeavor. There are three main things to think about before you decide to take this plunge.

The first thing to consider is why you want to create an app.  If your idea is to make a lot of money, I would say to you “don’t quit your day job.” Very few apps make much money.  For example, a developer I know who creates health related apps, recently told me that he considers an app successful if it sells a thousand copies a year. If an app sells for three to five dollars, you can see that is not a lot of revenue considering the cost of development as well as the maintenance of the app to fix bugs or improve functionality.  

But making money isn't the only reason to create an app.  You can use an app to promote a product or service. You can use an app to collect e-mails or Facebook fans. You can use an app as a way to foster goodwill for your practice or your business. The reason you are creating the app is the first thing you have to think about, because this will be a major factor in determining the functionality.

The second consideration is of course the cost of creating an app. The cost of an app can range from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the app’s complexity. Assuming your don't have thousands of dollars to spare, one site that can help you in funding your app is www.Appbackr.com. Appbackr is the first crowdfunding marketplace for mobile apps. Developers connect with 'backrs' to help fund, market, and distribute their apps. Backrs make a profit as the app sells in retail app stores.  Some apps are in development when a person seeks money, while others are already developed. 

The third thing to keep in mind is that after you create your app, you still have to tell the world about it. Just like creating a self-help book, your app has to be found among the hundreds of thousands of other apps.  And just like a self-help book, you will have to use a variety of marketing tools, from social media to publicity, to tell the world about your great product.

If you are reading this blog, I will assume that you want to create an app in order to help others. In my next post I’ll review some of my favorite apps that have been designed to help people with various problems, and I'll talk about why they are so useful.