Fishing for a Market

By Michael Drew - May 16 , 2007

What are your criteria for evaluating the sales potential of a book you’re considering publishing? Do you weigh the author’s energy for promoting the book? His previous book sales? The recognition and reputation his name carries within the target market? All these things are important, but you must also consider the breadth and depth of the market the book will appeal to.

Look up from your monitor for a second. Grab one of those manuscripts sitting there on your desk. If you were to liken the market for that book to a body of water, do you think it would most resemble a pond, a bayou, a well, or an ocean? Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these types of markets in an attempt to see how many fish might be swimming around down there and how strong their desire to bite actually is.

Pond Markets are shallow and small. You want to avoid publishing books that appeal to this type of market. The material is attractive only to a limited number of people, and their desire to buy the book isn’t very motivated to begin with. A poetry book targeted at male teens is a good example of a Pond Market. Even if your author could find those males who are drawn to poetry, his chances of getting them to spend their limited resources on his book aren’t very high.

Bayou Markets can go on for miles. They are also disappointingly shallow. Publishing a book that appeals to a Bayou Market might draw the interest of a large number of people, but that interest level doesn’t run deep enough to stimulate the number of book sales you’re after. Imagine a book written for 40-60 year old unemployed men with less than a high school education. Yes, there are plenty of men who fall into this category. But the fact that they’re unemployed means they most likely don’t have the money to shell out on books. Nor can they afford to spend their time sitting around reading all day while ignoring their job search. What do you think? Does that sound like a book you’d want to publish?

Well Markets, on the other hand, have a small surface area but run extremely deep. If your author has a good marketing platform for getting his book in front of the target market, the chance to sell a large number of books is much higher than it is with pond and bayou markets. A good example would be a book about the healthcare of thoroughbred horses. Such horses cost thousands of dollars. So if a person does have the funds to purchase such expensive animals, you can bet they’ll have a strong interest in a book that explains how to take care of them.

Ocean Markets are both broad and deep. Books written for Ocean Markets appeal to a vast expanse of people who have an intense desire to actually purchase the book. A book that attracts an ocean market is in most instances a book you want to be publishing. Consider a book about how to write a good resume. Or how to be a good lover. These are the kinds of subjects that frequent the bestseller lists (especially the second example).

Understanding a book’s target market is critical for two reasons: One, it helps you evaluate an author’s potential for developing a sizable marketing platform; two, it also helps determine whether the book has the potential readership to earn a place on bookstore shelves and, ultimately, to become a bestseller.

If you suspect that manuscript you’re holding is destined for either a Pond or Bayou market, don’t publish it. Instead, encourage the author to use it as a tool to build a marketing platform large enough to support substantial sales of a future book that you would consider publishing. Suggest that he present the material at seminars and on his website.

If you’re looking at a book with Well Market potential, you might ask the author to entertain the idea of publishing it himself and selling it directly through the various channels of his marketing platform. Advise him that his narrow market will make bookstores hesitant to stock his book, but that the deep interest of that narrow market should allow him to realize some profits without the help of bookstores—provided, of course, that his name and reputation are enough to drive those sales.

On the other hand, if you can see a book’s potential to appeal to an ocean of people, grab your fishing pole, put on your publishing hat, and head for the water. Just remember that an author’s marketing platform plays a vital role in actually realizing Ocean potential. This platform, combined with the vast interest in the book, will act as catalysts for incredible book sales in the weeks immediately following publication.

So now what do you think about that manuscript? Could there be a large school of fish down there? Do you think they might be hungry? If so, you could be in for an exciting day on the water.

Questions about identifying the market potential for a specific book you’re considering publishing may be directed to Michael R. Drew at the Austin, Texas, headquarters of Promote A Book: 512-858-0040. You can also contact Michael via email at Michael@promoteabook.com.