Plain speaking — 4 secrets for getting your book purchased
What can be more infuriating to a potential purchaser of a
non-fiction book than chapter headings which give no clue as to
their contents? After all, if someone is looking in the
non-fiction section of a book store, it implies they want facts,
not a fancy and “clever” table of contents! Here are 4 sure-fire
ways to make your text grab the reader’s attention:
1. Make sure the text on the front and back covers is
compelling. It should state plainly and simply what the book is
about. For example: “Buy this book, and learn how to master the
craft of teaching in 15 lessons”.
2. Why should anyone buy the book from YOU? Don’t waste limited
space on the back cover telling the potential reader about your
3 cats - unless it’s a book about cats, of course! Write
something like: “The author has been a practising teacher for 13
years, and writes regularly for the Teaching Times.”
3. Organise the table of contents so that the chapters fall into
easily-identifiable sections. For example: “Section 1: Before
you face your first class; Section 2: The first year” and so on
4. Make sure that the chapter headings actually MEAN something.
You may think it’s great to have chapters like “All that
glitters” and “Every cloud has a silver lining”, but I’ have
news for you: nobody else is impressed! When people are browsing
they want to know right away what they will get for their money
if they buy the book. They don’t have time to look at each
chapter to find out what it’s about. The chapter headings should
tell them everything they need to know. For example, have
chapters like: “Chapter 3: Maintaining order in your classroom;
Chapter 4: Where to find excellent resources for your lessons”,
and so on.
You have just a few seconds to impress a potential buyer. Don’t
waste them!
