Before writing a book, most writers ask themselves this question: there are already loads of books on my topic; what makes mine different?

This is similar to the question most business owners ask themselves: lots of people do what I do; how do I stand out in my market?

The short answer to both of these questions is the same: you. You as a unique individual make the difference.

An example

I’ll use myself as an example.

There are lots of writing coaches out there. One way of differentiating between us is to look at how we came to be writing coaches.

• Some come to coaching after writing a book themselves,
• Some after working as a journalist,
• Others after working as a book editor, and
• Still others, like me, after having taught writing for several years.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was also working as a part-time editor throughout my career as a university lecturer, but in my coaching, I draw mainly on my training and skills developed through working with students. And I’ve published 3 books and been published in the academic press.

We’re all called ‘writing coaches’, but we have different strengths, weaknesses, and approaches.

Someone who starts coaching writers after writing a book themselves has valuable, real world experience to draw on, but that experience is also limited. They’ll work well with writers who are similar to them, but may struggle with writers who experience different difficulties to them.

Likewise, a journalist or an editor will have a wealth of knowledge about what makes good writing and how to engage the reader, but they may or may not have experience of training other writers.

I know from training to teach writing that teaching writing and writing well are wildly different skill sets. That’s not to say there’s not a lot to learn from coaches with different backgrounds (some of them are much more experienced in getting writers to Amazon #1 best seller status than I am, for example)[i], but their approaches won’t be grounded in sound pedagogy, mine is.

When it comes time to write your book, you’ll go through a similar exercise. You’ll look at how you compare to the other authors who have written on your topic and find ways of highlighting your strengths in your book.

Where do you start?

When you’re thinking about writing a book, you start by getting to know your reader (as I explain in this blog post, this is one ideal reader, not a demographic group). Part of that for my clients is looking at what other books on (and around) your topic they’ve read.

What do you learn from this?

Lots of things. Looking at the various books that are out there on your topic shows you what’s possible. Combining looking at the books like yours and reader reviews shows you what your potential readers like – do they want a lot of personal narrative and examples? Or do they want you to just get to the point of how to do the thing you’re teaching them to do?

In looking through these books you’re likely to see things that don’t sit quite right with you. Things you could do better or more effectively – keeping these in mind as you write is a great way of differentiating your book from the pack.

Looking at the authors who wrote those books and, where possible, their businesses helps you see what you can do with your book once it’s published.

It also helps you see how you differ from the other authors.

Don’t let looking at their books, businesses, and other accomplishments give you a case of impostor syndrome. Instead, remember that different doesn’t mean better.

You won’t have all the same experiences and qualifications as the other authors. That’s exactly what makes your book the best one for your readers, and theirs best for their readers.

What’s next?

Look at how you’ve positioned yourself in your market. How do you stand out amongst all the other people who do what you do?

Lean on that strength as you write your book. It’s what will make your book stand out.

As you look at what attracts your clients to you remember this: your ideal client is further along the buyer’s journey than your ideal reader.

You won’t be writing just for the people who are ready to work with you (though they’ll benefit from your book, too). Instead, you’ll be writing for the people who are a step or two earlier in the journey.

Some will be aware of the problem you solve and will be starting to look for solutions. Others will be earlier still; they’ll be trying to articulate what the problem is.

For both groups, you’ll need to clearly define the problem your book solves. How you define it, including everything from the words you use to the tone you take, will be unique to you.

The people who read your definition of the problem and feel like you’re describing what they’re experiencing are your people. Not all the other people with the problem who are looking for a different approach.

I’ll use myself as an example again. People with writing problems are looking for a variety of solutions:

• Someone to show them how to get generative AI to do the writing for them,
• A ghostwriter or copywriter to do it for them,
• A coach who gives them fill-in-the-blank templates, or
• A coach who teaches them approaches that make writing easier that they can use again and again.

In case you’re new here, I’m the last kind. Someone looking for help with generative AI or templates to fill in won’t stick around my content long, as it’s clear that’s not what I do.

I’d like to say it’s clear I’m not a ghostwriter or a copywriter, but I have too many networking conversations with people who say, ‘You’re a writing coach! Great, what kinds of people to you write books for.’ Leaving me to answer, ‘I don’t write for my clients; I show them how to make writing easy.’ If you have any ideas on how to make writing coach sound less like ghostwriter or copywriter, please get in touch.

The people who are looking for support in becoming better, more productive writers stick around. They do that in large part because my writing, whether it’s here on my blog or in one of my books, speaks to them.

Next step

If you're thinking about starting your book, watch (or read the article version I'll also send you) my webinar, "Why you need to write your book right now". In the webinar I explain what a book will do for you, dispel some common myths about how long it takes, explain what's actually involved, and more.

[i] I don’t focus on this with my clients because that status doesn’t actually mean anything except you figured out how to game the system to be bestseller in your microgenre for an hour. It says nothing about the quality of the book.