The Writing Edge for Business Writers: 1/12/18

Jan 12, 2018 | Reading Lists

You’re a businessperson. You may not think of yourself as a writer, but you know that writing well can boost your results and your career. Naturally, you want to do better. Every week I point you to articles and blog posts that I think will teach you something or spark an idea or two. The posts are about the intertwined tasks of reading and writing. Some weeks there are more pointers than others.

This week I’m pointing you to a study of what Amazon buyers look at and how to read more books.

From Joanna Penn: Sell More Books With An Eye Tracking Study of Amazon Book Buying Habits

“As an author and book marketing consultant, I love data. So, for my latest book, I commissioned a research lab to conduct an eye tracking study on Amazon’s book pages. When the results came in I was as excited as a dog trying to get out of a car. And when that door opened I was not disappointed, for the results helped me craft many new powerful strategies, which I’d like to share with you.”

Wally’s Comment: If you’re reading this blog, you probably write nonfiction, so here are two things to think about. First, there is no “series” for nonfiction books. Second, for nonfiction readers, the table of contents is one of the places they look to determine what a book is about and whether it may help them. I tell clients to make the table of contents a selling document with descriptive, benefit-rich chapter and section titles.

From Don Smith: How To Read 2-3 “ore Books a Month When You Don’t Have Time

“Here are 4 tricks that I use to read 2-3 more books each month that I wouldn’t have otherwise read. If you are a purist, this might seem like cheating, but since these are books I wouldn’t have gotten to otherwise, I hope you’ll forgive me.”

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writing Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

Alliance of Independent Authors

Frances Caballo

Jane Friedman

jeffbullas.com

Jerry Jenkins

Joel Friedlander

Joanna Penn

Melissa G. Wilson

Men with Pens

Merce Cardus

Problogger

Daphne Gray-Grant

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence