What to Write a Book About: 30 Book Ideas

A good book idea needs two things: you care about it, and a reader would pick it up. This guide helps you find that idea in your own life, gives you 30 starting points for fiction and non-fiction, and shows how to test the one you choose. Writing for children or making a comic? See our children’s book ideas and comic book ideas instead. If you have the idea but not the time to write it, book ghostwriting services can turn it into a finished manuscript in your voice.

Where book ideas come from: 10 questions to ask yourself

The best book idea is often one you already have. Answer these 10 questions on paper, quickly, without judging the answers. Look for the ones you’d happily talk about for an hour.

Your work and skills

1. What do people ask you to explain, again and again?
2. What do you know now that you wish someone had told you when you started?
3. What mistake do you see beginners in your field keep making?

Your life

4. What experience changed how you see things?
5. What problem have you solved that others are still struggling with?
6. What place, job or community do you know from the inside that outsiders don’t?

Your curiosity and imagination

7. What subject could you read about for hours?
8. What “what if” question keeps coming back to you?
9. What kind of book do you look for and can’t find?
10. What story do you tell at dinner that people ask you to repeat?

If your answers point to your own life story, browse our memoir topics by theme or see how to write a memoir.

15 fiction book ideas

Each idea below is a one-sentence premise: a character, what they want or face, and what’s at stake. Change the setting, the character or the ending to make it yours. All are invented for this guide. To turn a premise into a story, see how to write a fiction book.

15 non-fiction book ideas

Each idea below is a one-sentence promise: what the reader will be able to do or understand by the end. Non-fiction works best when you have experience, research or a fresh angle on the topic. Once you pick one, see how to write a non-fiction book, or our self-help book guide for the self-help ideas.

A note on health, money and legal topics: readers will rely on your advice, so check every fact with a qualified source, and say what your experience is.

How to turn an idea into a book

An idea becomes a book when you can say who it’s for, what it gives them and how it’s different. Here’s one idea from the list, worked through.

1. Write the promise or premise in one sentence. “By the end, you’ll restore a vintage sewing machine yourself, at your kitchen table, with basic tools.” For the full method, see how to write a one-sentence promise.
2. Name one reader. A beginner who inherited or bought an old machine and doesn’t want to pay for repairs.
3. Find your angle. Look at three books on the same topic. If they cover one brand in depth, your angle could be “any machine, basic tools, no workshop.”
4. List 10 to 15 chapters. For example: what you have and what it’s worth; tools to buy and tools to skip; unplugging and taking it apart safely; cleaning; oiling, and when to leave timing to a pro; the motor and wiring: what to check and when to replace the cord; replacing belts and feet; testing; threading, tension and fixing skipped stitches; your first project; keeping it running.

If you can’t reach 10 chapters, the idea may suit an article, a short guide or a longer book that combines two ideas. Once you have a working idea, our free book title generator can suggest titles.

Is your idea a book? Six-question scorecard

Answer six quick questions about your idea. The scorecard tells you whether it’s ready, needs work, or might suit something shorter.

When to get help

You can find and test an idea on your own. Help makes sense when the idea is clear but the writing isn’t happening.

• You have the idea but not the time. A ghostwriter writes the book in your voice, from interviews with you. Ghostwriting is priced per word by genre: fiction 33¢, non-fiction 55¢ and memoir 68¢, from 20,000 words, with all four EFA editing levels included. Every word written by a human writer.
• You want to write it yourself, with deadlines and feedback. A book coach reads your pages and keeps you on schedule, from $849, or try one session for $399.

Book idea questions authors ask

What should I write my first book about?

Start with what you know best or care about: your work, an experience that changed you, a question people keep asking you, or a story you can’t stop imagining. A first book goes better when you already have material and enthusiasm. Pick an idea you could talk about for an hour, then test it by naming the reader and listing 10 to 15 chapters.

Can someone steal my book idea?

Copyright doesn’t protect ideas. US copyright law protects the way you express an idea, such as your actual words, but not the idea itself. That means someone could write a book on the same topic, but they can’t copy your text or closely paraphrase it without permission, apart from limited uses such as short quotes. Two writers usually turn the same idea into very different books, because the execution makes the book. Share full drafts only with people you trust.

Does my book idea have to be original?

No. Many successful books cover familiar topics or use familiar story patterns. What readers look for is a fresh angle, a clear promise and a voice they enjoy. Check a few similar books, then write down what yours does differently, such as a new audience, a different setting, a personal story or a more practical approach. That difference is your angle.

How do I know if my book idea is good?

A good book idea has a reader you can name, a few similar books that show people want the topic, a clear angle and enough material for 10 to 15 chapters. It also needs to hold your interest for months. If any of those is missing, the idea may need narrowing, combining with another idea, or testing as a short piece first.