2023 May 04

Write Useful Books: これから本を書きたい人は確実に読むべき本

素晴らしい本でした。
自分用のメモを、サイトに公開します。

ポイント①

１パラグラフを１〜２分で読めるようにしつつ、常に「アハ・モーメント」を含めるようにする。

You do this by adding word counts to the titles of your sections and chapters, allowing you to see how many words (and thus how many minutes — 250 words per minute is typical) are sitting between any two pieces of value. 

ポイント②

チェスの本は、大半がつまらない。理論ばかりだから。目の前でチェスを学びたい子どもを想像して欲しい。理論じゃなく、まずは使う駒を減らしてゲームをするなど。このような設計だと、読者のエンゲージメントが高まる。

every adult will start by explaining all the rules, beginning with the pawns, since that’s how an experienced player mentally organizes the game. But from the kid’s perspective, they’re sitting through an awful lot of theory before starting to have any fun.

you can restructure the lesson around delivering small pieces of the real value as quickly as possible. In the case of chess, that might mean teaching only two of the six game pieces — the king and castle — and then playing a simple puzzle for checkmate. The learner’s Engagement will spike since they’re getting what they wanted (to play!),

ポイント③

読者の人生を完全に変える本を書くことが大切。最高の設計をして、そこから理想に近づくように執筆する。

補足①：ターゲットじゃない読者を排除することが大切

Here’s the secret to a five-star Amazon rating: be clear enough about what your book is promising that people can decide they don’t need it. It may seem counterintuitive to try to drive potential readers away.

Your book’s promise should appear in (or at least be strongly implied by) its title and/or subtitle.

Scope = Promise + Reader profile + Who it’s not for + What it won’t cover

補足②：本の品質を高めるための自問自答

once it’s written down, attempt to make it stronger. Ask yourself: Is your book’s promise Desirable enough that people will readily complain about, receive advice, give advice, and search for solutions to it? When someone encounters this problem/question/goal, is finding a solution a top priority or simply a nice-to-have? If your book could have several possible promises, does one have more “hair on fire” urgency for a certain type of reader? Of your several potential reader profiles, does one more actively search for (or give) advice and recommendations? Do any feel the pain more sharply? If so, they’ll fuel a stronger, faster recommendation loop.

» Write Useful Books (Rob Fitzpatrick)