Analyzing the Competition
How to Write the Competition Section for a Book Proposal
You’re writing a book proposal! Yes, it may feel a little daunting if you haven’t done it before, but let’s not ignore the fact that reaching this point is a huge accomplishment. It takes work and dedication to get here.
There’s a lot to writing a book proposal, especially in a technical how-to field. But don’t worry if you aren’t ready to write a proposal yet, you can test your book idea by simply sending an email.
Writing a competitive analysis is a great exercise for tightening up the scope of your book. Before you send out your proposal, there’s some research ground you need to cover. Specifically, you need to find out which books you’re competing against and what makes your book different.
Why Do I Need To Analyze the Competition?
At a basic level, it’s simple economics. Is there a market for your book and why should a consumer be interested in your book rather than other books on the market?
For example, there are approximately 1,000 books listed on Amazon when you search for Ruby Programming. I certainly can’t vouch for how many of those books are good tutorials, but no matter how you cut it, there’s some competition. That’s part of why analyzing…
