Most books begin with a small spark: “This would be a fantastic book.” This spark may ignite because you feel people will find the book helpful or because the book and its contents would be instrumental in your course and others. Essentially, your book meets a need.

If this sounds familiar, it is likely you have a solid starting point. Nonetheless, all authors wonder, “I believe in this idea, but should it be a book? Who would want to read this book? Is there anyone who needs it?”

This blog post explores how to confidently determine whether your law school book idea is a good one. When considering if you want to write a book, you should consider the components listed below.

State Your Project’s Impetus and Purpose

Before you do any research or contact outside parties, you must clearly state the impetus for your work and its long-term purpose. If you are unable to articulate these points, you will not be able to get useful feedback from others. Similarly, any research you do may be ineffective because you cannot compare your idea to market competitors.

The impetus is your motivation for writing the book. Identifying the impetus for your work can help you understand whether your academic book idea is one publishers will find attractive.

To help you identify your project’s impetus, consider the following questions:

• What circumstances led me to generate this book idea?
• Why do people need my book?
• What is missing in this area of publication that should be available?
• What have I needed when I used other books or materials that I could not find?

The purpose of your work is similar to the impetus, but is future-oriented. While impetus considers why you are creating a book in the first instance, a book’s purpose aims at what you want to achieve with publication for the first edition and beyond. Your approach to the material—the way you deliver content and cover topics—are key components of your purpose.

Some questions you can ask yourself to identify the purpose of your work include:

• Is your book meant to meet certain learning outcomes, and what are they?
• How will your book further the profession?
• What views and topics do you want a reader to be able to discuss after reading your book?
• Why would legal education be better with my book being used in a curriculum?
• What skills will readers gain from your book (bar exam skills, writing skills, practice-oriented skills, active reading skills, etc.)?
• How will the tools and coverage provided in or with my book enhance learning and teaching in classrooms?

Your impetus and purpose are what make your book distinctive. Put into context, many casebooks cover the same cases in an area of law, but all casebooks are not the same. Casebooks vary in scope of coverage, pedagogy, and organization. New perspectives on any or all of these components differentiate one casebook from another.

Identify Your Target Audience and Their Needs

Who will use your book, and why? If you can identify your target audience and explain why your idea meets the wants and needs of that audience, you have a great foundation for your book. If you are unable to articulate this clearly, head back to the drawing board.

If you are struggling, don’t scrap your entire idea. If you are trying to meet multiple audiences with competing demands, then you likely just need to narrow your audience. It is usually better to provide quality coverage for one audience, than partial coverage for many.

Similarly, if you are struggling to explain the benefits of your work to your audience, consider your personal and professional experience. How would this book have benefited you? If others have used your materials in the past, how have your materials benefited them?

Remember: less is usually more. The better you can meet the needs of a specific audience, the more likely your idea is novel and will fill a niche.

Ask Your Colleagues

You would be surprised how many people do not ask their colleagues for constructive feedback on their law school book ideas. Maybe you fear criticism, others capitalizing on your idea, or taking up others’ valuable time.

The reality is, however, that your colleagues, mentors, and senior scholars are your target audience (or work with your target audience). Their feedback is your greatest asset.

Of course, not all feedback is good feedback. You are not required to incorporate all feedback you receive, or to ask all colleagues you have ever worked with for their input.

Rather, pitch your idea to four to five colleagues you respect and who have diverse perspectives. If they have questions, a publisher will likely have the same questions; if they show doubt or enthusiasm, it is likely an editor will, too. Use their feedback to hone your idea.

As an added bonus, you may earn indirect promotion of your work. Once your project comes to fruition, it is likely that these colleagues will be some of the first people to adopt your new book!

Research Other Options

Keeping your impetus and purpose in mind, assess the competition. What’s on the market, and how is your book different?

As a faculty member yourself, you have likely used or reviewed many potential competitors. When you used the book, what did you like? What did you dislike? Why did you stop using the book? If you only reviewed a text and never adopted it, why?

Your colleagues are once again a good resource. What books are they currently using and how do they feel about them?

Another question to ask yourself is whether an existing book takes a similar approach to your subject matter. If your idea is wholly unique and there is no other book on the market like yours, you need to consider why that is.

If it is an emerging topic, you need to consider if now is the right time for a book. If competition is sparse because your subject matter and audience are extremely narrow, another type of publication (like a law review or journal article) may be more appropriate.

The information gleaned here will help you create a novel approach to materials that can resonate with your audience. Better still, this information will need to be included in your book proposal.

Contact a Publisher

At some point, you will want to talk to a publisher, whether that is before, during, or after you draft a formal proposal. You should contact an acquisitions editor—editors who sign new titles to a publisher’s list. Think of them as scouts for books!

If you don’t know an acquisitions editor, ask one of your friends who has published a book who they worked with or recommend. Also, depending on the publisher, you may be able to find an acquisitions editor’s contact information online.

Given their role in publishing, acquisitions editors have a good working knowledge of current publications. They also speak regularly with faculty to answer questions about books or regarding books they are seeking out for their courses. Their knowledge can help you identify the market’s current offerings and gaps. They can also evaluate what has been done in the past and how successful the idea, approach, or structure was in a particular project.

Brainstorming and research are two major components of fine-tuning a book idea. Use all the resources available to you and don’t get discouraged if you receive feedback that is less than ideal. Nearly all book ideas require input and revision.

If you have a book idea that may be a good fit with Carolina Academic Press, please reach out to any of our acquisitions editors: Carol McGeehan – Northeast Region (carol.mcgeehan@caplaw.com); David Herzig – West Region (david.herzig@caplaw.com); Meg Mitchell – Midwest Region (meg.mitchell@caplaw.com); or Krystal Norton – Southeast Region (k.norton@caplaw.com). Our team enjoys brainstorming and discussing how your book idea may be brought to life. We hope to hear from you!