Ebook ideas: 40 topics and how to pick one
A good ebook idea solves one specific problem for one specific reader, in a subject you know first-hand. Below are 40 ebook ideas in eight subjects, a one-line formula for narrowing any topic, and a five-question test to run before you write.
Updated
The formula behind a good ebook idea
Almost every useful how-to ebook fits one line:
[A result] for [a reader] who [has a limit].
The limit is what makes the idea yours. It might be time, money, space, experience or a past failure.
- Meal prep (result) for parents (reader) who get home at 6pm (limit)
- Strength training (result) for people training at home (reader) with two dumbbells (limit)
- A marketing plan (result) for a yoga studio (reader) on one page (limit)
Take any broad subject you know and fill in the three parts. If you can write three different lines for the same subject, you have three possible books.
40 ebook ideas by subject
Use these as written or swap in your own reader and limit. Where an idea says your city or your country, the local detail is the value.
Food and cooking
- Meal prep for parents who get home at 6pm
- Sourdough for people who have failed twice
- Thirty packed lunches with no reheating
- Cooking for one on a fixed weekly budget
- A first month of cooking after a coeliac diagnosis
Money and work
- A first-month plan for new freelance designers
- How to price handmade goods for a craft fair
- Bookkeeping basics for a one-person trade business
- Preparing for a first performance review as a manager
- A job search plan for career changers over 40
Health and fitness
- A 12-week return to running after a long break
- Strength training at home with two dumbbells
- Desk stretches for people who sit eight hours a day
- Sleep routines for shift workers
- Walking plans for the first three months of retirement
Home and garden
- Balcony tomatoes: a first harvest in eight weeks
- A room-by-room declutter in ten weekends
- First-year lawn care for new homeowners
- Houseplants that survive a north-facing flat
- A seasonal maintenance checklist for an old house
Parenting and family
- Screen time rules that a seven-year-old can follow
- Road trip activities for children under ten
- A calm first week of weaning
- Helping a child settle into a new school
- Planning a multi-generation family holiday
Business and marketing
- A first email newsletter for a local shop
- Getting the first ten reviews for a new service business
- A one-page marketing plan for a yoga studio
- Writing a product description that answers buyer questions
- Onboarding a first employee in a five-person company
Skills and hobbies
- Watercolour landscapes in 20-minute sessions
- A first 5,000 words: a start plan for new novelists
- Chess openings for players rated under 1,000
- Beginner birdwatching in a city park
- Learning guitar chords with small hands
Travel and local knowledge
- Three days in your city without a car
- A first solo hiking trip: planning and packing
- Moving to your country: the first 30 days of paperwork
- Campervan trips with a dog
- Day trips from your town by train
How to find ebook ideas from what you already know
You do not need to be a famous expert. You need to be a few steps ahead of the reader. Four places to look:
- Questions people ask you. Check your messages and emails for anything you have explained more than twice.
- Something you learned the hard way. A move, a diagnosis, a first job, a first client. Write the guide you wanted then.
- Your work. The checklist you give every new client or colleague is often a book outline already.
- Content you have made. A set of blog posts, a workshop or a talk can become chapters.
How to test an ebook idea before you write it
Give yourself one point for each yes. Four or five is a good sign. Two or fewer means narrow the idea and try again.
- Can you name the reader? A job, a life stage or a situation, not everyone.
- Can you state the result in one sentence? After this book you will be able to do one thing.
- Are people already asking? Type the topic into a search engine and look at the suggested searches. Look for the question in forums and groups. Questions with many replies show real demand.
- Do you have first-hand experience? Your own examples are what separate your book from a generic one.
- Can you outline it in ten minutes? If 5 to 10 chapter titles come easily, you know enough to write it.
A sixth check is optional: look at the ebook stores. A few existing books on the topic are a healthy sign, because they show people buy them. Read the critical reviews to see what those books left out.
Ebook ideas by purpose
The same subject becomes a different book depending on what it is for.
- To sell: a complete how-to guide that takes the reader from start to result. See how to sell ebooks online.
- To grow an email list: a short guide that solves one small problem quickly. See how to make a lead magnet ebook.
- To support clients or students: a workbook with exercises, or a written course split into lessons.
Ebook ideas to avoid
- Topics where a mistake can hurt someone, such as medical, legal or financial advice, unless you are qualified and say so in the book.
- Topics you only know from reading. Without your own experience the book has nothing new in it.
- Subjects with no reader in mind. Productivity is a shelf, not a book.
- Other people's work. Summaries of a living author's book, or anything built on characters and brands you do not own, can infringe their rights.
From idea to outline
Once an idea passes the test, write the chapter list the same day while it is fresh. How to write an ebook covers the outline, draft and edit in eight steps.
You can also type the one-line idea into EbookMuse. It plans a title and 4 to 15 chapters for you to read, which is a quick way to see whether the idea holds up as a whole book. Planning and writing up to three books is free.
Common questions
What are good ebook topics for beginners?
The best first topic is something you have done yourself and that other people ask you about. A narrow how-to guide, such as a first-month plan for one kind of beginner, is easier to finish and easier to describe than a broad subject.
How do I know if an ebook idea is worth writing?
Check five things: you can name the reader, you can state the result in one sentence, people already ask about it in searches or forums, you have first-hand experience, and you can outline 5 to 10 chapters in ten minutes. An idea that passes all five is worth a draft.
What kind of ebooks sell best?
No topic is guaranteed to sell. Ebooks that solve a specific, pressing problem for a clearly defined reader are easier to sell than general ones, because the reader can tell at a glance that the book is for them.
How narrow should an ebook topic be?
Narrow enough that the title names the reader or the situation. Sourdough is a subject. Sourdough for people who have failed twice is a book. If you worry the audience is too small, remember that a short ebook only needs to help the right few hundred people well.