Rate My Book Idea

[Limitless4Life]

How to Score 1,000 Points

It's for high school basketball. I'm 22 and was a 1,000 point scorer. I have a ton of experience with sports and want to write a book to help kids going into high school with their journey to 1,000. I want to share my stories, strategies and lessons I've learned over the years. There is no book on the market specifically about scoring 1,000 points and less than 1% of all basketball players accomplish the feat, so that gives me leverage as an 'expert' on the topic. Most basketball books are written by older coaches who are hard to relate to at age 12 so my age could be an advantage too. What do you guys think?

 

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[fandeuler]

Would this be a physical book or ebook or both? The target audience may be a bit small to make this a very profitable project however to build learning experience in writing your own books, this could be a good way to test the water so to speak for possible books you may write in the future.

 

[Limitless4Life]

Would this be a physical book or ebook or both? The target audience may be a bit small to make this a very profitable project however to build learning experience in writing your own books, this could be a good way to test the water so to speak for possible books you may write in the future.

I would start it off as an eBook and then go physical. I could get high school teams to buy an order to give to their current and incoming players to borrow. I could also take it to sports facilities that host AAU tournaments - they usually have merch tables. From the way I'm writing it so far, it could benefit any high schooler, not just freshmen so that will open the market a bit.

This is my first Fastlane attempt so I'm doing it mostly for experience and hopefully help some kids along the way

 

[applesack]

I'm 22 and was a 1,000 point scorer. I have a ton of experience with sports and want to write a book to help kids going into high school with their journey to 1,000. [...] What do you guys think?

I think this is a great idea. There are a ton of kids that look for outside coaching and training. Make it full color and tons of images... and get a good illustrator to put overlay motion / action onto the images (lines, arrows, etc).

I would say this though: your target market is way more likely to spend money on a training camp or a video program ($6Billion industry) than a book.You should still do the book, but it should be more of an intro and a segue to a "Consistent Buckets" program that you can make into something like CrossFit but specifically for basketball. Mater of fact, call your book Consistent Buckets, that's a freebie from me

You have any youtube vids of you playing? More power to ya, man. Sounds great.

 

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[Limitless4Life]

I think this is a great idea. There are a ton of kids that look for outside coaching and training. Make it full color and tons of images... and get a good illustrator to put overlay motion / action onto the images (lines, arrows, etc).

I would say this though: your target market is way more likely to spend money on a training camp or a video program ($6Billion industry) than a book.You should still do the book, but it should be more of an intro and a segue to a "Consistent Buckets" program that you can make into something like CrossFit but specifically for basketball. Mater of fact, call your book Consistent Buckets, that's a freebie from me

You have any youtube vids of you playing? More power to ya, man. Sounds great.

Thanks for your insight! I didn't think about images until you said it - great point. When Consistent Buckets is flying down the Fastlane, you're riding shotgun

 

[Tobore]

Great idea man.

But what would the kids become by scoring 1k points?

If they bought your book and scored 1k points, what next?

Would that get them into pro league? Is there a kind of competition that'll help them to win on campus (eg. an MVP?)

First, do they want to get into pro league? Do they want to become am MVP on campus? What do they get to lose if they don't/can't score 1k points?

These questions might help pin-point what your book does, help you know what your audience really want and give you a better title.

Example:

I'd buy a...

"How to Turbo Charge Your Scoring Points to 950, 1,000 or More...and Become A Pro Basketball Player In 60 Days"

Than a...

"How to Score 1,000 Points in a Basketball game"

NB: I play b.ball for fun once in a blue moon so correct me if I'm wrong in anyway.

 

[Limitless4Life]

Great idea man.

But what would the kids become by scoring 1k points?

If they bought your book and scored 1k points, what next?

Would that get them into pro league? Is there a kind of competition that'll help them to win on campus (eg. an MVP?)

First, do they want to get into pro league? Do they want to become am MVP on campus? What do they get to lose if they don't/can't score 1k points?

These questions might help pin-point what your book does, help you know what your audience really want and give you a better title.

Example:

I'd buy a...

"How to Turbo Charge Your Scoring Points to 950, 1,000 or More...and Become A Pro Basketball Player In 60 Days"

Than a...

"How to Score 1,000 Points in a Basketball game"

NB: I play b.ball for fun once in a blue moon so correct me if I'm wrong in anyway.

Great points and thanks for replying. My line of thinking on the title was derived from Felix Dennis' How To Get Rich. It's a simple title for something that everybody wants to do. In my opinion, every high school basketball player wants to score 1k career points because they'll have something to show for their 4 years of hard work. I'll for sure put more thought in the title to make it more appealing, thanks!

 

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[JSM]

I second the video idea. I'm a sophomore, played basketball last year but didn't this year. I would dream of scoring 1,000 points. I doubt that I would of bought a book. I definitely would have considered videos. You have some tough competition though. Guys are out there making YouTube videos and they make $100k a year playing basketball in Europe.

 

[applesack]

I definitely would have considered videos.

+1

You have some tough competition though. Guys are out there making YouTube videos and they make $100k a year playing basketball in Europe.

Meh, slowlaners... not to be worried about.

 

[JSM]

+1


Meh, slowlaners... not to be worried about.

Let me rephrase that. What will you offer against the guys that are playing professional basketball and are making free YouTube videos. Yeah you scored 1,000 points in high school but these guys score double that in the pros. What will make your book or whatever you decide to offer better?

 

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[Limitless4Life]

Let me rephrase that. What will you offer against the guys that are playing professional basketball and are making free YouTube videos. Yeah you scored 1,000 points in high school but these guys score double that in the pros. What will make your book or whatever you decide to offer better?

Those guys are in the pros for a reason. They have naturally built bodies for basketball. I was an undersized white guy playing forward (5'11, 190lbs) going up against 6'6 trees. A lot of what I offer has to do with mindset, work ethic discipline etc. as compared to 'best drills' or 'workout programs' if that makes sense.

 

[lewj24]

I'm a want-to-be basketball couch. You better talk about shot form. If you write a book about scoring and don't talk about shot form you failed.

And you better not teach them to square up to the hoop, tuck their elbow in, and jump straight up. If that's what you think shot form is don't write this book.

What college do you play for?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I like the idea. While I doubt it will make you a fortune, it could be the source of a nice little side income with a steady market that "comes of age."

I'd also focus on the idea that you were undersized and overcame the genetic liabilities.

 

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[Limitless4Life]

I like the idea. While I doubt it will make you a fortune, it could be the source of a nice little side income with a steady market that "comes of age."

I'd also focus on the idea that you were undersized and overcame the genetic liabilities.

I will definitely focus on that aspect of my journey. Maybe I'll include it in the title something like, "How to Score 1,000 points in High School WITHOUT Freak Genetics". I'll put more thought into it, thank you for your feedback MJ!

 

[EricZ]

Stop theorizing and EXECUTE.

1. Make a cheat sheet outlining your book.
2. Publish it on -zon and make it permanently free.
3. Make sure you have an offer in the front and back of the book pointing to your "big" book and your email sign-up list.
4. collect those emails
5. Engage your readers and have them help you improve the book,
6. then launch it in zon with your own audience

You can start a book, blog, or even business this way.

 

[Limitless4Life]

Stop theorizing and EXECUTE.

1. Make a cheat sheet outlining your book.
2. Publish it on -zon and make it permanently free.
3. Make sure you have an offer in the front and back of the book pointing to your "big" book and your email sign-up list.
4. collect those emails
5. Engage your readers and have them help you improve the book,
6. then launch it in zon with your own audience

You can start a book, blog, or even business this way.

Many great ideas here Eric, thank you! On to the cheat sheet

 

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[EricZ]

Right on.
Let me know when you're done and we can do a free Kdroi promo.

"The market rewards execution - not ideas"
Was that MJ? Forgot...

 

[Limitless4Life]

Ok guys, I'm pretty much finished with my book after months of tweaking and am in the process of putting it on Amazon. If you don't mind, I would really appreciate feedback on which cover you think is best?

I made the black one myself and used Fiverr for the other two. My girlfriend thinks mine is the best, but she might be biased
If you think they all suck, that's fine! Just trying to get some opinions. Thank you

 

[JSM]

Ok guys, I'm pretty much finished with my book after months of tweaking and am in the process of putting it on Amazon. If you don't mind, I would really appreciate feedback on which cover you think is best?
View attachment 16751 View attachment 16753 View attachment 16754
I made the black one myself and used Fiverr for the other two. My girlfriend thinks mine is the best, but she might be biased
If you think they all suck, that's fine! Just trying to get some opinions. Thank you

I don’t know if they are necessarily good as I don’t know much about book covers but if I were to pick one of those it would be the black one.

 

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[Era]

The black one is actually the more professional looking "guide type" book cover. The other two look more to be "text book" style covers.

 

[journeyman]

I like the black one. In fact the other 2 even if they were free I would not even bother downloading, something is off with the covers.

Good for you writing a book. It certainly won't make you rich, but you will pick up some nice skills and experiences during the process. Plus sometimes you just feel the need to get them out there. I felt like this with my book, it was quite fulfilling when it was in the market.

When you launch on Kindle, make sure to have EVERYONE you know download and review it, otherwise you will see the book disappearing in the KDP black hole very soon (I speak from experience lol)

 

[The LordExecutor]

For some reason I would go with the black one, it just caught my eye when looking. It looks more elegant compared to the other two. Good luck with your book, and whatever result you get from this, please don't be discouraged. Analyse what happened and why, and then proceed forward.

 

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[C-Jay]

The black one is way better. Sharp and simple. That's what ebook covers need to be.

The other two are terrible. They look like product from a 1980's era infomercial.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Definitely the black one.

However here's a simple tip; use the black one, but show it AFTER the ball has whooshed threw it. (Show the ball trailing off the book cover).

The cover will simulate motion, not just any motion, but every basketballers dream of a WHOOOSH! Your target audience won't be able to refuse a peek.

You might need to find a new image to accomplish this.

Also, maybe add the note "in your high school career."

 

[Olimac21]

Black one! Looks more professional.

 

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[szaboduf]

The black one is way better. Sharp and simple. That's what ebook covers need to be.

The other two are terrible. They look like product from a 1980's era infomercial.

That's precisely what I thought when I first saw them. They look like the cover of those stinky Get Rich Easy book + CD + whatever else bundles offered for sale at a mere $1,000 here and now, just for you.

Go with the black one.

 

[MiguelHammond10]

I think is a great idea and there is no harm in trying, keep working toward your goal.

 

[azsno]

Ok guys, I'm pretty much finished with my book after months of tweaking and am in the process of putting it on Amazon. If you don't mind, I would really appreciate feedback on which cover you think is best?
View attachment 16751 View attachment 16753 View attachment 16754
I made the black one myself and used Fiverr for the other two. My girlfriend thinks mine is the best, but she might be biased
If you think they all suck, that's fine! Just trying to get some opinions. Thank you

Black looks more professional

 

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[Rabelo]

black one

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

Best of luck @Litmless4Life.

And don't get discouraged from business if this book doesn't sell well. You have a very niche demographic (high school basketball teens and parents) and a lot of competition in the form of videos, coaches, etc.

I hope you kill it, but understand that it'll be difficult.