Self-help is a huge subject area for writers. Pick any bestseller list, and you’ll find the self-help books feature heavily in the top ten nonfiction books in any week of the year. Everyone wants motivation and inspiration.
So what does this mean to you as an ebook writer? Basically it means that you should be looking at the self-help area carefully, especially when it comes to article writing and ebook development.
In this article, we’ll discuss finding topics for self-help ebooks which are easy for you to write, and to sell.
Ebooks aren’t as long as print books, so they’re fast to write. I’ve noticed that in the past year, shorter ebooks of 50 to 90 pages are selling well. Assuming that you get 250 words per page, a 50-page ebook is just 12,500 words. You should be able to get such an ebook written in a week.
The best topics for you are those in which you have some experience. When you’re experienced in an area, it means that you know the basics – you’re not starting from scratch. It’s also an area in which you have a strong interest, and projects for topics in which you’re interested are always much easier to write.
Make a list of self-help topics you’ve explored in the past, or are currently involved with. For example, if you’re trying to lose weight or get fit, those are prime self-help areas. So is anything to do with spirituality.
Let’s look at three ways you could find topics for a self-help ebook.
1. What self-help topics are you interested in?
Start with your own interests. For example, you may be interested in stress relief, time management, writing (yes, you can include writing in the self-help field), and financial management.
Make a list of any topics you’re interested in currently.
Also list any self-help topics you’ve been interested in in the past. You may have joined a gym at some stage, and been interested in fitness. Perhaps you’ve just had a baby, and read lots of “baby” books while you were happily pregnant. Perhaps you explored alternative medicine.
A tip: if you’re writing an ebook on any topic connected with health, have the ebook vetted by a health professional before you offer it for sale. It’s vital that you give good information.
2. Make a list of challenges you’ve overcome
Your own challenges are also a prime area in which you can find ebook topics.
Perhaps you’ve been broke, and have paid off all your debts – debt management is a great topic for an ebook. Or perhaps you’ve suffered a health challenge and have overcome it. If this is your story, share it with others.
3. What’s on Amazon’s bestseller list?
I love the Amazon bestseller list – it’s always crammed with self-help books, and they can give you excellent ideas for self-help ebooks.
For example, I’ve just checked over the list, and found books on life management, finding a purpose for your life, guilt-free eating, and attracting wealth.
Any of those topics have many sub-topics which you could explore in an ebook.
Here’s a bonus tip. Self-help ebook ideas are everywhere. Check out what your friends are reading, and what challenges they’re facing. Your next ebook could be just a conversation away.
Happy writing – self-help ebooks are a goldmine. Get yourself a shovel, and start digging for gold today. Sitegrinder

Through self-help books one teaches oneself to be economically, emotionally and intellectually mature and independent. The whole process has a lot of psychological as well as spiritual base.
Self help books inculcate in the reader the spirit of self-reliance. There are of course likeminded support groups to lean on. It is not a partnership of dependence but of co-operation. Examples can be given of self-help legal practice, homespun advices and many more. In course of time self-help books are leading guides in the field of education as well as business. Psychology plays an important part in the writings of these self-help books. These books have led to self-help movements.
According to prominent psychiatrists the self-help books are quite distinct from the professional counterparts. The latter cannot provide friendship, emotional prop up, first hand experimental knowledge, self-identity, roles in life with a meaning and above all a sense of being belonged. Self-help books links people with any kind of health condition. It is especially applicable to those who are mentally unstable. However everything does not work for everyone. The same applies to these self-help books. People going through similar travails form lobby groups and by sharing problems many knots are untied. Actually self-help books bring about link with like minded people – contact between peers.
The self-help books are based on an ancient concept of autosuggestion. It is repeating to one self the magic words of `I can! I can!` The books are getting worldwide acclaim from humble beginnings. Self-help legal services are also expanding. The Internet is now an invaluable tool for the popularizing of self-help books. On a gigantic scale free information is being provided leading to self-empowerment.
The self-help concept, now being codified in books, has a long history. It goes back to 2,500 BC when we first come across the advice poems of Hesiod. It is an adaptation of Eastern philosophy and thought. The Stoics of Greece offered similar advice of awakening the powers of the self. The ideas are expressed in ancient proverbs of different cultures of the world from time immemorial. The word self-help found a place in legal parlance when it came to be acknowledged that a person has the right to plead his own case in court of law.
Nothing talks about self-help more lucidly than the famous saying `Heaven helps those who help themselves`. Samuel Smiles in the late 19th century authored the first book on personal development. The title was Self Help. This principle of self-help or autosuggestion is used widely in the treatment of curing alcoholics and the like. It is the self that cures and the self that destroys. It is a question of awakening the self. These self-help books advise certain techniques to achieve this goal.
In this field of work Dale Carnegie is a famous name in the first half of the 20th century. In 1936 he published his all time best seller – How to Win Friends and Influence People. It reflected his own successful battle against repeated failures. So far 50 million copies have been sold and continues to sell captivating each new generation. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill also hit the market inspiring people about the power of thought.
Researches show that self-help books have captured the market in a big way covering a wide variety of topics form weight loss to friendship gain. One can teach oneself how to become even a politician and win laurels. There are critics who say that these are easy answers to difficult questions that cannot be really implemented. This article can be accessed in portuguese from the Article section of page www.polomercantil.com.br/livros.php

Roberto Sedycias works as IT consultant for www.PoloMercantil.com.brWordpress Autoblog Software