Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night with a crazy drive to do something? Did it involve writing a book?

When I interviewed author and dating coach Jess Branas for my blog, she said this is exactly how she got started. She realized that she was caught in a dating loop where she wasn’t with the right people, and she was analyzing why. At 2 in the morning, she suddenly woke up with drive: she knew she had to write a book to help others caught in the same loop.

Jess told a friend about the idea (she waited till a reasonable hour), and she encouraged her to write! This is how her first book, Seeking her, Knowing You, became a reality. She knew exactly the topic to tackle because she had already been coaching others, so she was certain that people wanted the advice she could give.

But what happens if you aren’t sure of the exact topic? What if you have the drive, but your thoughts are scattered?

Yikes.

It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t write a book. You just have to focus.

So many people tell me that they are driven or called to write a book, but they don’t know where to begin. They have a story to tell or an expertise to share, but when they sit down at their desks, nothing happens.

I don’t want this feeling to stop you from writing, so I included a few ideas for coaches, speakers, and business owners, just to get those creative juices flowing in the right direction.

1) Journal – Using a journal can help you gain clarity on your topic. If you don’t already journal, start writing at least a couple times a week to get all your thoughts out. Once you have several entries, read back through them. Do you notice a pattern? Maybe a theme? Can you rearrange them so they are chronological or step-wise? Consider whether this is something your audience would want to read about.

Author Lillie Leonardi told me about her personal experience with journaling when I interviewed her for a blog post, and I was amazed. Journaling allowed her to cope with a traumatic situation, and she eventually turned the journal into her first published book, In the Shadow of a Badge. Where could journaling lead you?

2) Speaking topics – If you are a speaker, then you already have a great way to determine your topic. What are your most popular speaking topics? Could you combine several? Could you expand your notes for one of the topics to become a whole book? What do those in the audience want to know more about?

3) FAQs – Speaking of your audience’s questions, what questions do you frequently hear? This could be the source of your topic! Consider what people ask about your subject and what direction you would guide them in to solve their problems.

4) Need – If your topic is a common one, look for a place where you can fill the gap in information. Is it with a specific demographic? A subtopic? Search on Facebook groups, Amazon book page discussions, and public forums to see what people are talking about within your topic and how you could address that need that no one else has addressed yet. Remember that you are unique in your perspective and experience, so you will be able to give a different slant than others, even if the topic has been covered before.

Once you know what people are interested in, it makes it that much easier to write a focused narrative that will appeal to an exact audience, even one specific person, which is what you want.

So often, we think that we want to appeal to “anyone,” but not everyone is interested in your topic. Are you writing about investing to get your 401K on track? Most teenagers probably won’t read that. Do you know how to knit sweaters? People in warm climates probably don’t want to learn about it. Have you mastered feng shui home office design? People with one bedroom apartments probably aren’t interested.

Not everyone likes pepperoni pizza, and not everyone will want to read about your topic.

But those who are interested will have questions. They will want to know more, and giving them more of the information they need to solve their problems is exactly what you can do when you head down the correct path for you book!