Last week, a recent client and a former client had NYT Best Sellers in the "Advice, How-to and Miscellaneous" category.

• Jefferson Fisher's just-released The Next Conversation debuted at #2.
  
• James Clear's outlier of an outlier book, Atomic Habits, was at #4. (It's been in the Top 10 since its release more than five years ago!)

Of course, I'm grateful to have been involved, but their success is more a result of three distinct efforts you can use when evaluating your prescriptive nonfiction book.

1. Write a useful book.

I immediately knew how practical Atomic Habits was. When I read the first drafts of The Next Conversation, I had the same feeling. Anyone could read these books and, in the same day, benefit from their guidance.

If you're struggling to know if what you're writing is useful, read the aptly titled Write Useful Books by Rob Fitzpatrick.

2. Have a growing, faithful following.

James and Jefferson had substantial followings online before their books released. They both put in incredible amounts of work outside of their book-work to establish their audience. When their books released, a fanbase was more than ready to support them.

Plus, they were able to test material before publishing it in their books. Iterating and optimizing in public can quickly reveal the pain points your audience is struggling with.

Your platform could be an email newsletter, a podcast, a YouTube show, a speaking circuit, or wherever your audience gathers. Don't get overwhelmed with choice. Focus on your prospective readers, your expertise, your preferred method of delivery, and start building your following ASAP.

3. Make your name synonymous with your topic.

You've likely heard, "Be so good they can't ignore you."

That's effectively my advice here.

Be so well-known for what you know that anyone will know what you're about.

• "Have you heard of James Clear?"
  "The habits guy?"
  ​
• "You know Jefferson Fisher?"
  "The communications guy?"
  ​
• "You know [insert your name]?"
  "Oh yeah! They're that [insert your topic] person! I love them!"

Your next step may not be to write your book or launch your newsletter.

Your next step may be to seek clarity on what you're truly about.

What do you want to be known for?

One more thing: Don't aim for lists

Two quotes from The War of Art by Steven Pressfield come to mind:

• "We must do our work for its own sake, not for fortune or attention or applause."
• "The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying."

Plus, the NYT list isn't as objective as you may think. If you're unfamiliar with how the list works, read "The New York Times Bestseller Lists Explained." Here's the crux of the issue: "A lack of transparency in the way that sales data is analysed to award the coveted top spots is among the most common. This comes down to the fact that the lists are considered editorial, rather than factual, meaning that they don’t always represent the top books based on sales data alone."

Don't aim for a list.

Aim for a book you'll be proud of and that helps your audience.

And let that be enough.

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Always feel free to reply. Ask a question you'd like to see answered here. Reach out for help with your next nonfiction project. Or just reply to let me know, Yeah, me too.