It’s time to find the best information for your book. You need information, facts, stories, and more that will “wow” your reader. The great news is that good research can happen very quickly.
I’m very aware that “research” is not a very sexy topic. In fact, it might be the case that you’d rather do anything else but research. But you’re reading this in the hopes that I could help you get past this dreadful task successfully.
That’s exactly what I aim to do – I also aim to make research fun. There’s no reason to dread research – it can even be exciting because you can quickly gather the very best information just by using the web.
I want to make it clear, once again, that good research doesn’t have to take a long time. If I say it enough, you’ll believe me, right? You certainly don’t have to spend months or even years on it. When many people think about research, they picture themselves surrounded by books that they have to dig through for hours, weeks, and months. You can actually do effective research in just minutes. The trick is that you have to know where to look.
Part of the problem is that people think they have to read everything they can get their hands on as soon as they start researching a topic. That’s not the case at all. In fact, that is an extremely inefficient strategy. What you really should be doing is only researching what is directly relevant to your topic. Take that a step further – you should only be researching and reading what is directly relevant to the book you’re writing right now.
Of course, you do need a general knowledge of your topic to get started with. You have all the time in the world, your entire life in fact, to learn the other parts of your topic.
Many people get an idea for a book and are gung ho to write it at first, but then they get mired in the research. They read this and read that… And they read every single word of this and that. That just slows you down and makes you very inefficient.
Some people believe that you can’t possibly write an excellent book if you don’t know everything about a topic. They believe that you’re not a true expert, in that case. Those people are very wrong. For one thing, no one knows everything about a topic.
For another thing, it’s so much better for you to have an in-depth knowledge of the exact topic you’re focused on than it is to follow all the rabbit trails to know everything there is to know about it. Specialized knowledge is often better than general knowledge.
Again, give yourself the background knowledge overview, but then focus more of your energy on the specifics. Ideally, you already have a very specific idea for your book. So it makes sense then to very specifically research only the exact topics you plan to write about.
You couldn’t get through all of the research out there even if you tried. The thought of doing that is what scares many people away from researching and writing. It doesn’t have to be like that. Focus, research faster, pull out the best, highest quality information, and wow your readers. Cite your sources, add your unique insight, and you’ve got a great book on your hands.
Learn to scan and skim what you read. Only pull out the most important points. Learn to be quick and efficient as a researcher – that’s what you have to do as a prolific writer.
I think you’ll find that if you follow this method then you’ll end up knowing more about your topic over time than most of the other experts out there. Your books will also be better because they’ll be so much more tightly focused.
If you tend to be a perfectionist, then this advice is particularly applicable to you. You can’t be perfect – not in your research nor your writing. Focus, focus, focus. Focus on quality and the specifics of what you need and get it done.
Find and use the research you need and leave the rest. Scan and skim through, only focusing on the most directly relevant points. Follow this advice and you’ll be able to research quickly and efficiently and your book will be much higher quality.
Go to Only the Best Sources
This probably goes without saying, but I want to focus on it because it is such an important point. Since you don’t have to research and read everything on the planet, then you have to make sure that what you do focus on is a great source.
It’s unfortunate, but many writers just pull up the first source they see and rely on that. They’re at the other spectrum of those who research and read everything without focus. It just doesn’t work that way – especially when you are relying on the Internet for your research.
Just because it’s on the Internet doesn’t make it true (I know, hard to believe, right? J). You should verify your facts with secondary sources and only use sources you’re sure you can trust.
Actually, the very best strategy is to get as close to the primary source of a fact as you can. Find the original studies, originators of ideas, and so on. If you can get your research from the primary source, straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, then you can rest assured that you have the very best information.
Sometimes, that’s just not possible and you have to rely on secondary reporting. That’s fine, as long as you verify your source and make sure that the sites you are doing your research on are sites of authority. Verify the information you find across sources—if there is a consensus across sites of authority, then the chances are good you’ve found good information.
I want to caution you away from using Wikipedia for your research, and especially not as the sole point of your research. Many writers fall into this trap but it is a mistake. Anyone can edit a Wikipedia article. In fact, there are discussion tabs on each Wiki article where Wiki editors argue about facts and sources. They edit and re-edit the pages all the time. You just can’t trust that what’s there is the absolute fact.
You absolutely can use Wikipedia to get general background knowledge – it’s often the best way to quickly give yourself background on any given topic. But, you should take special note of the source links that are included at the bottom of every Wikipedia article. Follow these links and you’ll find much better sources and often primary sources.
The links at the bottom of Wikipedia articles will present you with great sources on a silver platter. Follow these links, and follow the links on those articles. Before you know it, you’ve found the original source of the facts, figures, statistics, quotes, stories, and so much more that you were looking for.
Whenever you can, make sure you are trying to find peer-reviewed journals, official sites, company sites, brand sites, government sites, major newspaper sites, and so on. Again, get as close to the original source as you can, but relying on sites of authority will make it much more likely that you are finding high- quality information.
Find high quality information and really study up on your topic. When you do that, you’ll know what your audience needs and wants. You’ll have the best facts. You’ll have the best foundation for writing incredible books that really wow your audience.
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