Every nonfiction book begins with one crucial question: Who am I writing for, and what do they want to learn from me?

Before you outline a single chapter, you need to listen carefully to the people you already serve. Readers are rarely blank pages; they come with very specific hopes, struggles, problems, challenges, dreams, goals, and curiosities. When you know those, your book almost writes itself.

Think about your everyday interactions. What questions do clients, patients, or students ask again and again? Maybe you hear the same ones so often that you could answer them in your sleep. That’s not something to overlook, it’s gold. Those questions reveal where people feel uncertain, lost, or overwhelmed, and your job as an author is to bring them clarity.

Start by collecting these questions. Flip through your old emails, text messages, DMs, or notes from consultations. Notice the patterns.

If you work in a field where people share their stories publicly on forums, Facebook groups, Quora, Reddit, or professional communities, spend a few hours reading discussions there. What issues keep resurfacing? What myths or misconceptions frustrate you because you know the truth?

Create a list of at least ten recurring questions or problems. Don’t judge or organize them yet, just write.

Later, you can group them by theme. You might discover that several questions all point to one bigger issue.

For example, if you’re a relationship coach and your clients often ask “How do I stop fighting with my spouse?” or “How can I get my partner to listen?”, those may fall under a larger theme like communication breakdown in marriage. That’s the seed of a chapter, or even an entire book.

Next, study how people talk about their problems. Notice the exact words they use. Do they say “anxious,” “stressed,” or “burnt out”? Each term paints a slightly different emotional picture. Using their language in your book description and chapter titles helps readers feel instantly understood.

If you’re just starting out and don’t yet have clients, don’t worry. You can still research what your target audience wants by reading Amazon reviews of popular books in your niche. Pay attention to both five-star and one-star reviews. Readers will tell you exactly what they loved and what disappointed them. The complaints often reveal gaps in the market that your book could fill.

By the end of this research, you should have a document filled with raw material: questions, frustrations, and goals. These are opportunities to connect. Each one is a promise to your future reader: “I see your struggle, and I can help.”

Your assignment:

• Write down ten questions your audience keeps asking.
• Underline the three that appear most often or feel most urgent.
• Ask yourself, “If I could only answer one of these questions in depth, which would make the biggest difference for my readers?” 
  That question might just be the foundation of your book.