Purpose

Are you a reader who wants to read a particular type of book? Have you already read everything in your preferred genre and want something new? Or, do you have a preferred genre that no one is writing in for some stupid reason? Then tell an author what you want.

You want a spy novel? Great. Should that spy novel take place in Antarctica? Fair enough. Do you want your spy to come from Antarctica? Weird, but okay! Give us a snapshot of what you’re looking for, and maybe some kindhearted book writer person will put that together for you and for other readers just like you! And if you see another idea you really like, then upvote it! The more upvotes an idea gets, the more likely someone will turn it into a novel (or novella or short story, if you prefer).

And authors? This is a free-for-all! You see a topic you like, go write it. I already have my idea bank pretty solid, so I’m good. But, if you let me know you’ve taken on a requested topic, I’ll announce it on the roadmap and post your website for readers to follow you. And if you’re another author who wants the same topic? Well, great! We have how many spy novels taking place in cold environments? Maybe you all can start a trend!

The moral of the story here is that writers and readers should talk to each other and give each other what they want, no matter how many different types of stories this may yield, and this is just as good as a place to encourage that discussion and production as any.

So, don’t wait. The sooner you write your ideas, the sooner someone will write that story for you.

And be sure to let others know about this page so that the ideas can keep flowing.

Just remember to allow for some flexibility in your idea. For best practices, consider explaining your idea by telling us:

- Genre / Subgenre / New Subgenre

- Length (Novel, Novella, Short Story, Series)

- Character Type (Male, Female, Hero, Antihero, Villain as Protagonist, etc.)

- Character Profession

- Premise or Idea (in one or two sentences)

- Whatever else is important without outright dictating what happens (the author should still ultimately make it his or her own story)

Remember that to get more upvotes, you should be more specific, but to get more book results, you should limit the details to allow each author to write the book the way he or she best sees fit.

Oh, and for you self-help seekers, this is not limited to fiction. Plenty of nonfiction writers want to know your pain points. Tell them!!! In fact, tell them right here.

Okay, now get to it.

--Jeremy

Posted: February 14, 2021

Overview

Unless an idea has slipped my mind, I’ve officially updated the roadmap to include not one but six unique categories:

1. Open Topic
2. Readers’ Favorites
3. Trending Stars
4. Ideas in Production
5. Authors’ Favorites
6. Resultant Books

Once you’ve posted an idea, I will monitor its progress. Your idea’s journey will then look as follows:

I’ll post it to the “Open Topic” card first. Like all cards, the “ideas” tab will show a list of all ideas attached to it. Over time, this will become the largest yet most important list. This is where other readers should check in and upvote their favorites. Your idea will stay here until it either trends or gets an author to represent it.

Once a healthy list of ideas begins to form, I’ll start moving the top ten most upvoted topics to the “Readers’ Favorites” card. These are the ideas that have a minimum of ten upvotes (this number will rise as more readers use this service, but we’ll start at ten). Naturally, these are the ideas that authors will most likely want to focus on for their next books, as these are the ones with the highest level of interest or the greatest embedded reading audience. If your idea hits the Top Ten, it will move to this card.

If your idea catches fire and receives a surge of upvotes in a short span of time (comparative to the frequency other ideas are upvoted), I’ll move it to the “Trending Stars” card. This may not necessarily represent the most in-demand topics and ideas overall, but it will represent the ones that are starting the next trends or have the highest emotional impact on readers, and if your idea ends up on this card, then that means it’s got serious legs.

Once an author expresses interest in your idea and commits to developing it, I’ll move it to the “Ideas in Production” card. This is where readers can check out the author’s website and monitor the idea’s progress. For an idea to move to this card (or to the “Chosen Topics” section), the author needs to send me a message letting me know that he or she has chosen that topic for development, as well as provide me a link to his or her website that I might post in the comments section for that idea. It’s also a good idea for the author to have at least one previously released book available so readers can get to know his or her style and/or understand the seriousness of his intent and capability. Even though anyone can write a book, not everyone can write a good one, and readers want to be sure they’ll get a good one from the author who has chosen their favorite topic. Having a proof of quality is the best way to develop a following.

Because ideas are not limited to a single author, your idea may get picked up more than once. An idea that gets the attention and representation of three or more authors will be moved to the “Authors’ Favorites” card. From there, the idea may begin to trend, and even more writers may cotton on to it. If this is your preferred genre or topic, then you’ll want to pay attention to this card and follow the authors who are writing about your favorites here. Again, you’ll find them in the comments section for your idea.

Finally, if your idea becomes a book, it will be moved to the “Resultant Books” section. This is the pinnacle of the Book Ideas Generator. This is what we all hope for as readers and writers. If your favorites make this list, please support the authors who have developed books from them by visiting their websites and checking out their books (including the ones based on your idea).

So, I hope this clarifies the list and its usage. Remember, this system works only if readers contribute ideas and authors choose them for development. To find out what everyone wants, we have to talk to each other and examine and respond to the demands we see. And to get the list growing faster and the books made into reality, we need to let our other reader and writer friends know about the Book Ideas Generator. So, please pass on the message.

Note: To post an idea, you’ll have to provide a first name and email and consent to the privacy policy before the system will accept it. Once live, the idea itself will display only your topic title, your description, whatever name you write (real or fake), and how long ago it was added or modified. Check out existing ideas to see the format if that sort of thing matters to you.

--Jeremy

Posted: February 17, 2021

Rules and Terms of Service

Remember that readers and authors can both submit ideas. Readers tell authors what they want to read. Authors ask readers if they want to read books based on their ideas.

If you see an idea you like and want to read it someday, upvote it. The more an idea is liked, the more likely someone will develop it.

Authors need to tell me which ideas they’re working on before I can move them into the “Chosen Topics” section (give me the specific title and vote count so I know which one you’re choosing). Likewise, authors need to tell me which ones they’ve released as books before I can move them onto the “Resultant Books” card.

An idea that has an author isn’t “closed.” More than one author can choose a topic and start a publishing trend. If you’re an author and see an idea you really like and want to take it on, tell me, even if twelve other authors have already started their versions of the story. Ian Fleming wasn’t the only author who wrote about spies.

Ideas are subjective. Once an author chooses an idea, he can do with it what he wants. The end result may not be exactly the reader’s vision, but that’s okay. Hopefully, it’ll be better.

Any user with an email address can submit an idea, but please be aware that not all ideas will be approved for voting. I won’t censor ideas based on my own preferences or viewpoints, but I will delete any idea that violates Amazon’s or any other major bookstore’s rules or terms. So, stay away from taboo and intentionally hateful topics. If Amazon won’t accept it, neither will I.

Finally, as a point of reference for the Book Ideas Generator’s terms and conditions, remember:

• Every idea is the product of the person who submits it, and every book that’s based on the idea is the product of the author who develops it.
• Readers cannot claim credit for the resultant books’ content, and authors do not owe readers credit or acknowledgment for the ideas they use (though they can certainly acknowledge the reader if they wish). Because ideas are subject to interpretation, the end result of an author’s take on the topic belongs to the author and to no one else.
• Likewise, the Book Ideas Generator and its operator (me, Jeremy Bursey) do not take credit or responsibility for any idea posted on this board that I did not post myself. Anyone who uses this board is responsible for the idea he or she submits, and any author who adopts an idea is responsible for the book he or she creates from the idea.
• The Book Ideas Generator and its operator (me, Jeremy Bursey) are absolved of any conflict that an idea may cause among readers and users (though I still have the right to remove an idea that’s causing trouble).
• Likewise, the Book Ideas Generator and its operator (me, Jeremy Bursey) are divorced of any praise an idea may receive among readers and users. As much as I’d like to take credit for a great idea, unless I actually did come up with it, it’s not my idea.
• Users must have a valid email address to submit an idea.
• Users should be at least 13 years of age to use the Book Ideas Generator.
• For an idea to be approved, it must not incite anger, sickness, or fail Amazon’s standards of acceptance.
• Submitting an idea does not guarantee a satisfactory end result. The user submits his or her idea knowing that the author who accepts it and produces a book from it may not actually be any good.
• Users may leave comments about ideas if they wish (though it’s really not necessary given the voting system), but the same rules about decency apply as they do the submission of ideas. The short response here is to be nice to everyone if you’re going to say anything. Keep your comments clean and constructive. I’ll delete anything that isn’t either.

Understanding and adhering to these basic rules will hopefully make your experience with the Book Ideas Generator pleasant.

Thank you for abiding by the rules.

All right, get to it. Inspire us!

--Jeremy

Posted: February 19, 2021