It's so important to find great information—you have to find the balance between spending too much time on this and not enough. Finding great information will make you a much better writer. It will help to ensure that your readers get so much more value.

You’ll also naturally become more knowledgeable about your topic over time. The knowledge you gather today builds up with the knowledge you’ll gather next week. It doesn't take much for you to become a very well-rounded expert on your topic. When you combine that with the fact that you'll have several titles published in your name, you'll soon be one of the top authorities on the topic you've chosen.

That can open an incredible number of doors for you. It doesn't matter whether your top goal is to become a best-selling author or you're using your books as a way to brand yourself as an expert, good research can help you get to where you want to go.

No matter what you do, make sure you stay active in reader communities so you can continue to digest new information on a regular basis. You'll be one of the first to learn about breaking news and you'll be able to hit on hot top trends before anyone else. You’ll find great sources you never would have found otherwise. Active communities often share great sources and you can benefit from that.

Top experts never stop researching, learning, and adjusting their views according to the new information they learn. Doing this will definitely improve your writing.

More on How to Choose a Specific Topic for Your Book

I'm going to assume that you at least have a general topic idea and you're ready to get started. I’ll also assume that you've already started to get to know your audience. Now what?

I recommend you choose a fairly narrow topic so you can easily write, publish, and start making sales. As a new writer, you probably don't want to target a very general topic – general topics are just too big in scope and it's harder to break through and make sales of your book when you're too general.

If you already have a topic in mind, then it's time to choose a great, sellable angle. With just a little bit of research, you can take an idea you have and turn it into something you can actually profit from.

So first, get your general topic ready. Then, as you research your topic, take notes on the ideas and topics you find all over the web. You never know when inspiration will strike. It might strike while you're researching your audience. It might strike while you're gathering general knowledge on your topic. It might strike while you're browsing trending topics on social media – you just never know.

One of the best ways to choose a specific topic is to pay attention to the chatter online. Pay attention to hot topics on blogs, websites, and especially social media. You need to have your finger on the pulse of what is hot right now.

You can do really well if you focus on trending topics There are many different places you can find out about trends related to your topic. There are entire websites devoted to trends, including Google Trends.

It's usually the case that good topics, trendy or not, will have a large number of Facebook pages and groups about them. It's ideal if your topic has a large online following. Of course, it's most important that it will sell well on Amazon. Just because people are interested in exploring the topic for free via social media, doesn't necessarily mean they want to buy a book about the topic.

But when you combine the two things, you just might have a great topic. When there's a lot of general online interest combined with an audience who is willing to pay for information, it's an ideal situation.

Consider what the most popular bloggers are writing about on a consistent basis. Consider what the people who comment on those blogs are most interested in.

Think about the information products that are for sale on that topic, via sites like Nanacast.com and ClickBank.com.