In the Aliventures survey earlier this year, one reader wrote, "I think the concept of my book is stupid or that just no one will buy my book once it's published."

I think this is a worry that a lot of writers can absolutely understand. Whether you're working on a novel, a non-fiction book, or a memoir, you might be worrying if your idea is even worth pursuing.

Personally ... I think you should go for it!

There are lots of books out there with, frankly, quite odd-sounding premises that do extremely well in the market. I read Christina Dalcher's Vox a few months ago: that book imagines an extremely right-wing near-future America where women and girls aren't allowed to speak more than 100 words a day.

It's a chilling and perhaps somewhat unbelieveable concept (and I didn't feel the story entirely worked) ... but it certainly sold just fine.

Another concept that I find a bit strange is "reverse harem" romance fiction. Steffanie Holmes writes in this lucrative sub-genre, where female main characters have multiple boyfriends at the same time.

It's not quite my cup of tea ... but she makes an impressive amount of money from it, and there are loads of other books in that sub-genre too.

A non-fiction book with a strange starting point (that I enjoyed years ago and still remember) is time management guru Mark Foster's How to Make Your Dreams Come True. It's written as a series of imagined coaching conversations between the author and his future self, and works better than you might think ... though some of his readers hated it.

How about you and your book?

I think it's always best to write the book that you want to write.

Maybe some people will think the whole concept of your story (or non-fiction book) is silly. Some readers won't get it. But others just might love it.

I'm sure you can think of books you've read that were off-beat, strange, or had concepts that made you raise an eyebrow. Those could be some of the books that have stuck with you the most.

What about the other half of this reader's concern, that no one would buy the book once it's published?

That's always a fear ... and always a possibility, too. But getting your book out there into the world is, in itself, a huge achievement. Of course you want to reach readers (and hopefully your book will attract lots of them). Regardless of sales, though, you can be proud you wrote the book that you really wanted to write.

Happy writing,

Ali

P.S. If you missed last week's blog post, here it is:

How to Write When … You Have So Many Emails to Deal With