Many writers fall into a "topic trap" when they pay more attention to the topic of the book than the potential reader of the book. The topic trap mindset doesn't ask why any reader would care enough about the topic of the book to buy it and read it.

In fact, a book is an interactive medium. You might not think so when you spend so many hours working by yourself to write it, facing the blank page or the empty screen.

When you publish a book, your primary objective is to persuade readers to buy and read the book. It is easy to forget this objective during the writing process, when you are alone with your book. The more you can keep your potential reader involved in the writing process, from the beginning, the better it will be.

With the topic trap mindset, writers begin with the question: What is the book about? With a persuasive writing mindset, writers begin with a different question: Who would want to read this book? An even more important question to ask is: Who would actually pay to read this book?

For a moment, imagine that your book is finished and available in the bookstores. When a potential book buyer picks up your book, you only have a few seconds to turn your book browser into a book buyer.

Although we are living in what is called "the Information Age," writers with a persuasive writing mindset understand that many book buyers don't want more information. They want to find a solution to a problem.

How do you make sure that your book solves a problem for your targeted reader? The best way is to focus your book on a problem-solving thesis.

At its most basic level, writing to persuade requires you to make a case to your reader to solve the reader's problem.

This means that the more you can persuade a potential reader that your book is the solution to a problem the reader wants to solve, the more likely the reader will buy and read your book. A persuasive writing mindset is your best strategy to sell more books.