I love books, even when they’re not perfect. However, I had to break down and return a book to Amazon this week.

Let this article be a warning of what NOT to do with your book.

The book I bought for $19.95 received great reviews on Amazon. The theme was excellent and the title catchy. It promised the solution to a thorny business problem I had, so I ordered it well in advance.

When the book arrived, I was a little worried. The cover did not look very impressive and the book was small – only 101 pages.

However, I was eager to read it because I wanted the information it promised.

I opened the first page and found five pages of glowing testimonials, which made me feel better about my purchase.

The layout of the book was well done and easy to read, another positive impression. There was a brilliant foreword from someone with an impressive title.

Then, I started reading the book and was not overwhelmed by the content.

The material was confusing. Unfamiliar terms were used, but they weren’t defined, so I felt stupid. No reader likes that!

I kept turning the page, hoping to get to the good stuff, only to find that I had reached the end of the book. I never knew the answer to my problem and felt ripped off by the end of the book.

The basic problem with this book was that it didn’t deliver on its promise. Not enough information was presented to make the purchase worthwhile. I felt as if I had been invited to a banquet and had only been given a leaf of lettuce.

The publisher tried to disguise the lack of information with numerous graphics, testimonials at the end of each chapter, and many extra pages at the end with “additional resources”.

Do not cheat me.

What is the moral of this story?

There are several extremely useful ones:

• Offer your readers your best information.
• Make sure you keep the promises you made on the back cover and in your marketing materials.
• Avoid upsetting readers with a partial answer to their problem and an offer for a training group to get the rest of the story.
• Create enough material so that readers feel like they got a great return on their purchase investment. If you still don’t have enough material, write more and wait to publish.

Your book is creating your reputation in the world. When you work hard to write the best book possible, his efforts will pay off.