At least half of my ghostwriting and book development business centers around self-help books.

A self-help book is defined as one that instructs or inspires its reader to solve a particular personal problem and make their life better. The genre takes its name from “Self-Help,” an 1859 best-seller by Samuel Smiles that advanced the allied virtues of hard work, thrift, and perseverance. Self-help books are also known and classified under “self-improvement,” a term that is a modernized version of “self-help.”

From the perspective of the aspiring author, the key to a successful self-help book is simple: Keep your focus on delivering useful, actionable information to the reader. The reader has paid good money–$10 or $`15–for your book, and he or she wants answers and results.

The problem the reader faces could be anything:

How do I become healthier and feel better?

How do I get a better job?

How do I become a more effective leader at work? (A very common theme!)

How do I dress for success?

A concept that many new authors find difficult to accept is this: The reader is totally self-centered. He or she does not care about your life or your amazing experiences. The reader cares only about one thing: “What’s in it for me”? This is also known by its acronym, WIIFM.

Your life story may be of anecdotal interest, and it may be used to validate the advice you provide to your reader. But you must very quickly pivot and provide to your reader the actionable solution that will help them change their life.

Here’s a simple litmus test for your self-help book. If the personal pronouns “I” or “my” or “me” appear in your book more than once every few pages after the preface, then you have a problem. You’re talking about yourself too much. Cut it down. Put the focus on what your reader can do to make their life better. Your reader will thank you, and you’ll sell more books.

• Thomas Hauck is a professional book developer and ghostwriter serving both emerging and veteran authors of self-help books.