OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
I started with writing non-fiction and it really did change my life. I'm actually working on rewriting my first book at the moment and I also devour non-fiction books so it definitely remains important to me. In this guest post Nina Amir, author of ‘How to Blog a Book' poses some provoking questions that anyone embarking on writing a non-fiction book should ask themselves.
Inspiration hits. The light bulb goes on. You’ve got a passion, and you pursue it. You see a need, and you fill it. There’s a question, and you answer it. You have a purpose, and you fulfill it.
These are all great reasons to begin writing a nonfiction book. And most writers, when struck by a good idea and the desire to write, simply begin writing. However, an even better reason exists to take a bit of time before you beginning writing to evaluate your idea—at least if you want your book to be successful.
Evaluate? I can hear you groaning. No one wants to evaluate anything, especially that book idea you are so psyched about.
If you simply want to write the book of your heart and you don’t care how many copies you sell, great. Go for it.
If you want to write a successful book, meaning one that sells to lots of readers or to a traditional publisher and to lots of readers, however, it behooves you to take the time to consider if your idea is a good one by industry standards.
To do this, I suggest you discover nine things about your book idea. Once you have this information, you’ll know if your book has a chance of success.
1. What Your Book Will be About and Why Would Someone Would Want to Read (Buy) It
You’d be amazed at how many writers cannot tell you in 50 words or less, or in 30 seconds or less, what their book is about. They also may not be able to list the benefits their book will provide to readers. Before beginning to write your nonfiction book, hone your topic and its angle. Figure out why someone would want to read your book rather than someone else’s book on the same topic. Write a pitch or elevator speech, a short statement that describes the essence of your book, and follow it with some bulleted points—the added value readers will take away from its pages. Think of this exercise like writing back cover copy. What might you say or write about your book that would make someone carry it to the register?
2. Who Wants to Read Your Book
Make sure you know your average reader—that one person you are writing for—as well as the size of your book’s market. Who wants to read your book, and where do you find them? How many of these people exist in the world? Are there enough of them to justify writing your book? This market research tells you if anyone is out there to read (buy) your book and helps you know for whom who you are writing.
3. Whether Your Book Will be Unique and Necessary
Make sure the book you plan on adding to the mix is not only unique compared to the other books in your niche or category but also necessary before you add one more title to the staggering number of books in print. Take a good hard look at what other authors have already written and published. Is what you want to write different—different enough to make someone purchase your book rather than an established title or a book by an established author? And is there a need for another book on the subject? If no books have been written on the subject, why? Is there a need for even one book on the topic?
4. If You Have Enough Content to Fill a Book
Sometimes writers think they have enough material for a book when really they only have enough for an article, or a couple of articles. Or they think they know what content they are going to include in the book, but when they finish the first draft, they discover they produced a manuscript that is scattered, rambling, misses the point, or leaves out essential information. Avoid these problems by mapping out your content first. Actually do a mind mapping exercise, which entails brainstorming while creating a large diagram of all your possible content and then organizing all these ideas into a table of contents or an outline. When you are done with this process you’ll know if you have enough content to fill a book, and you’ll know what content you plan to include in the pages of that book.
5. How You Would Describe Your Book’s Content
Bring your book to life with a short synopsis for each chapter. This accomplishes two things. First, when you couple this chapter-by-chapter synopsis with your table of contents, your pitch and list of benefits, you will have the best writing guide possible. Second, when you have finished the synopsis of all your chapters, and you have completed the previous four steps, you will suddenly have a clear picture of your book and feel ready to write your book. Why? Because it will seem real to you. If you can see it and it seems real, if your idea stood up to all the prior steps, it’s likely a viable book.
6. How You Will Ensure You and Your Book Succeed
Whether you self-publish or land a traditional publishing deal, you will need to promote your book. And promotion does not begin after the book lands in your hands as a finished product. It begins the moment that light bulb goes off in your head. Spend some time considering all the options you have to build awareness for yourself and your book as you begin the writing process as well as after you launch the book.
7. Why You Are the Best Person to Write This Book
Most nonfiction books are written by experts. Decide if you are the expert on your topic, how you will become the expert, or if you might need to bring in other experts (maybe a co-author, contributors or experts to interview). Also, does writing this book fulfill a sense of mission for you? If so, you might want to consider how to get that message across in the book and in your promotional efforts. Plus, in this step, it’s important to ask yourself if you have what’s called an “author’s platform.” Do you have a fan base or a large, loyal following of people who know you in relationship to the topic about which you plan to write? If not, you need to consider how you will begin building that built-in readership for your book.
8. If This is the Only Book You Will Write on This Topic
The more books you write, the more books you sell. That’s why it’s a good idea to spend a moment brainstorming other “spin-off” books on your topic. This is especially important if you want to create a business around your book or attract a traditional publisher. As an expert author, if you have more books, you can create more products and services to sell to readers. And publishers like to take on multiple-book authors.
9. How You Want to Publish Your Book
At this point, if you decided your book is marketable and has a chance of succeeding, you can begin writing your book—with one caveat. You need to know what publishing route you plan to take. If you plan on self-publishing, you can go ahead and write the whole book. If you plan on approaching traditional publishers, you only need to write 25-30 pages, or about two chapters, but you also need to write a book proposal, which includes all the information you just compiled. You then will submit the proposal to agents and publishers
Armed with this information, and assuming you discovered your idea is a viable one, you’re ready to take action on your inspiration. Turn your idea into a successful book.
Do you write non-fiction? What are some of the lessons you've learned along the way? Please do share in the comments below.
About the Author
Nina Amir, Inspiration-to-Creation Coach, inspires people to combine their purpose and passion so they Achieve More Inspired Results. She motivates both writers and non-writers to create publishable and published products, careers as authors and to achieve their goals and fulfill their purpose.
Nina is the author of How to Blog a Book, Write, Publish and Promote Your Work One Post at a Time (Writer’s Digest Books) as well as 10 more short books.
A sought after editor, proposal consultant, book and author coach, and blog-to-book coach, Nina’s clients’ books have sold upwards of 230,000 copies and landed deals with top publishers.
Julie Kayley says
I want to write a book on events of past local history and want to know if it is possible to use material taken from from newspaper archives . Some of the stories have been printed in book form before , but I have lots of new material that has never been told .
Karen Woods says
I have written a nonfiction book about my life. The man my birth mother was married to is now on Death Row in Tx. For the rape/ murder of Sheryl Ann Norris. It is the oldest cold case murder in Tx to be solved. The book is about the abuse I endured from my birth mother and Willie Roy Jenkins. There is also a lot of healing talked about in the book also.
I had taken it to a local publisher, but on Monday, he asked me to come by and retrieve my book because as he called it ” A legal nightmare” Where do I go from here? Please help!!!
Joanna Penn says
For anything legal, check out http://helensedwick.com/
Bob Jenkins says
Hi, Joanna:
I found your article to be very insightful and relevant to aspiring non-fiction authors.
I’m currently working on a non-fiction series and many of the points you mentioned have crossed the radar during my individual journey; hopefully, you’ll continue to share your personal perspective and experiences on the various challenges facing first-time authors.
Further, I found the legal resource link you posted in the comments section to be helpful as I’m quickly approaching the phase in which I need to have the I’s dotted and T’s crossed.
Best Regards,
Robert “One-Shot Bob” Jenkins
Kurt says
Do you think there’s a market for “another sales book?” I say that because I know that everyone and their dog has written one. But, with that said, I honestly believe that there’s a lot of room out there to combine sales ideas in a specific fashion that can be entertaining and create value for people in the profession. I would love to hear your honest thoughts. I figure you to be on of the best people I could ask.
Joanna Penn says
There’s always a market for more books with a different point of view on a similar topic.
Abraham says
Hi Joanna and Nina,
I love all the tips you posted here and I’ll be using about three first to see how it goes.
I’m currently planning my nonfiction book to help non-native English speakers write a book for the American and other growing eBook markets. But I couldn’t find a single book on it. Although I found “how to write a book on how to write a book” books (excuse the pun), they weren’t meant for non-natives. Any idea what I can do?
Abraham.
Anna Arthur says
I am making an informational book for me and some family and friends who own pets.
My question is the information I am putting in there I got online how do I let people know that I got it online? Should I include the websites where I got it from or not?
Thanks in advance for all your help with this I greatly appreciate it.
Anna
Joanna Penn says
Yes, you should always attribute sources that you quote. You can’t use them verbatim unless it’s a short quote. For non-fiction, it’s always useful to have a Bibliography including websites at the back.
M. Sobantu says
Thank you for the post Joanna, thank you for the article Nina. I am starting my journey on nonfiction writing and this is super helpful.
Willie says
Thank you for the insight. Love the article. I’m writing my nonfiction book. Its about my life in the music industry. I wanted to know do I need the people in my book permission to use their names? Because it’s some personal business and certain things that I’m putting in it.
Joanna Penn says
Check out this interview http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2014/10/06/legal-helen-sedwick/ and resources talked about in it for legal stuff
Jamie Hoyte says
Hi Joanna,
There’s lots of great advice in this article thanks for writing.
Looking at point 7. In your opinion, how essential is it that a non fiction writer be an expert in the subject they are writing about? I’m currently looking into writing a book on music theory for songwriters as part of my university course and i’m debating whether I should wait a few years, until i’ve had some experience in music education to write it (I’m 21 and am in my final year of uni) and use this book as a ‘practice’ attempt or whether it’s not too much of an issue?
Many thanks,
Jamie
Joanna Penn says
I write what I want to learn about, so the research process for the book is how to become an authority, if not an expert 🙂 You can also interview a lot of people, read books, take classes etc. You just have to learn 🙂
Jamie Hoyte says
Thank you for you reply Joanna!
With that in mind, would you say with my book that it’s okay not to include a section about my experience in the music industry? It’s just you always see in educational music books a section where the author states their experience saying something like “I’ve had 20 years experience in performing and have 3 degrees in music theory” which justify’s to the reader why they should value the author’s knowledge. I’m just worried in my book if I had a similar section all it would say is “I’ve been in bands since I was 15 and I have a music degree” which may make readers wonder why they should listen to what I have to say.
Sorry for bombarding you with questions but I’d be really interested to know what you think!
Also I tried to download the free ebook ‘Author 2.0 Blueprint’ and didn’t receive an email in my inbox or in my spam? It looks like a great read so I’m keen to get stuck in 🙂
Many thanks,
Jamie
Holly Mathis says
Hi Joanna,
I am an aspiring author, seeking to tell my story from a single mother’s perspective. I come from a family that has heart, but no structure, only chaos and dysfunction. I chose to leave them all behind, and raise my 3 children on my own in another state altogether. My oldest has cerebral palsy, as well as an undetermined diagnosis that has most closely fallen on the autism spectrum.
I endured emotional and verbal abuse from their father for years. At that same time, battling the emotional ups and downs of my family’s influence – one event in particular that had my step father ripped from our lives overnight, due to an arrest of a very serious, and heinous charge.
There have been multiple “chapters” and life challenges that have pushed me to discover my endurance and desire to overcome. I believe each of these events could create a chapter in my anticipated book.
After recovering from a broken heart, at the hands of the second love of my life, I’ve now found an amazing Godly man that has shown me complete devotion, loyalty and a whole new idea for what love means.
Through raising my children, I also continued my education and earned my business degree. And by the grace of God, he placed me in a position that is my life’s passion – medical research. I currently work as an administrative assistant for a cancer research team, and will continue my education in this field.
My children are remarkably intelligent – my oldest son has taught himself to speak the Japanese language, as well as Mandarin Chinese! He also has some knowledge of Korean, and continues to expand on his lingual learning.
I feel like my story could inspire single mothers, as well as men and women that appreciate a story of perseverance and determination.
If you could send me your thoughts on whether or not you’d consider this to have a “fan base”, I would truly appreciate it!!
Thank you for your time!
Holly
Joanna Penn says
Hi Holly, one of the most important things about the indie movement is the ability to ‘pick yourself.’ You don’t need anyone else to tell you whether your story is worthy or could have a fan base. You are empowered to put it out there yourself and see what happens! I wish you all the best!
Holly Mathis says
Great point Joanna! Thanks for the quick and helpful response! We’ll see what happens. 😉
Holly
Paulina says
Joanna,
I’ve written four books and am currently writing a full length self-help book. I plan to use the first person pt of view however, I don’t want it to turn into a memoir. Question….how do I keep that from happening and still you the 1st person POV?
Thanks in advance for your reply.
Joanna Penn says
I don’t think I have ever read a non-fic book in 1st person POV. There might be anecdotes in that voice, but not the whole book. Best thing to do is find an example in your genre and model that.
Michelle says
I am leaving the field of teaching and have started my own professional organizing business. One of my favorite things I have worked on is helping a mom organize/ create her home schooling system. I would love to write a nonfiction book on how to organize/create/maintain your home school program but I have no official writing experience. I have a degree in elementary teaching, but I’m not sure how that would translate to writing. Any suggestions?
Jon says
Hi Joanna, just a quick question: which word processing program would you suggest is simplest and easiest to use, for newly aspiring authors ?
Joanna Penn says
Scrivener is what most of us use. I wish I’d known about it earlier 🙂
mrs m ruddock says
I feel as if i would like to write a book on local history and familys of pit workers as they should never be forgoten for all there hard work in the street were i come from my grandad s house is still there which must be 200 years old so there is a lot of history in that street alone i am sure this would also make a good film on the way it used to be by the way the house is in st helens merseyside. So can you help me as i would not know were to start . Thank you
Ismail says
i have written a non fiction book where i had to take information for various sources. I want to know from you how can I give credit to the sources. Do I have to follow the same procedure as that of writing academic essays???
Joanna Penn says
Yes, just quote your sources
Ramatu says
Hello Joanna
thank u very much for your positive responses
am planning to put together different essentials topics for students like how to write a personal statement, the importance of reading but this is going to be done through online information which definately are knowledge and materials from experts what is the legal implication? or how to go about it
Chad @ Rialba Studio says
Absolutely stellar points to ponder on! Thanks for tips, Nina 🙂
Amelia Evans says
I am working on a cookbook and proper use guide for using medical marijuana- this cookbook helps users to benefit from the simple education and how to cook with it and shares how to get different results as needed for each person-
I am also working on my true life journey into this new belief of the benefits or marijuana- the book shares about my strict southern baptist preachers kid raised to believe one thing but the medical revelation I discovered which turned into a two year long experiment that resulted in saving my life and marriage and was able to completely quit my medicines doctors had me on for over a decade- there is so many things I have to write on this very hot topic that is just in it’s infant stage to main stream readers-
My question to you is- are there any publishers or investors or agents that you know are looking to connect with a writer like me – or do I just approach any typical one as I would with any other subject????
Thanks for your advice and for this awesome article- very helpful- God Bless-
Mark Calvin Jamison says
Hi Joanna,
I am thinking of writing a book about politics, government, and economics. The goals of the book are to show the reader that today’s society based on dysfunctional governments, loss of opportunity for the young, inequality of income and wealth, global warming, disruption of jobs by automation, big data and artificial intelligence. Is a real threat to liberal democracy as we know it, and to the economic well being, opportunity, and happiness of the vast majority of free thinking individuals on the planet. I spent a few years reading, studying and researching the topics I want to write about, and have come to the realization that it will take a pragmatic, liberal democratic world government to solve the worlds problems, because they are really interconnected. It will take a bottom up revolution, on a global scale, of like minded people to create political and economic structures that benefit mankind as a community…not as individual nations. My main argument is that the nation state model has to evolve to a functioning global government such as a Global Citizen Assembly, Global Common Market, Global Police Force all based on the values of a liberal democracy and the rule of law. I want to show the reader that John Maynard Keynes had developed a global economic system that would have changed the world for the better had his plan not been dismissed by an American Administration led by Harry White after World war 2. The remnants of Bretton Woods is what you see today. The ideas of a workable, global economic system along with a functional global government are not new. They were proposed by Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, and John Maynard Keynes. I know what I propose is ludicrous, and in some ways delusional. As Maynard Keynes said: “Pessimism and anxiety were degradations, like everything that constricted human choices and hopes. Optimism was generous and therefore intelligent, because it enriched, expanded, and enhanced life”.
Therefore, I am an optimist, and have hope that mankind will learn to cooperate and collaborate on a global scale, with the best minds we know to create a world that benefits everyone not just the few. Otherwise, our chances for survival don’t look good, and we will end up with a world based on conflict, isolationalism, stagnant growth, accelerating climate and species extinction, competing nations for dwindling resources, and eventually world war, and extinction of the human race. This book I want to write is extremely hard to do because for one “I am a loner, not a save the world, kind of guy, would rather remain anonymous. But deep down I know I have to write this book, so hopefully, some future leader can see the wisdom of not my ideas, but of Albert Einstein, John Maynard Keynes, and Bertrand Russell.
Kind Regards,
Mark Calvin Jamison
Scott L. says
Joanna,
I am a retired Surgical Tech and Surgical First Assist and I am wanting to write an informational book for current students of this field, new grads entering the field and current people in this field all of these people I want to inform and teach them what it is really like in the OR out in the real world so that they might have the chance to be more succesful from the start of their career.
What outline or format do you suggest?