Writing a non-fiction book can be life-changing for you – and also for your readers. So you want your book to be the best it can possibly be.
I've now written 10 non-fiction books, including How to Write a Non-Fiction Book: Turn Your Knowledge into Words, and I know how difficult it can be to get your manuscript right.
In today's article, Boni Wagner-Stafford explains some of the mistakes that new non-fiction writers make – and how to avoid them.
It’s a big deal to begin writing a nonfiction book when you haven’t done it before. There’s a lot to learn and it is a ton of work. You can make it easier on yourself by avoiding these seven mistakes first-time nonfiction authors make.
1. Failing to identify your ‘why’
The biggest mistake first-time nonfiction authors make is in failing to identify why they want to write the book in the first place. This is a foundational issue that affects every step in the writing and production processes.
What’s your motivation for taking on a big project like writing a book? What purpose is the book going to serve, both for you and your readers?
Wanting to publish a bestseller, or to become rich and famous, is not the answer I’m after here. Something needs to drive you.
Cynthia Barlow, a dear friend and respected author of three nonfiction books, including a memoir she wrote in 2012 and published in 2013, says it well:
“In hindsight, had I had any hopes of a bestseller, I never would have a) started it, b) finished it or c) published it, because if you’re going to spend endless time writing the damn thing, you may as well realize how much work and time and effort and focus and patience and determination it takes to see it through to publication. You need a fire in your belly.”
It doesn’t matter what your reason is, your personal or professional why, as long as you know what it is.
Your why leads to your objective, which is what you hope to accomplish through writing and publishing your book, and together they inform the purpose of your book, the approach you take in structuring and writing, and how you market your book.
2. Failing to identify the reader
You cannot write a good nonfiction book without first identifying who your reader is. You want a narrow definition, not the sort of “this book will be for everyone, everywhere” mistake that most newbie nonfiction authors make.
It may seem counterintuitive, but the more specific you can be as you identify your reader, the better you’ll be able to focus the content you’re creating. And the more effective your marketing efforts will be.
Let’s take, as an example, a book I edited on for David Rhodd, a Canadian mortgage broker and investment advisor. His book is about using the equity in your home to generate cash flow and build equity.
In the draft he provided when we started working together, he said that he wanted his book to appeal to the widest possible audience. People in Canada, the U.S., new homeowners, renters hoping to own a home one day, and those with several investment properties already and well on their way to financial independence.
Think about what this would look like for a moment. Any section that talked about Canadian investment rules would alienate the U.S. audience and vice versa. Anything designed to encourage the renter to save up to buy a home would alienate the more established homeowner who already has some investment properties.
After working it through with him, David agreed that his ideal reader was the first-time homeowner working paycheque to paycheque, struggling to cover the mortgage and other living expenses, who dreamed of one day becoming financially independent.
This freed David up from feeling like he needed to address every issue and angle related to investing and home ownership in two countries. His book is much better for it.
3. Not understanding story structure
Writing a book is not like writing in a diary. It’s not like talking to a friend. And it’s not just a free-flowing capture of bouncing thoughts, though we’ve read manuscript submissions that fit into all three of these categories.
Some people, first-time nonfiction authors included, seem to think nonfiction doesn’t require a narrative arc. Non-fiction is exactly like fiction in that they both involve storytelling.
Whether you’re telling someone how to run a meeting or you’re creating an urban fantasy, you need a structure for your story. There are different types of story structure, but the most basic is the one we recommend for our novice authors. You’ve likely heard of it: the three-part structure, characterized by the beginning, middle, and end.
Whether you’re writing true crime, memoir, self-help, business, or any other kind of nonfiction, your three-part story structure should look like this:
- What Was: the way things used to be.
- What Happened: the event or situation that changed everything.
- What Is: what things are like now after the change.
4. Writing what you want to say instead of what the reader needs to know
Sometimes you just want to write what you have to say. And that’s fine if your tome is going to remain locked in the top drawer.
As an author, you have a duty to yourself as well as your reader. If you hope to publish a book that will connect and resonate with readers, of serving a purpose higher than self-indulgence, then you must look beyond what you want to say and write what the reader needs to know.
In order to write what the reader needs to know, you need to have first identified your why and your reader.
See how interconnected this all is?
5. Not using dialogue
Dialogue in nonfiction? You bet.
Many first-time nonfiction authors mistakenly believe that there is no place in their nonfiction for dialogue because they don’t have first-hand knowledge of how the conversation actually went.
I’ve had this discussion more than once.
“It’s true,” I acknowledge, “that writing nonfiction means you have a responsibility to be truthful. To relay fact.”
I see the look of satisfaction on the author’s face on the computer screen in front of me — I do my coaching calls via video conference.
“That’s right,” my client says, her voice dripping with vindication. “I can’t write the dialogue because I wasn’t there.”
I continue, bursting their bubble. “You also have a responsibility to craft a compelling story for the reader. And that is accomplished by using dialogue, which helps you set the scene and to show more than you tell.”
Dialogue helps the reader experience your story. Whether you’re describing an exchange in a meeting or a devastating heart-to-heart between a dying mother and her son, dialogue can—and should—feature in the pages of your nonfiction.
6. Not choosing a style guide or being consistent with formatting
What’s a style guide you say? Aha.
A style guide, or manual of style, is a set of principles to help you produce consistent writing. Refer to a style guide to help you decide about issues like hyphenation and punctuation in the same way you’d check a dictionary for the meaning of words.
It may include recommendations for sentence construction, or whether and when to choose passive voice. Some include guidelines on the type of words to use to improve inclusivity and avoid inadvertent racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of discrimination.
There are three levels of style guide: the style sheet, style manual, or full-fledged style guide.
- A style sheet is a fairly brief list of specific tips drawn up by an author for the manuscript they’re working on.
- A style manual is a more detailed version of the style sheet, often created by traditional publishers or organizations that produce a lot of editorial material and obviously need to be consistent.
A formal manual of style is a comprehensive reference book that covers every stylistic decision you could think of. Examples include the Chicago Manual of Style and The Elements of Style, also known as “Strunk and White,” used in the United States.
How do you choose which style guide is right for you and your book? It’s back to that reader identification step again: choose a style guide suited to the audience you’re writing for.
Click here for a list of free and premium tools that you can use for formatting.
7. Publishing without hiring an editor
For many of us, writing is a deliciously solo endeavour. And, especially when starting out, it can be downright uncomfortable to share your writing with someone else.
The first time you receive the red-ink markup from your editor can be devastating.
I get it. I’m working with an author who finds it so emotionally disruptive that she ends up in a funk for days, unable to write another thing until the feeling passes.
She and I have come to an understanding. When I send back to her my edited work, I send a clean copy, with all the changes accepted. That way, what she sees is closer to a finished version and not a scarred piece of crap writing (which it isn’t, it’s just how the markup makes her feel).
That’s not really what I’m talking about here though. I’m talking about the first-time nonfiction author who writes the full first draft, has a look over it themselves a second time, making a few changes, and then goes ahead and uploads the book to Amazon.
There’s also the well-meaning first-time author who asks family and friends to review their manuscript first. Better, but still not great.
While feedback from a layperson is better than no feedback at all, you’re likely to find yourself wrestling with matters of preference and taste rather than editorial feedback that will improve the quality of your book.
Of course, as a publisher, author coach, and editor, you know I’m going to make the case for hiring a professional editor. Editing is so much more than correcting typos. It helps with focus, flow, structure, voice, tone, accuracy, readability, and much more.
Click here for a list of recommended editors as well as information about the process, timing, and costs. Joanna has also produced a video tutorial on how to find and work with a professional editor here.
Of course, there are other mistakes first-time nonfiction authors make, such as passive writing, mixing POV (point of view), time-hopping, and telling rather than showing. But by addressing the seven mistakes listed above you’ll be doing yourself, your book, and your reader a big favour.
Are you planning to write a nonfiction book? Please leave your thoughts or questions below and join the conversation.
Boni Wagner-Stafford is a nonfiction author coach, writer, ghostwriter, and editor. She’s an award-winning former journalist and also led public-sector teams in media relations, issues management, and strategic communications planning.
Boni has been at the controls of a helicopter, loves backcountry canoeing, once jumped from an airplane, sang on stage with Andrea Bocelli in a backup chorus, and grew up skiing Canada’s Rocky Mountains. She resides full-time on her 40’ sailboat, Ingenium, unless she’s housesitting in the South of France.
[House photo courtesy Scott Webb and Unsplash.]
Hi Joanna, Thanks for your helpful pointers. Do you have specific suggestions about how to write a successful memoir/self-help nonfiction book?
Here’s a few interviews with accompanying books – https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2017/09/18/writing-memoir-roz-morris/ – and https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2018/02/19/fast-draft-memoir-rachael-herron/ – and also https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2018/10/04/writing-tips-how-to-write-a-memoir-about-a-difficult-subject/
I have no idea what I am doing but so many people have told me I should write a book about my life as they feel it would help a lot of people. I have no idea how to start even!!
Start here for non-fiction: https://www.thecreativepenn.com/write-non-fiction-resources/
and for memoir in particular, check out https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2018/02/19/fast-draft-memoir-rachael-herron/
How hard is it to just starting writing and tell your story? Simple start.
Good tips for new authors! Writing what the reader needs to know so you connect and resonate with the reader is so important. Part of this includes how much of your own personal story you should include in your book and does that story add value for the reader. I read an article recently that explored this topic and found it interesting. Here’s the link to the article if you want to check it out: https://scribewriting.com/story-book/
Hi Joanne,
Thanks for this very useful blog – I’ve just finished writing a non-fiction devotional and, on an earlier advise from you in one of your podcasts, I have had a professional editor look at it, but feel I need to have another editor look at it again, as though I was happy with somethings, some of the ways she phrased sentences, didn’t quite feel right. I certainly think I need to look into writing styles, as that has not been something I have considered before, out of ignorance I suppose.
By the way, a big congratulations on your 10 year anniversary of your first blog and thank you for your relentless assistance to indie writers through your podcasts, blogs and other materials. They’ve certainly helped me a lot along my journey.
Fantastic tips. I have always preferred non fiction to fiction. Even true stories written as novels as opposed to inspirational/self-help. Though I love those too. I realize all of your tips above. Setting out to write a memoir even if you’ve had a riveting life can be so boooooring if why, objective, audience, structure as well as the content resonating with a wide audience isn’t incorporated in to the product we wish to write. The plan in my head is to write something non-fiction. Partly memoir but mostly what not to do when deciding to write a work of fiction. Been there, done that. I was thankfully realistic enough to realize that you need readers (who know about writing!) and you can’t be too sensitive about their feedback and writing is something you need to actually do to get better. And it may be awful initially. Negative feedback shows a need to listen, vigorously self-edit and correct to achieve something acceptable. and doesn’t mean give up in despair. Otherwise it’s like turning up to a pot-luck dinner with some wonderful but uncooked culinary creation with the best ingredients. The host will not want to have to cook your contribution for you!
Thanks for the advice. This is very helpful blog post. I have one specific question. For a nonfiction book of historical interest should I include a bibliography for each chapter or just one for the whole book?
I do one for the whole book, but it’s a personal choice.
Including dialog is something I know is necessary. What I am conflicted about is where I get the dialog? Is it an actual statement I’ve come across in my research and then source? Or can creative license apply and I write dialog that, due to my extensive research and knowledge of the subject, I imagine could have taken place?
Thanks
I think both work… it is the role that you have for the dialogue that will dictate its “origin” Dialogue allows for the introduction of the dialectic nature of your subject. It moves things forward revealing both substance and character.
After deciding to write a non-fiction book, the first thing I did was contact a friend who is a copy editor at the newspaper in the city. I know the facts of what I’m writing but understand my limitations in writing clean and correct copy. Over tea we discussed what payment would be forthcoming. I also gave her my timeline to see if that matched up with her schedule. Without her assistance this project would be doomed to be an editorial nightmare.
As Harry Callahan once said, “A Man’s got to know his limitations.”
I am totally at to find that I had had absolutely no clue as to how to go about writing a book, whether it be fiction or non fiction until I read the mistakes I did commit inadvertently in my way of writing.
In fact I told my side of the view rather than showing to the reader about the perspectives .
Thanks, thanks indeed. I got my doubts cleared.
Hi Joanne these are useful tips – thank you. I’m writing the history of a secondary school as part of the school’s 125th anniversary celebrations, and I’ve decided to write the book in chronological order because the school has had some fairly significant changes over the years. However, as I am doing my research, I’m finding that there are specific, recurring features of the school (eg the annual celebration of a saint’s day [it’s a Catholic school], religious dance [yes, it’s a thing], incredible music tours, very unusual sports days – which have changed dramatically over the years) and I’d like to feature them in some way. Do you think something like ‘Spotlight on….’ mini-chapters between the main chapters would interrupt the flow too much? It’s a small book, physically, so sidebars wouldn’t really work, and appendices would make them seem like an after-thought, so this seemed like a good way to highlight them. Although I’ve had numerous articles published as a freelance journalist, this is my first book, so I need some professional advice. Help! Many thanks.
I’m working on a project about my illegal adoption, the emotional toll, being different from bio family as Hispanic raised by Caucasians. Here’s my dellima, I was originally going to write it as a creative nonfiction. however, I’m having trouble remembering my timeline. And the way I’ve written it some of it is not fitting correctly in the timeline of how things originally unfolded. I’ve been thinking instead of making changes to correct the timeline, to making it a fictional story. I’m using it in first person narrative POV. I want to cover my story but also offer resources and stories from others with much different outcomes. Also from the POV of the person that helped me find my biological father. Do you have any suggestions I could use? Just want to ride it the best way possible. And I know it needs to be factual to be a nonfiction. And if I did decide to do it as a fictional book could I still do it from a first-person narrative POV? Thank you very much.
Very useful and interesting tips thanks. I will be sure now to alter my words and structure starting today. And i will be hiring an editor to ensure i have got things in order.
Do I need to footnote every source like I would in a thesis?
That’s a personal choice and will depend on the type of book you’re writing. You get to choose.
Wonderful tips. I’m a first-time Non-Fiction writer and I’m getting closer to a final draft (But it’s not yet seen by a professional editor) I’ll need to pounce on my hand to stop myself from uploading it anywhere if I hope to get it just right.
Thank you for this. I found it very illuminating. May I ask a question? Do you think that events that happened 40 years ago that resulted in a major sea-change in my life are too far back to write about?
Not at all. Many people write about life-changing events of the past.
Over 20 years ago I was the lead homicide investigator on a death penalty case involving a serial killer. The story of the crimes he committed and the losses felt by the victims family are not the only side of the story. I wanted to tell the story from behind the scenes. The DA. The Judge. The behind the scenes of the investigation but mostly behind the scenes of the 10 months of trial So my question is, when telling non-fiction stories; am I taking a personal risk using real names and places when I tell the story without their permission? I have never written a book, but my “adventures” during this time in my life would be unbelievable to some and interesting to others, in my opinion.
Definitely take a look at Helen Sedwick’s book around legal issues with this kind of thing – http://www.HelenSedwick.com – you could always fictionalize it if you are concerned about safety as opposed to legality.
Very kind of you to share your insights. Are there folks out there who coach writers as they enter the process of writing their book? I think it could be very helpful to have several lengthy discussions as I decide content, structure, etc.
There are lots of writing coaches and also structural editors who could help. This list has some options: https://www.thecreativepenn.com/editors/
Hi Joanna,
My question is whether I should write fiction or non-fiction. I am writing mostly from details about my life, but I cannot remember everything perfectly, so I’d like to make it fiction to flush it out. Would that be called a novel? Is it just fiction? I am trying to find a home for it in my head!
Sounds like you might be writing a memoir if it’s about details from your life.
Hello Joanna,
I am just finalizing a non-fiction work which happens to be my 1st as well. I have worked quite diligently on the structure and edition from my end so far.
I had 3 questions which seem to be very difficult to find an answer to online and though perhaps you might be kind enough to help
1- Can you attain a bestseller though a smaller publisher? If, so, do they take your book all the way there, or do they hand it off to someone else?
2-If you have something absolutely new and important to say, how can you protect this before you get your idea out there/ For example, say you thought you knew where the Oak Island treasure was, or the lost Amber Room, or even a detail about a previously not discussed detail on a key historical figure?
3- lastly how much of a non-fiction book should be accepted as edited material. I have a mild fear of having to alter a lot, and am not sure where to drawn the line when dealing with potential publishers?
1) You’ll need to define bestseller. Many independent authors can become Amazon category bestsellers very easily. I have hit the NYT and USA Today lists with spike promotions, so it’s certainly possible for small publishers — but only those who invest in marketing spikes. They may work with a PR company, but the most important thing is for YOU to define your definition of success.
2) Copyright protects an idea once it is in fixed form, but if this is some kind of historical object, I don’t know anything about that – sorry.
3) You’ll have to find the best publisher and then work with them. There are no rules 🙂
All the best.
Thank you so much Joanna! I am finding myself taking on the role of a business professional on top of the extensive work required to research, and then write the material (plus keep a day job in an environmental laboratory). Personally, I would trade financial success in-for volume amount of readers, but if I were to self publish an e-book for free, it can be anyone’s guess how it would do…
One last question if you wouldn’t mind: offhand could you recommend three potential publishers (so as not to favor 😉 ) that might be interested in publishing: ancient historical mystery, archaeology non-fiction. I am based in Ontario, Canada, but am open to any country.
Thanks again for such quick replies – it gives me hope when dealing with kind and helpful people 🙂
Matthew
Hi Matthew, I’m an independent author and this site is for indies, so I don’t have lists of publishers. You’ll have to do that research yourself.
All the best.
Hi Joanna,
Firstly, thank you so much for taking the time to help us newbies figure things out. I have been reading a lot of Malcolm Gladwell and I have been inspired by him to write a non-fiction book about the importance of fact-checking in the technology age. Having lived in India most of my life, I have seen social media and Whatsapp enter the Indian society and the increasing role these platforms have played in propagating fake news/fake memes that cause mass hysteria and violence.
As I started doing my research about some of the incidents that have happened, I have realised that I could get most of my information comes from newspaper articles and news stories. So the question I am unable to answer is whether I need to take formal permission from these sources even if I am basically collecting information and laying down facts, without exactly quoting any of the articles or stories? Sort of like the introduction to Outliers where Gladwell narrates the story of the Italian settlers of Roseto in his introduction? He does not include any citations for the story or his research other than two medical theses that were written about heart disease (or the lack thereof) in the place.
I do have every intention to give credit to my sources and to cite them diligently, but I think it would almost be impossible to ask most of these journalists for permission as they are some of the senior-most in their field and I am a nobody.
How would you say other non-fiction writers deal with this and how would you suggest I go about it?
Thanks again for all your help!
Mani
Glad you have found the information useful 🙂
I can’t comment on your specific situation as I am not a lawyer. I suggest you check out Helen Sedwick’s fantastic book, The Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook, which goes into the use of quotes etc. Here on Amazon – https://amzn.to/2UI1Qtf