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How To Build A Business Around A Book With Jim Kukral

November 6, 2017 by Joanna Penn 2 Comments

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If you write non-fiction, you can turn your book into multiple streams of income that take your business beyond the book into courses, speaking, affiliate sales, sponsorship and more. In today's show, Jim Kukral and I discuss some of the different ways you can build a business around your book.

How To Build A Business Around A BookIn the introduction, I talk about Audible's new Romance audiobook subscription model and share my hopes for what that means for the other genres in coming months/years. Plus, indie authors now have a new free ebook formatting tool in KDP Create, which joins Draft2Digital's free ebook templates, and the Reedsy Book Editor for great quality, free tools for PC or Mac. Personally, I am still a fan of Vellum but it is Mac only.

I also mention good quality free or cheap ebook cover design with the new Adobe Spark as well as Canva's tool. MIT releases an AI writing horror – and I talk about why I am looking forward to the ‘centaur' model. Plus, I give a personal update on my travel recovery and writing situation.

kobo writing lifeThis podcast is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast for interviews with successful indie authors.

jim kukralJim Kukral is the author of 10 nonfiction books and has been in internet business for over 20 years. He runs Author Marketing Club and co-hosts The Sell More Books Show with Bryan Cohen and his latest venture is www.BusinessAroundABook.com.

You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher or watch the video here, read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below.

Show Notes

  • Using books as part of the entrepreneurial journey
  • circlesWhy platform matters, whichever way you publish
  • How to find problems to solve to write books about
  • The current value of Search Engine Optimization
  • Authors' best current options for driving sales
  • How to make money with professional speaking
  • How to get started offering consulting based on your expertise
  • Wearing your CEO hat for your creative business

You can find Jim Kukral at businessaroundabook.com and on Twitter @JimKukral

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Writing Tips: 5 Rules for Writing Creative Non-Fiction

August 17, 2017 by Joanna Penn 11 Comments

The techniques of fiction can be used in non-fiction to bring the truth alive, and in today's article, Antony M. Brown from ColdCaseJury.com outlines some tips. 

Writing Tips- 5 Rules for Writing Creative Non-FictionIn the movie Infamous, there is a scene in which Harper Lee and Truman Capote are discussing the book he is writing about the Clutter murders, the brutal slaying of an entire Kansas family in 1959.

When Capote refers to his book as a novel, Lee is perplexed, telling him a book is either fiction or non-fiction. Capote disagrees – he wants to reveal the intentions, emotions and thoughts of the real-life characters he portrays, giving it the depth of a novel.

His book In Cold Blood was subsequently recognised as an exemplar of a new genre – creative non-fiction.

Creative non-fiction is based on a true story, but a writer uses his subjective vantage point to tell it, or interpolates imagined conversations and thoughts of real characters into the true story.

The latter is also called a non-fictional novel and some distinguish it from creative non-fiction, although In Cold Blood is cited as an example of both. In this article, I will list my five rules for using creative techniques in historical non-fiction.

#1 Never contradict fact

The golden rule is that a fictional element is always understudy to truth, used only when there are gaps in the historical record and a particular fact is unknown or open to interpretation. Creative non-fiction always hugs facts and never lets go.

The task of the writer is to join the factual dots with plausible lines of narrative or dialogue, but always leaving the dots where they are.

The danger for the creative non-fiction writer is that the imagination becomes the driving force and historical fact is distorted or ignored.

Two examples.

  • The screenplay writer of the movie U-571 showed American marines boarding a German U-boat to capture Enigma code machines, which were vital in defeating the Nazis and ending WWII. In actual fact, the Enigma machines and codebooks were seized six months before America entered the war. Fiction replaced fact.
  • In one of her books about an unsolved murder, a true crime writer (now deceased) changed the known statement of a key witness to support her theory. Again, fiction replaced fact.

Both are egregious violations of the golden rule.

#2 Research is key

College library reading roomThere are three ways to ensure you do not break the golden rule: research, research, research.

You can never do enough. A writer can only decide to employ creative non-fiction techniques from a position of thorough knowledge, never before.

The best research not only includes secondary sources, such as books, but primary sources. For example, in my genre, historical true crime, this entails looking at the original police files, including police reports, witness statements, inquest testimony, and other documentary evidence.

This invaluable, first-hand history provides the most sought after commodity for any non-fiction writer: detail.

Where can you find primary sources? If a book has already been written on the topic in which you are interested, it will usually list both secondary and primary sources.

If not, a good start is a national or local records office. National archives often a wealth of documents, including de-classified police and prosecution files, although these tend to be released only decades after the event. Sometimes historical police files are held regionally.

#3 Outline the story

The point of creative non-fiction is to tell a true story in a compelling way and engage the reader like a novel. The best stories always have a clear structure and objective, exploring or highlighting issues.

Creative non-fiction is the same. The skeleton of the story should be developed with the known facts and fleshed out with the detail from first-hand research.

Only where there are gaps in the historical record should a writer consider using imagined constructs, such as dialogue between the real characters.

For my Cold Case Jury books, I take a historical true crime mystery – typically an unsolved murder from many decades ago – and reconstruct how the crime might have unfolded according to the different theories that have been advanced over the years to solve the case.

If there are, say, three major theories to account for what might have happened then typically they are contraries – they cannot all be true. Some must be false and, therefore, there is an intrinsic element of fiction to this type of true crime, regardless of the style in which it is written.

Further, different theories have arisen by different writers precisely because we do not know all the facts of the case; if we did, it would not be unsolved. This is ideal territory for creative non-fiction.

#4 Write in scenes

When outlining the story, think in scenes. Indeed, this is the essence of both creative fiction and non-fiction.

Scenes have characters, events and dialogue to advance the story and highlight points. Where the entire dialogue is known, from a trial transcript for example, there is no need for imagination. This is rare, however.

Dialogue is usually where the creative is put into creative non-fiction. If an entire story cannot be told in scenes, then you will have to change focus and augment the scenes with traditional prose, in which case the reconstructions should be clearly highlighted.

#5 Be honest

Always. In Did She Kill Him? (2014), Kate Colquhoun italicizes the dialogue that has been taken verbatim from historical documents and assiduously uses endnotes to cite sources for important facts. This is a sound approach, but not the only one.

Other than personal memoirs, sources should always be listed in any non-fiction book. Even better, transcribe some of the original primary research in an evidence file.

This is the approach I adopt in the Cold Case Jury books. For example, in my book The Green Bicycle Mystery, there is an important conversation between a police superintendent and the prime suspect. The conversation is dramatically reconstructed based on a police document that was only recently released to the public. It is not a full transcript, but detailed nonetheless. I also include the text of the original document in my book.

The purpose of the reconstructed conversation is to add more detail and provide insight.

For example, the conversation occurred when the suspect returned to the police station to collect his personal effects. From another document, taken from the original prosecution file, I unearthed a list of the suspect's sequestrated possessions, so was able to be authentic in describing which objects were handed back. Further, by attributing thoughts to the superintendent, it was possible to highlight important points of the conversation in an arresting way.

Conclusion

Creative non-fiction blurs the distinction between fiction and non-fiction but only at the periphery of knowledge, where fact and truth are unavailable or obscured. It is most definitely not a dramatic license to change what we know. That would be ‘fake history’, to coin a phrase.

Creative non-fiction is not without controversy. What has been your reaction when reading it? Have you tried writing it? Please leave your thoughts below and join the conversation.

Antony M BrownAntony M. Brown is an award-winning essayist, former magazine editor-in-chief and member of the Crime Writers' Association. He published several Cold Case Jury e-books – true crime mysteries in which the reader is invited to deliver the verdict on what they believe might have happened – before signing a four book deal with Mirror Books in January 2017. Learn more at ColdCaseJury.com and find Antony on Twitter @ccjury

Non-Fiction Writing Tips And How To Live a Good Life With Serial Entrepreneur Jonathan Fields

October 31, 2016 by Joanna Penn Leave a Comment

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The road to success is not a straight line. In today's show, Jonathan Fields talks about his zigzag route as an author-entrepreneur, tips for writing non-fiction and his latest book, How to Live a Good Life.

good lifeThis is a pre-recorded intro as I am currently travelling in Israel. If you want to see the photos, pop over to Facebook.com/JFPennAuthor

Today’s show is sponsored by my own course, How to Write a Novel: From idea to finished manuscript.

jonathanfieldsJonathan Fields is a bestselling author, inspirational speaker and podcaster. He runs The Goodlife Project, a global community with the quest to live more meaningful, connected and vital lives. His latest book is How to Live a Good Life: Soulful stories, surprising science, and practical wisdom.

You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher or watch the video here, read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below.

  • What happened when Jonathan wrote a book that didn't work.
  • Finding a new way to write.
  • Jonathan's early beginnings as an entrepreneur, including a business in high school painting album covers on jeans jackets.
  • The winding road of Jonathan's entrepreneurial journey.
  • Recognizing patterns in one's life to discover passion and purpose.
  • In writing, and in life, work to the plan and open to the magic of serendipity.
  • On what creates a Good Life and where work fits into that good life.
  • Incorporating play into a serious adult life.
  • The hybrid method of publishing that Jonathan is using with his new book.

You can find Jonathan at www.GoodLifeProject.com and you can find How to Live a Good Life here on Amazon.

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How To Write A Non-Fiction Book: A Step By Step Guide

December 11, 2015 by Joanna Penn 54 Comments

Do you want to write a non-fiction book? Are you struggling with where to start or how to get it done?

how to write non-fictionThis article will take you through a step-by-step guide to the process. It starts with thinking about your book and structuring it before diving into the actual writing.

The more work you do upfront, the easier the book will be to produce.

I’m currently writing my seventh non-fiction book with more planned, and my process is quite defined these days. I find writing non-fiction books a ‘palate cleanser’ between novels. It’s a very different form of writing, more structured and more aimed at helping others.

This article is relevant for most non-fiction, but excludes memoir or narrative non-fiction, as they are quite specific forms.

(1) Decide on your definition of success

writing successBefore you jump into actually writing, it’s worth deciding on your own definition of success as this can be critical to whether the process is satisfying for you.

Some authors ‘just want to help people’ with their non-fiction books, others want to win literary prizes, others want to make money. It’s very unlikely that the same book will satisfy all of these desires, so you have to decide which is most important to you.

These are the main reasons why authors want to write non-fiction books in particular and some of the possible definitions of success:

  • You want to help people around a specific topic and usually you will have been through an experience yourself that drives the writing of the book. This was my experience with Career Change, a book I wrote to change my own life and now helps others discover what they really want to do. It sells small numbers consistently every month but it’s not a book I spend time marketing. It was my first book and it’s successful because I finished it, published it and it continues to help people.
  • You have a business already and want a book to demonstrate authority, augment your business and open doors to speaking and other business opportunities. The point of the book is not necessarily to make money in How to Make a Living from your Writing 3Ditself but to drive people to the rest of your business. This is the ‘book as business card’ model. For example, my book, How to Make a Living with your Writing, drives people to my Creative Freedom course. The aim of the book is to provide an introduction to that extended material. The definition of success is based on how many people sign up to a specific email list, and we’ll explore these possible business models a little further on in the article.
  • You are deeply fascinated with a topic and want to produce a seminal work on it. These are the type of non-fiction books that go on to win literary prizes, books that may be commissioned and that consume the author for a long time. One example would be The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjeeemperor of all maladies, which won the Pulitzer Prize.
  • You have an audience and write to fulfill their needs, which often coincide with your own interests. I started out writing non-fiction to learn what I needed to know myself about self-publishing and book marketing. I discover what I think by writing a book about it these days. I wrote How to Market a Book when I was learning about marketing, and Business for Authors: How to be an Author Entrepreneur, as my own writing career transitioned into a global business.
  • You want to use non-fiction book sales as the basis of your income, so you want to write multiple books in a niche and dominate that market. Some authors do make a full-time living writing these kinds of books. One example is S.J.Scott, as we discuss in this podcast episode.

Once you have decided on your definition of success, you must then decide on the specific topic for your book.

(2) Decide on the specific topic for your book

You’ll most likely have some idea of the broader aspects/topic of your book. Some examples might be:

  • You’re a speaker on corporate communication
  • You’ve discovered a diet that works for you
  • You’re an expert on the history of the USA

But now you need to narrow the topic down further.

Joanna Penn reading

I take reading very seriously!

Firstly, put yourself in the mind of the reader. Why do people READ non-fiction? And how does that relate to your idea?

  • They want an answer to a specific problem. This explains the popularity of weight loss and self-help books every January. What specific problem will your book solve?
  • They are interested in a specific topic and buy lots of books on that area. I have a ton of books on writing, and most likely, so do you! What sub-categories does your book fit into on the online bookstore and is this a niche that people are buying lots of books in?
  • They like the writer. This is why anyone with a large platform will likely get a book deal. Just check out those YouTubers, celebs and anyone with a big enough blog or podcast or TED talk. If you have an audience, you can get a book deal because people will buy and read it anyway. Do you have an audience already? What do they want from you?

These questions will help you define your target market, your ideal reader.

If you already have an author platform, a blog, podcast, speaking or other business, then you will already know who your readers are, but for many non-fiction writers, a consideration of audience comes after the book is written and they are wondering how to market it. But understanding who your reader is in advance of writing will help a lot, and any time spent on it now will help later on.

Next, research your niche on the bookstores.

You should know of 5-10 books that are similar to the book you want to write, or at least are targeted to the same audience.

writing memoirSearch for those books on Amazon and then look at the sub-categories on the left hand side of the page. These are where the book sits in the virtual store. You can then click into those sub-categories and find other books that are in the same niche.

These questions should help you narrow down the specific topic you want to tackle in the book as well as your target market. Expanding on my earlier examples, the more specific topics might be:

  • Employee engagement: how to communicate to employees in order to drive your business to success. Aimed at CEOs and corporate managers.
  • Easy gluten free and vegan dieting for weight loss and health. Aimed at busy women who have struggled with other diets and can’t spend a long time in the kitchen preparing food.
  • Military history of the USA in the 20th century, and how that has shaped the current situation. Aimed at men who buy in the Military history category and intended to be the first in a series on US military history.

(3) Brainstorm your table of contents and get into the research fun!

business TOC

Some of the Scrivener file Table of Contents from Business for Authors: How to be an Author Entrepreneur

Now you have your specific topic, you can brainstorm what areas you will explore in detail in the book. At this point, you want to go wild, and just put everything down. You’ll likely cut a lot of it out and some of your ideas might even end up in another book.

For example, when I wrote Business for Authors: How to be an Author Entrepreneur, I had a whole section on mindset. But it turned into a monster topic so I carved that part off and am currently writing a separate book on the psychology of writing.

This part of the process is where I start to use Scrivener. I create a project for the book and a document per idea. Many of those will be concatenated or discarded later but I will just write down anything that comes to mind at this stage. You can use a Word document or Evernote or physical index cards, but you do need to capture everything at this stage, even just a few words per idea.

This is also the time to focus on research and expanding your knowledge on whatever topic you’re writing on. I usually read a number of other books on the topic to get more ideas and because I’m a research junkie, I can definitely spend a lot of time on this part of the process!

Am I writing ... or researching ... or posing for an arty photo?!

Am I writing … or researching … or posing for an arty photo?!

Some authors can get stuck in this phase for way too long, so set some deadlines and make sure you keep focused on the final result. Click here for more productivity tips.

(4) Decide on your book title

I always like to know my book title upfront, but of course, you can decide on it later.

Non-fiction book titles have an advantage over fiction because they can be keyword rich and specific enough to be found through search as well as still making sense to the reader, whereas fiction is pretty much impossible to title with related keywords.

For example, my thriller, Gates of Hell, is more likely to be found by those shopping in the sub-categories of action adventure and supernatural thriller, rather than by people specifically searching for ‘gates of hell.’

Readers of non-fiction often shop by sub-category or by keyword search e.g. my book, How to Market a Book, is titled specifically for keyword search reasons and comes up at the #1 spot on Amazon for that search term.

But how do you know what readers are searching for?

glutenfreeartisanbread

Just go to Amazon and do some research using the search bar within the Kindle sub-category. Start typing and there will be a text drop-down as above that includes the most popular search terms people are looking for.

This will give you some ideas as to what people want and you may find it surprising!

I spend a good amount of time thinking about different words and checking them out this way before I decide on a title. Longer keywords (keyword phrases) are sometimes even more useful, so I will just add a letter on the end of the search e.g. gluten free a, gluten free b, gluten free c, in order to see what else is there.

Write down as many relevant keywords as you can find, even if you don’t use them in the title, as these will be useful later if you self-publish.

(5) Create your first draft

The scary blank page ...

The scary blank page …

You may already have a lot of material for the book in some form. If you’re a speaker on a topic, you might have a PowerPoint deck or handouts. You might have piles of notes for your research or lists of recipes. Or it might just all be in your head.

Now you have to turn that into a first draft … and this can be harder than it sounds! Most people who want to write a book never finish one and completing a first draft is usually where they fall down.

My definition of a first draft is a version of your book that can be read end to end and stands as a coherent whole. It doesn’t have “fill this in later,” or “write other section here,” in it.

Yes, it will be rough, and it will need editing, but to get to a finished book, you need a first draft to work on. Your finished book can be equated to Michelangelo’s David, a perfect statue that emerged from the rough block of marble. But first you have to create that block of marble, and for authors, that’s the first draft.

Here are some tips for getting it done:

dictate your bookDictate your book.

This is particularly good if you’re a speaker already and you have a lot of material in powerpoint slides or even recordings of your talks or even just rough notes. Speak into a digital recorder, create an mp3 file and then use a service like speechpad.com to get that transcribed into text, which you can then take into the editing phase.

This is what J. Thorn and I did recently to create the first draft of Co-writing a Book: Collaboration and Co-creation for Authors. We recorded a discussion around specific chapter topics (which is available as a podcast here) and then paid for transcription, which we then wrangled into book form. You can also use Dragon Dictate or other real-time dictation tools, as discussed in this podcast interview with Monica Leonelle or check out her book, Dictate Your Book.

Use timed writing sessions.

This method changed my own writing life as if you allocate a specific time to write when you’re not allowed to do anything else, you WILL produce something!

I generally write first draft material away from the desk I use for other things – like blogging, podcasting, email, social media and other business stuff. I find it easier to create elsewhere so I go to a library or a coffee shop. I set my timer, plug in my earphones and turn on rain and thunderstorms and write.

For non-fiction, it can help to focus on a chapter at a time during these timed writing sessions. If you write 2000 words per session and you’re aiming for 60,000 words, it will take 30 writing sessions. Do the math and schedule the sessions. No excuses!

Monitor your progress.

mindset book

Early stages of the mindset book

I use Scrivener flags to indicate my progress through the draft, as per the example shown left. When I brainstorm topics and just dump words into the chapter, I leave the document as a default white. When I have ‘processed’ the chapter and written it into a first draft state, I add a yellow flag. I use blue and green flags for different parts of the editing process.

Once the whole project has yellow flags, my first draft is done and I can move into editing (covered further below).

project targets

Scrivener Project Targets

You can use Scrivener to set word count goals for the whole book and also for each writing session to keep you accountable. I’m pretty much obsessive about checking these per session as I love watching the status bar turn green!

Once you have a first draft, you can start to think seriously about the next steps.

Publishing and marketing are completely separate topics – if you want to know more on those aspects, sign up for the free Author 2.0 Blueprint which includes a mini-course and free video training.

For non-fiction authors, you will want to consider how the book fits into your existing business, or how you can use it to build one.

(6) Design and incorporate your funnel and back-end products

A ‘funnel’ is a way to direct your readers through a journey with you, preferably through your books, services and other products, so that they are a happy customer and you make a decent return.

For fiction authors, the funnel usually involves a series or books in a similar genre as well as getting people onto your email list.

Stone of Fire 3DFor example, if you check out Stone of Fire for free on any of the online bookstores, you will then be prompted to get Day of the Vikings for free if you sign up to my email list. Stone of Fire is also the first in the 7 book ARKANE series, so you might go on and read the others if you enjoyed the first. That’s about the extent of it, and fiction authors rarely have more premium products to offer.

But non-fiction authors can design a much more lucrative funnel to back-end products, which are separate to the book.

For example, our communication consultant author has a lot of potential for up-sell as she is aiming at the corporate market. She could have the following:

  • Non-fiction book – priced $6.99 – $9.99 as a way for people to discover her work and build her credibility (this is a niche where people expect to pay more for books)
  • The book offers people a specific audio and video download if they sign up on her email list
  • This email list then offers a series of video tutorials that lead into a premium course, which she sells for $499
  • She offers 1:1 corporate consulting at $1000 per session based on the expertise in her book
  • She offers one day seminars on site to corporates at $20,000 per day

 

Piggy Bank facing left on white background

This is a pretty typical funnel for a non-fiction author aimed at the corporate market, but many authors aren’t selling at this level. So let’s take our gluten free cook. She could have:

  • Non-fiction book – 101 delicious gluten free, vegan, easy and fast recipes for the busy woman who wants to lose weight – priced $2.99 – $6.99
  • The book offers extra recipes and a shopping list with favorite brands and maybe a video download if they sign up on her email list for free
  • This email list then offers a series of video tutorials that lead into a premium cookery course, which she sells for $99. The email list also contains recipes that utilize kitchen equipment that she can link affiliate codes to and make commission on.
  • Or perhaps she offers a membership site, where the customer pays $9.99 a month for access to new recipes and tips and a community where she can get support around this type of life change. Communities with support are really popular and can be lucrative, but they do take a lot of work to manage

Of course, if you want to become an authority in your niche, you can also focus on writing multiple books under the same sub-category, providing a similar funnel to the fiction author model. This is most likely what our military history author would do.

If these types of business models interest you, check out How to Make a Living with Your Writing, which goes into more detail on how you can build this type of business yourself.

Marketing Books x 5 3D JPEG(7) Get a professional book cover designed

You could do this step as soon as you decide on your book title, and it’s definitely worth doing early so you can use it as marketing collateral on your website.

For non-fiction book covers:

  • Look at the top 100 books in your sub-category and take screen prints of the ones that you like and resonate with. The trend right now for non-fiction, certainly in the business niche, is to have very clear text and one dominant image. You can give these screen prints to your designer as a guide for the type of cover you’re looking for.
  • Remember that many readers shop on devices and see the cover at thumbnail size, so there is little point putting quotes in small text on ebook covers. You can always add it onto your print version at the publishing stage, but remember to optimize for browsing at a small image size.
  • Research book cover designers and check out their portfolios to see if they work in your genre. Here’s my own curated list of designers, although of course, there are many more.
  • Get feedback from your target market. I go back and forth on this as sometimes the feedback can just be confusing! But if you use a design service like 99Designs, then you will get multiple designs and can do a poll to your email list and social media followers. You can also use a service like Pickfu, where you can get opinions from people outside of your network.
  • Finally, don’t design your cover yourself unless you are a designer already. A pro book cover will make a artforhappinessHUGE difference to the way your book is perceived. The example right is from author Val Andrews, who designed her own cover for Art for Happiness initially (on the left in the image) and then had a redesign done (on the right). I think you’ll agree how powerful the change has been! The new cover is amazing and changes the way a reader considers the book, even though the content is still the same.

When you get the book cover files, get a 3D image as well as a flat one, as you will use these in a lot of different marketing materials going forward.

(8) Go through the editing process

editing ARKANE

My own self-editing

A first draft is just that. You now have to go through the process of turning that draft into a professional finished product.

Here’s an overview of my own editing process:

  • Self-editing. I work in Scrivener and once my whole project has yellow flags, my first draft is done and I print the whole book. I do my first self-editing pass on paper, old-school style! I scribble all over it and make notes where I need to write more and restructure the book, often rearranging chapters. Scrivener makes this very easy as you just drag and drop to rearrange chapters. [If you need help with learning how to use Scrivener effectively, check out the Learn Scrivener Fast course, which is excellent.]
  • Rewrites and more self-editing. Once I’ve been through the whole book on paper, I make all the changes back into Scrivener and often print and go through the same process again until I am happy with the book.
  • Beta readers. These are readers in your target market who read the book and offer comments on the content. For my book, Career Change, I gave an early copy to people working in my department in the day job who I knew were dissatisfied with what they were doing. They came back with questions and suggestions for what to include as additional material. After feedback from beta readers, you may do further rewrites to incorporate any changes you agree with.
  • editing a novelProfessional editor. There are different types of editors and it will depend on your confidence with your draft as to which you use. You can engage a structural editor to help you with the overall arc of the book. A line edit is the classic red pen approach to the detail of the book, and you can also get technical editors to help with terminology. After feedback from the editor/s, you will likely do another rewrite to incorporate any changes you agree with. If it’s your first book, the editing process will be hard on your ego, but remember, the editor’s job is to make your book better and help you learn the craft. Every dollar I have spent on editing has been worth it and I continue to use editors for every book. The more eyes on your book before publication, the better it will be on launch.
  • After I have made all the changes, I send the book to a proofreader who does the final read before publication. This is to avoid the inevitable typos that occur in rewriting. Of course, some will always slip through but I like having this final check in the process.

champagneYou can find my own curated list of editors and proof-readers here, as well as more articles on the editing process.

Congratulations! You’ve now finished a non-fiction book!

If you want more information on writing, self-publishing and book marketing, sign up for the free Author 2.0 Blueprint and mini-course here.

Do you have any questions or comments about writing a non-fiction book? Please do leave them below and join the conversation.

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Get started right now with links to the best content below!

Need a professional editor?

Need a professional book cover design?

Inspiration and Information every Monday!

Need help with book marketing?

Want to make a living writing? Here are some ideas how you can

How to set up your own author website in under 30 mins

Useful Books on Writing, Publishing, Marketing and Making Money Writing

My J.F.Penn author blog, for fans of my thriller novels

Stronger together! I’m a proud member of The Alliance of Independent Authors

Topics

  • Author Entrepreneur
  • Creativity
  • Ebooks and Technology
  • Intellectual Property Rights
  • Marketing and Promotion
  • Publishing Options
  • Writing

Recent Posts

  • Writing Tips: What Writers Can Learn From Bodybuilders
  • How To Effectively Work From Home With Amanda Brown, The Homepreneur
  • Writing Tips: Common Mistakes In Police Procedurals
  • Writing With A Family. Productivity Tips With Andrea Pearson
  • Tips For Self-Publishing In Translation: Adventures With AI and German
  • Writing Tips: Using Beats To Keep Readers Emotionally Engaged
  • How To Sell More Books With Reader Funnels With Mark Dawson
  • How To Outline A Non-Fiction Book So Readers Can’t Put It Down
  • How To Write Your Darkness With David Wright
  • Book Marketing: Engineer Your Book Launch Success With A DIY Strategy
  • From Bestselling Book To Netflix Series With Vikram Chandra, Author Of Sacred Games
  • 5 Tips To Help You Write A Novel In A Month #NaNoWriMo
  • Writing Tips: 6 Ways To Give Perfectionism The Boot
  • How To Be A Free Range Human With Marianne Cantwell
  • 12 Book Translation Tips For Authors

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Thanks for visiting The Creative Penn!

Most of the information on this site is free for you to read, watch or listen to, but The Creative Penn is also a business and my livelihood. So please expect hyperlinks to be affiliate links in many cases, when I receive a small percentage of sales if you wish to purchase. I only recommend tools, books and services that I either use or people I know personally. Integrity and authenticity continue to be of the highest importance to me. Read the privacy policy here. I hope you find the site useful! Thanks - Joanna

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Inspiration and Information every Monday in The Creative Penn podcast

Thanks for visiting The Creative Penn

Most of the information on this site is free for you to read, watch or listen to, but The Creative Penn is also a business and my livelihood. So please expect hyperlinks to be affiliate links in many cases, when I receive a small percentage of sales if you wish to purchase. I only recommend tools, books and services that I either use or people I know personally. Integrity and authenticity continue to be of the highest importance to me. Read the privacy policy here. Read the Cookie policy here. I hope you find the site useful! Thanks - Joanna

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