Nonfiction author, writer, and self-publisher ideas, strategies, resources, and advice.
My personal experience and opinion related to writing nonfiction books is that it is something that is relatively easy to do when compared to fiction writing. That is not to say that writing nonfiction books does not take talent, knowledge and effort. It simply means that nonfiction book writers have a wealth of information available to them. They can pull …
Have you ever read one of those articles titled something like, “Proven Strategies for Writing a Book in One Month” and thought — “No Way?” I must admit that I have always been skeptical of this concept. But using my nonfiction book writing process, which I outlined in an article on this blog last month, I started my latest book on September 17th. It is …
Many new authors struggle with writing marketable nonfiction books. In reality, it is a process of researching and planning content that will satisfy reader needs, wants and expectations. Fiction books typically revolve around characters, situations, plots and other real or imagined elements. Nonfiction books contain information based on people, issues, facts, data based on reality and actual events. This means that nonfiction authors …
There are billions of blogs and websites on the world wide web. For that reason, your chances of becoming number 1 are about as unlikely as winning the lottery. Still, that does not mean that you should avoid an online presence as part of your author platform. Social media for nonfiction authors can provide a valuable outlet for networking and …
In Part I of this article, How to write nonfiction books that sell, I shared four phases of nonfiction writing that I use. That is the process that I follow when creating a new manuscript. Those phases are: Select a marketable topic Identify the reader audience Provide content of value Create a writing plan Once I have completed those phases, I …
My first three nonfiction books were published in 1994. Thirty-seven books and compilations later, I am still working to perfect my technique in order to write nonfiction books that sell. Like most authors, I have made mistakes along my path to make a solid living from my craft. Even so, after selling a couple hundred thousand books, I feel that my …
Whether your book is traditionally or self published, the book cover design is a crucial element in helping guarantee sales. Obviously good book content is critical, but the first thing that a potential reader encounters will be your cover. For that reason, the book cover design should be a priority when creating your masterpiece. If you go with a traditional publisher, …
Would you like to have an established list of potential buyers for your next book before you even write it? Would you like to have other people selling your book for you at no cost by sharing information about it with their networks? If the answer to these questions is “yes,” I suggest that you build your nonfiction author platform to sell more books before …
There are many things to remember when starting a nonfiction book writing business. So that you do not forget anything, use a checklist and tap into the volume of free and inexpensive resources available on the Internet and through other resources. Here are some key steps to help during your journey, along with resources to get you started: Write a business …
If you are like me, you sometimes pause when writing a sentence in an article or book and try to recall a rule of grammar, syntax, or punctuation. Obviously, we want to get it right. More importantly, readers who know the correct way to spell, punctuate or create a sentence will potentially form a negative impression of us if we are wrong. …