Why and How To Write Nonfiction

I'm out of, well, country, this week, so here are some notes from a recent workshop I presented: 

Reasons To Write A Non Fiction Book

1. You’re already an expert on ... something. Do you have parenting skills, nursing insights, do your friends rave about your Thai cooking, can you re-seat a rattan chair or keep iguanas alive? 

2. They sell, and, if you find a niche, often earn more money than fiction

3. It’s easier than you think! Just lay out facts, add details, maybe a sketch or two, get a proofreader, and off you go. 

I know it’s effective, easy and profitable. I’ve self-published eleven nonfiction books, with much less angst than my novels, and they’re bringing in significantly more money each month!  My first, a book on cruise vacations, is still selling dozens a week after 2 1/2 years, and has over 310 reviews on Amazon. The much shorter kid-activity series is nothing more than my files from my seven years as a Girl Scout leader and four as a den mother in the pre-Pinterest era, arranged with line drawings. 

The How To:

See A Need, Meet That Need. The best-selling non-fiction books fill a gap, or add a twist to a topic that interests people. Ancient crocheting techniques may not be a best-seller, but How To (almost anything!) books sell like crazy.

Identify Your Audience. The narrower it is, the more successful the book can be, with the exception of a few highly niche markets. A highly-technical topic may require more detail than a book on party games. 

Keep It The Right Length. Fiction books have strict rules about length, depending on genre. Nonfiction can be anywhere from a pamphlet to epic-length. Around 20,000 words is a good starting point. This frees up time; I finished six of my shorter nonfiction books in under three months.

Know Your Competition. The trick is to present it in a way that is relatable, understandable, and utilize your unique voice. Use your voice to fill gaps not covered by other eBooks in your niche. Zero in: “Low carb” is ho-hum but “Low carb traveler” is a unique perspective. Do some research and see what else is already available, then figure out how you can make it your own.

Write What You Know. If you have years of experience gardening with carrots, traveling by kayak, or cooking for a veggie-adverse family, speak up! What talents have you developed through Church activity? Go ahead and research. You don’t have to know it all beforehand, but be familiar with your subject. Readers see right through flim-flam.

Use Real Life Examples to make your book relatable. Unless you’re writing a yawn-worthy college textbook, make it interesting, not dry. Add in personal stories and real-world experiences to enhance your point, yours or other people’s. Your readers want to learn from you, so share!

Read. Research up-to-date information, identify your competition, find gaps and find a way to fill the need. Read reviews on other books in your field. What are reviewers complaining about? Are they getting the same old thing with no unique perspective? Are they expecting more advanced strategies? Use their negative reviews of your competition to fill that gap with your own book.

Watch The Market. Be aware of seasons; Camping and gardening books sell better in the spring and summer, holiday craft books do better in the autumn, be aware of travel seasons if you write travel books. Try to release your book at the proper time.

Humor is Your Best Friend, regardless of topic. Humor relieves tension, spruces up boring areas, and helps your book be more relatable, as well as cementing facts in your readers’ minds. A two-line story can make even papercuts interesting.

Try a search online for “How To Write Non-Fiction” and while you’re there, look up “How To Self-Publish.” I find that works best for   nonfiction.. It’s a faster way to get books Out There, which is especially important for very current topics. 

Author Earnings Report, Sneaky Money Grabs

by Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

Writers have so much to watch out for: Money. It is coming in from sales of our products? Contracts: Are we aware of how things can go wrong in the world of publishing?

Of course there are tons of other things to concern us, but since I have two blog posts from others that I want to spotlight, I'll go no farther on worries and concerns. Maybe later.

Some two years ago, an author named Hugh Howey and a number cruncher known only as "The Data Guy," teamed up "to gather and share information so that writers can make informed decisions. Our secondary mission is to call for change within the publishing community for better pay and fairer terms in all contracts." Their website is called Author Earnings, and shines quite a light on money matters for the entire publishing industry.

The team has steadily produced quarterly reports of data they've gathered ever since. The May 2016 Report has just been released.

While it's true that I sometimes drown in all the numbers and graphs, I've learned that if I take it slow, digesting the information bit by bit, I understand it much better. I recommend the reports for your enlightenment.

What about contracts?

Writers are given contracts to sign all the time. Agents and publishers in the traditional path to publication, but for indie authors, there are still quite a lot of contracts to sign: audiobook contracts, contracts with cover designers or image vendors, contracts with editors, and contracts for box sets, for a start. How prepared are we for terms and conditions, clauses, and sneaky efforts to keep money away from us writers?

For several weeks, I've been following a series of blogs that Kristine Kathryn Rusch has been writing each Thursday about contracts, and why writers need to think about them and avoid certain pitfalls that should always be deal-breakers. She's doing a stellar service for all writers, including new writers, who so often don't think much about the contents and clauses in a contract before they happily sign on the dotted line.

Here's a link to the entire series from the get-go. Scroll down to begin at the beginning. Put on protective clothing, as you may find yourself scared enough to ________ (you fill in the blank).

If you like Kris's advice, consider dropping some coins into the hat on your way out.

Thanks for reading!

Marsha Ward is the author of the acclaimed historical series "The Owen Family Saga" and other novels set in the 19th Century. See her website at marshaward.com