Nonfiction Ink

Nonfiction Ink is devoted to helping business leaders, entrepreneurs, experts, and aspiring authors to develop, write, and market their nonfiction how-to and self-help books. Each week I provide posts on writing advice, marketing tips, author interviews, reviews of books to help your writing career, and a round-up of weekly book deals so you can stay on top of what’s selling in nonfiction.

The title of The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Writing Business Books is misleading, since the book doesn’t actually teach the reader how to write a business book. Only 10 pages of the book (in the brief chapter “Voice, Point of View, and Style”) deal with any aspect of writing a book.

Instead the author provides material (divided into six sections) on:

1. Testing your business book idea
2. Writing your proposal and sample chapter
3. Finding an agent and other helpers
4. Finding a publisher and negotiating a contract
5. Writing and publicizing your book
6. Using your published book to enhance your career

And while the content is well presented, I am left wondering, “Where is the material promised by the book’s title?” There are much better, and more thorough, books on the topics of:

Developing book proposals: Bulletproof Book Proposals by Pam Brodowsky and Eric Neuhaus, Michael Larson’s How To Write a Book Proposal, or Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write by Elizabeth Lyon

Finding a literary agent: How To Get A Literary Agent by Michael Larson, and my own The Complete Guide To Hiring A Literary Agent

Publicizing and marketing your book: From Book To Bestseller by Penny Sansevieri, Steve Weber’s Plug Your Book, and 1001 Ways To Market Your Books by John Kremer

Too bad The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Writing Business Books doesn’t deliver on the topic of writing business books – I’m sure many entrepreneurs aspiring to write business books could use a good business book-writing manual.

Author John Peragine has a Master’s and PhD in Natural Health and worked as a social worker in child protective services before becoming a full-time writer in 2007. He has written for a number of magazines, including Precognito, and Winemaker Magazine, he also ghost writes ebooks, articles, and blogs, and is a work-for-hire author of more than 10 nonfiction books.

Q: Tell us about your latest book “How To Open and Operate a Financially Successful Personal and Executive Coaching Business”.

This book has actually been two years in the making. It is about how to set up a lucrative and successful coaching business. Now there are all types of coaches and I try to mention as many as I can, but the field is expanding every day. It is not so much about the techniques of coaching, but rather how to create a business that will succeed. It includes information about accounting, IRS, marketing, and everything else that will make the business more financially sound. There is even a CD that comes with the book with plenty of extra goodies and forms that can be used.

I did this book for two reasons. First I had done other small business start up books – one on wedding planning and the other about how to start a successful personal trainer business. So I already had the foundations about how to create a successful small business.

The other thing that sparked my interest in this project was that I have been working with coaches worldwide, providing them marketing copy, ghost writing articles and writing eBooks and print books with them. So I already had an insider’s understanding of coaching and I had a number of contacts- coaches from every walk-of-life circling the globe. I did the logical thing and included them and their insights in this book. So readers will hear directly from the mouths of successful coaches how they propelled their business.

Q: How did you land your book deal?

It was a work-for-hire arrangement with a small nonfiction publisher.

Q. What is your writing process?

First I create two outlines- one that is a basic skeleton and the next a detailed outline with content about each of the chapters. I gather all my research materials – both in book form and online form. The first thing I do is to begin to create the bibliography. This way I will not forget any of the resources I am using.

I contact experts in the field and create a questionnaire or a list of questions I will ask them in an interview. In the meantime as I am collecting interviews I begin writing the book.

I work about 6 days a week, about 5-6 hours a day. For me, I cannot work much more than that, before my writing begins to suffer. In between I walk, exercise and move around. I have a small office in the top of my 100-year-old house to get away from everyone while I work. Everyone knows when I am there – unless someone is on fire they do not disturb me.

The books I have written take between 3-4 months on average, some like this latest one can take longer.

Q. Are you working on your next project and can you tell us about it?

Right now I have two books in layout ready for print: The Complete Guide to Making Your Own Wine at Home: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply (Back-To-Basics) and Ebay Income: How Anyone of Any Age, Location, And/Or Background Can Build a Highly Profitable Online Business With Ebay (co-written 2nd edition)

I have two projects that will take me until probably the fall or winter to complete. They are both about beer making. The first one deals with making beer using materials you can grow in a garden. This one is fun because I have made beer for years and even won some competitions. In my two wine books I got to visit wineries, do taste testing and talk to some of the most influential people in the wine world.  So this time around- microbreweries.

The second book will about more of the how to of the actual process of beer making and will contain many different recipes that people can use to create awesome beer in their garage or kitchen.

Q. What advice or tips can you give other writers?

Follow your dream about writing. Put your all into it, because it pays you back in so many ways. Write every day. Keep a notebook handy for ideas, because the great ones I have had were on the fly. If I did not write it down on the spot I may have forgotten them.

Put yourself out there. You will get one acceptance for a pile of rejections, so never give up. Keep plodding through, and believe in yourself.

Finally, have your work proofread by professionals. Before submitting manuscripts or any other material have someone with a keen eye look it over. Nothing looks more amateurish than bad copy.

YOUR TURN: Post your questions for John Peragine in the comments section.

You can connect with John Peragine via his Website, Blog, or Twitter @JohnPeragine.

By Susan Gilbert, America’s Focus Expert. Reprinted from “The Book Marketing Expert newsletter,” a free ezine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com

1. Make sure your page on Squidoo looks its absolute best. A polished page gets more results.

2. Don’t be afraid to promote and market your business and website through your profile or content.

3. Title your lenses effectively and use keywords to get attention.

4. Make the introduction and description captivating and helpful so people want to read more.

5. Add photos for visual interest in the description.

6. You can set up multiple lenses for multiple keyword phrases. This is highly recommended.

7. Use tags to your advantage, and do so by making the most effective tags possible using powerful wording and linking to the best sites that will get you real results.

8. Understand the link flow on Squidoo, so you know how people find you, and how your links get distributed from the source page.

9. Make a “lens of the day” to keep people interested in your page and they’ll want to see what you have to say more often.

10. Find your voice on Squidoo. Think about who you are and what you’re trying to accomplish. Brainstorm some content ideas and think about your plans in advance before setting up your profile and lenses.

11. Be sure you are not only knowledgeable about your content, but that it comes across that way to others.

12. As always, watch spelling, grammar, and use of language.

13. Patience is the key with this website as with any other, so do things right the first time, and don’t expect results overnight.

14. Use the forum to your advantage to get advice, see what others are doing, and ask and answer questions.

15. Do not spam your pages or lenses, as people will run away from your profile. Members can tell spam a mile away.

16. Make a lens solely about you, so people have a place to start.

17. Co­branding is popular and a great way to get more income. Find some other companies or brands you can partner up with.

18. Use the Squidoo Answer Deck if you have any questions or need help.

19. The Squidcast feature lets you promote your lenses, so definitely use this to your advantage.

20. Make sure all of your links work. You should check them periodically to ensure they still work.

21. If time goes on and you find better links, don’t forget to update them!

22. Add a table of contents to your lens. People really like this feature.

23. Spell check, spell check, spell check.

24. Update your profile to allow people to contact you so that you are available to your customers, potential clients, and anyone who wants to ask you something. Being accessible is a great way to gain a good reputation.

25. Twitter is a great tool for promoting your lenses, so use it to your advantage.

26. Edit your modules so they are not just the ones generated from Squidoo. Tailor them to each lens, so it looks more through and professional.

27. The more high quality lenses you have, the better so make up as many as you can. Just be sure each one has a purpose and will get results.

28. Think of ways to spin your company’s mission statement into a lens title.

29. Charities play a big role on Squidoo. Find a few you believe in, and work with them on your pages.

30. Don’t just limit lenses to links. Have them point to your RSS feeds, Twitter, Fickr page, and tons more.

31. If you’re a fan of other companies or products, make a lens for it. See if the place you’re a fan of will reciprocate the favor.

32. Use referrals to your advantage and recruit as many people as you can.

33. Don’t hesitate to make a lens about your own affiliate program.

34. Have your affiliates make some lenses of their own promoting your website.

35. Don’t forget that spam is NOT welcome on Squidoo, and your account could be canceled if you spam. Find out about their guidelines before publishing anything.

36. Use Google AdSense in conjunction with Squidoo, since they work hand in hand.

37. Max your lenses for optimum exposure. Simply check this option on the edit pages of your lenses for the maximum view and exposure.

38. Aspire to earn the Giant Badge so people will see you’ve been a long­standing member who produces quality content.

39. Try to get gold stars for your lenses, as this means you’re the best of the best.

40. Use the Flickr module to incorporate cool photos. Visually appealing lenses and modules typically have the most success.

41. Add your Squidoo links to your blogs and website.

42. Add your lenses to Squidoo groups. Look into the many different groups available and then add your lenses accordingly.

43. Introduce yourself in the Forums, and on other websites dedicated to Squidoo users.

44. The longer you’re on Squidoo, the better your reputation, so remember it takes a while to become established.

45. The more lenses the better, just make sure each is unique in its own way.

46. Make sure you have a Paypal account, because that is how Squidoo makes payments.

47. Your content should be thorough and high quality. Don’t skimp on well written content just to get more lenses published.

48. Do not just use Google as a resource for information when creating content. Look into more in depth resources and you content will be much better.

49. It’s up to you how often you want to update your lenses. As long as they remain relevant, it’s okay to leave them alone.

50. You can use popular hot topics for lenses aside from your own company or business related topics. It still gets hits!

This weekly list of book deals covers prescriptive nonfiction books. For more details on publishing deals – including agents, editors, publishers, and book descriptions – visit PublishersMarketplace and subscribe to the Deals Report.

BUSINESS / INVESTING / FINANCE

THE WEALTHY FREELANCER: 12 Secrets to a Great Income and an Enviable Lifestyle
Steven Slaunwhite, Ed Gandia, and Peter Savage

THE SHIBUMI STRATEGY: A Fable on Personal Breakthroughs and Transformation
Matthew May

THE CONVERGENCE FACTOR: Driving Financial Performance with New Technology Strategies
Faisal Hoque

HIRED! How to Use Sales Training Skills to Sell Yourself on Interviews and Get the Job You Want
Elinor Stutz

WAIT
Frank Partnoy

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IN 30 MINUTES A DAY
Susan Gunelius

THE THIRD SCREEN REVOLUTION: The Un-tethered Consumer in a World Gone Mobile
Chuck Martin

THE FAMILY BUSINESS GUIDE: Everything You Need to Know To Manage Your Business From Legal Planning to Business Strategies
Frederick Lipman

5 HABITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL MANAGERS
John Cioffi and Ken Willig

CALL NOW! Lessons for Turning Good Ideas into Great Products
Rick Cesari

SLOW DOWN, SELL FASTER! Understand Your Customer’s Buying Process and Maximize Your Sales
Kevin Davis

THE LITTLE BOOK OF INVESTING DO’S AND DON’TS
Ben Stein and Phil DeMuth

THE NEW GLOBAL GOLD RUSH: How Investors and Dealmakers are Capturing Fortunes in the Post-Wall Street Economy
Jeffrey Towson

THE MARKETING PLAN HANDBOOK
Robert Bly

NOTHING TO LOSE
Ryan Blair

SPEND SHIFT
John Gerzema

WHEN THE CONVERSATION CHANGES: Master the 12 Conversations for Success in Times of Transition
Shawn Kent Hayashi

COOKING

FOUR KITCHENS: Learning How To Cook In Manhattan, Israel, Vietnam, and Paris
Lauren Shockey

THE CHEESEMONGER’S KITCHEN: Cooking with the World’s Finest Cheeses
Chester Hastings

ANI’S RAW FOOD KITCHEN: Asia
Ani Phyo

HOW-TO

STENCIL201
Ed Roth

HOW TO BUILD A FIRE: And Other Handy Things Your Grandfather Knew
Erin Bried

PARENTING

DR. RILEY’S BOX OF TRICKS: Uncommon Solutions for Everyday Parenting Problems
Doug Riley

POTTY TRAINING GIRLS THE EASY WAY
Dr. Caroline Fertleman and Simone Cave

GROWING UP BRAVE: Raising Confident Children in the Age of Anxiety
Dr. Donna Pincus

SCIENCE

BLOOD, GUTS AND MORE
R.E. Gaensslen

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCES
James Stanton

CURIOUS FOLKS ASK
Sherry Seethaler

A DICTIONARY OF FORENSIC SCIENCE
Suzanne Bell

ADVICE / RELATIONSHIPS / SELF-HELP

LEARN JUST ENOUGH (To Get Laid)
Tyler DeAngelo and Brad Emmett

Kenji Crosland is a creative writing major who, scared of becoming a starving artist, became a corporate headhunter in Tokyo. Since then he’s regained his sanity, quit his job, and now blogs about creating an ideal career at unreadyandwilling.com. He is also developing a web application that just might change the Internet. Follow him on Twitter: @KenjiCrosland.

Knowing how to write an outline effectively can dramatically improve the focus of your writing. An outline done well can enhance the readability of your writing, reduce editing time, and help add strength to your ideas. In order to use outlines to their fullest potential, it’s important to understand how to brainstorm before writing an outline, how to write an outline that organizes what you’ve brainstormed, and finally, how to use an outline when writing your rough draft.

BEFORE WRITING AN OUTLINE
An important part of knowing how to write an outline is knowing what to do before writing the outline.

Writing an outline before you give any thought to your topic will have a tendency to limit your ideas. What you must first do is brainstorm to get all your ideas out on paper and organize them later.

One of the best brainstorming tools that I’ve ever come across is the mind map. A mind map is a visual representation of your ideas. The good thing about creating mind maps is that not only do they help you brainstorm, but they also help to organize your ideas at the same time.

You can create a mind map on paper or use bubbl.us. Bubbl.us is a free online resource that allows you to create mind maps on any topic, share them with friends, print them, and manipulate them as you like. Below, I’ve provided an example of a mind map that I spent a few minutes creating on bubbl.us.

(Click image to enlarge)

Creating a mind map is easy. First, write the topic of your article at the center of the mind map. In this case the topic is: “How to make a popular blog.” Next, brainstorm the main points you can use to explore the topic. For this mind map I came up with the following four points: choose a good niche, increase traffic, create valuable content, and have a good web design.

After you’ve brainstormed a list of main points to explore, you can then come up with a list of “sub-points” to support each main point and provide details to support each sub-point. If you don’t have details to support your sub-points that’s fine. In the place of details you can create a blank bubble, or simply write “detail,” indicating a place where you might need to do more brainstorming or more research.

In the course of brainstorming you may find that the topic you have at the center of your mind map is too broad to cover for your intended article length. What you might do then is narrow your focus. Choose one of the points branching out from your topic (increasing web traffic, for example) and choose that instead as the topic of your article. You can save the other points that you mind mapped for other articles you might write later.

HOW TO WRITE AN OUTLINE USING YOUR MIND MAP
After you’re happy with your mind map, the next step in knowing how to write an outline is knowing how organize what you’ve brainstormed. The reason why it’s a good idea to do this is because a mind map is not organized in a linear fashion, and can be very difficult to refer to when writing your rough draft. In order to provide structure to your writing you must know how to write an outline that can arrange what you’ve brainstormed in a logical order so that you can keep from getting off track. Here’s an example outline created for the mind map above.

I. Introduction
A. The Hook: List the benefits of creating a popular blog.
1. Example of benefit
2. Example of benefit
B. Lead into thesis statement: In order to create a popular blog you must learn how to choose a good niche, create valuable content, increase web traffic and have a good web design.

II. Choose a Good Niche
A. Determine your interests and skills
1. What niches are not well covered?

III. Create Valuable Content
A: Improve your Blogging skills
1. Writing (how to write an outline, improve editing skills, etc.)
2. Researching
3. Read other good blogs
4. One More Example?

IV. Increase Web Traffic
A. Market and Promote your Website
1. Through other websites
2. Detail
B. Marketing and Promoting your website
1. Other Blogs
i. Detail
C. Example 3

V. Good Web Design
A. Layout
1. Detail
B. Readability
1. Detail
C. Hiring a web designer
2. My personal Experience

VI. Conclusion
A. Restate thesis: Give personal example of how having a popular blog can be beneficial. Briefly go over how the four points listed can be of help.

The format of an outline is simple. For main points use Roman numerals. For sub-points use capital letters. For any details and examples use numbers, and for any “sub-details” you can use lowercase Roman numerals.

The first part that you should outline is the introduction or “hook” which grabs a reader’s interest. The hook for this chapter is a list of the benefits of creating a popular blog. As I haven’t thought of any examples of benefits yet, I’ve left two numbered spaces labeled “Example of benefit” so I can come back and fill them in later. After the hook, be sure to make a smooth transition to your thesis statement. The thesis statement should incorporate all the main points that you want to cover for the article either implicitly or explicitly. Notice that in the thesis statement provided in the outline above all the points the chapter will explore are explicitly mentioned.

After outlining your introduction, assign a Roman numeral to each main point (each bubble connecting to the central bubble on your mind map). You don’t have to use every point you’ve brainstormed if you don’t want to. Just use the ones you think are important.

Finally, be sure to arrange the points in the most logical order possible. In the above example, “choosing a niche” is listed as the first point because I believe that would be the first thing you should do when you set about making a popular blog.

HOW TO WRITE AN OUTLINE THAT HELPS YOU RESEARCH
Knowing how to write an outline effectively means knowing how to use your outline to leverage your research. You might notice there are several places under the sub-points in the outline that are labeled “Detail” or “Example.” These areas indicate gaps in knowledge, areas where the writing needs extra support. Because your outline tells you where your gaps in knowledge are, you’ll find that when you start researching you’ll already have a much more concrete idea of what you’re looking for. This will tend to make your research faster and more productive than doing extensive research before brainstorming.

USING YOUR OUTLINE FOR YOUR ROUGH DRAFT
There’s no point in knowing how to write an outline if you don’t use it. Some, however, faced with a blank screen, might have a tendency to spew all their thoughts on the page first and use their outline as a tool to organize it all later. This method is inefficient at best and may even negate the benefits of writing the outline in the first place. What you must do is learn to reference your outline as you write your rough draft, not after.

Before you write each section of your outline, pause to think about each sub-point before you start writing about it. Once you have a good feel for the sub-point, write and keep writing until you feel you have enough material on the page to do that sub-point justice. When you feel you’ve written enough, make a new paragraph and take a look at the next part of your outline. Do what you can to avoid the backspace key.

Basically, using your outline is like driving at 100 mph using a road map. Whenever you reach an intersection, stop and check the map to see where you’re going. Once you know where you’re headed, make your turn and accelerate back to 100 mph. One word of caution: although the road map can be handy to help you to get where you want to go, never look at the road map while you’re driving or you know what’s going to happen.

You’ll find that when you’re writing your rough draft you’ll often go “off-road” and explore tangents which, although they might be interesting, have no relevance to your topic. Consult your outline and make sure that all your writing, no matter how beautiful the prose might be, effectively supports each point and sub-point and nothing else. Your outline can be a handy tool to help you cut the fat from your writing.

Knowing how to write an outline effectively can be very useful for streamlining the creative process. Although it might take some time to write the outline, it can help save a lot of pain and frustration when you go through the writing and revision process. The end result will probably be better as well.

******

This post is part of the Guest Post Giveaway at the blog Unready and Willing. If you think articles about writing or personal development (or personal development for writers) sounds like a good fit for your blog, please take a look at the Guest Post Giveaway page and see if any of the articles spark your interest.

Nonfiction Ink’s weekly “Books For Writers” series features reviews of new books on the topic of nonfiction writing (prescriptive nonfiction writing techniques, marketing, publishing, or the writing life.) If you would like your book to be considered for review, please see the submission guidelines.

Nonfiction Ink’s new weekly “Five Questions with….” interview series features nonfiction authors and their self-help or how-to books. If you are interested in being featured, please download and complete the “Five Questions with…” interview sheet and submit to Laura at laura@scenariowritingstudio.com with “Author Interview” in the subject line.

DOWNLOAD “FIVE QUESTIONS WITH…” INTERVIEW FORM

All submissions receive a response within 5 business days

Written by a respected literary agent and a published author, Bulletproof Book Proposals provides succinct, clear, to-the-point instructions for crafting a winning book proposal. Authors Brodowsky and Neuhaus break the process into 10 simple steps:

* Defining your idea
* Choosing a title
* Crafting the opener
* Defining your market
* Analyzing the competition
* Developing a platform
* Selling yourself
* Creating chapter outlines
* Writing sample chapters
* Packaging your proposal

with exercises to help you accomplish each step effectively.

While there are numerous resources available that teach writers how to develop a compelling book proposal, what sets this book apart from the rest is the inclusion of 12 real-life book proposals that successfully landed book deals. Each proposal includes commentary from the author, editor, and agent on why the proposal sold – making Bulletproof Book Proposals an invaluable resource.

Andrea Campbell is the author of twelve nonfiction books on a variety of topics but she specializes in forensic science, criminal law and entertaining. Andrea has a degree in criminal justice, is editor for a professional quarterly that goes out to criminal justice experts, and is the forensic specialist on a professional women’s crime blog. In addition, Andrea is a Home and Living Examiner writing articles about interior design, home products and entertaining. She also teaches two e-courses under the umbrella of Wow! Women on Writing. She is hoping to jumpstart an industry with ghostwriting both book proposals and full books.

Q: What are you currently working on?

Andrea: I am currently working on a historical-biography about the world’s first detective. His name is Eugène François Vidocq and he was born mid-18^th century, and lived during the French Revolution and other epic events. He was a rogue, a womanizer, a fugitive and a prison spy who started Brigade de Sûreté, the first French detective bureau and staffed it with women agents and former criminals to much success. He was also a master of disguise. His adventures were turned into memoirs but he was also the inspiration for the detective novel and famous writers like Honoré de Balzac, Alexandre Dumas père, Victor Hugo and Eugène Sue among others used him as the template for the detective in their own stories. The exciting thing for me though, in addition to being a master sleuth, he used forensic science techniques, such as fingerprint collection, footwear impressions, ballistics and data organization before they were even recognized by the scientific community.

Q. How did you land your book deal?

Andrea: Actually, on this book, the editor came looking for me. Luckily, a very good author friend of mine was contacted by an editor for a story the publisher wanted developed. She was not able to help them but by way of conversation, she told the editor that I was trying to sell the Vidocq story. After they talked, my friend said the editor wanted me to call her at my convenience—that she was interested in learning more about my book and was keen on seeing it published. What can I say about this? I have some very good professional friends who I network with, but with whom I have also developed important and nurturing relationships.

And, of course, throughout my career, I have worked with several publishers. I submitted nonfiction book proposals—mostly unagented—and apparently, I have my finger on how to present my ideas, because now I have twelve books in my portfolio.

I have published one book by myself under my own company name, Primate Press, LLC. It is an unusual mystery-intrigue and the characters are monkeys who wear clothes, drive cars, and do all the things that people do (sometimes better). I raised a capuchin monkey for Helping Hands—Ziggy is now a helper-companion for a quadriplegic—anyway, I have a lot of monkey friends. So I used photos of real monkeys for the book and a partner of mine photoshopped them into the scene of the book. There are sixteen full-page graphics; it’s a hoot. I had it printed in Korea to keep the publication costs down.  You can see images of it and buy books at: www.monkeyromance.com

Q. What is your writing process?

Andrea: If you develop a good enough book proposal, you work off the outline of it. Even though a book proposal is a sales document, you must do enough research and development in order to know your audience, your slant, create your Table of Contents, a summary of each chapter, along with a sample chapter. That is pretty good foundational material. Now I am not saying that the book won’t deviate with the writing, but it should be lined out fairly well. I teach an e-course on book proposal writing—I’ve been doing it for about twelve years—and have helped a lot of writers develop their ideas toward publication. One of my students got a $100K advance.

As far as work methodology, I write full-time in a home office. I work mostly in the middle of the night. Yes, it sounds strange but my husband snores and I find it hard to fall and stay asleep. So my biorhythm is that of a night owl, and I decided to go with the flow. It’s quiet, the phone doesn’t ring and I can really get down and focus. I start at about 10 or 11 o’clock and work sometimes until 4 a.m. When I rise at Noon, I work my email boxes, handle promotion and more deadline-type stuff until 4:30 p.m. when I leave for my walk. I am an exercise hound and walk every day, in addition to doing Pilates, Yoga or strength training.

I am very disciplined, and able to zero-in on a project. My subjects have always been something I am passionate about or involve something I want to learn more about. A book is such a long process, in order to maintain enthusiasm through its fruition, I feel you have best be invested in your topic.

Q: What project do you plan to work on next?

Andrea: I hope to be working with a publishing company developing either educational forensic science or criminal law materials. I am waiting for the company founder to get back to me with title suggestions.

The thing I want to do is to finish my first mystery—non-monkey, of course—I have had it on the backburner for some time. It’s hard to create fiction when the alligators are nipping at your heels. In other words, earning a living comes first.

Q: What advice and/or tips can you give other writers?

Andrea: I am self-taught in just about everything but I would suggest that if a writer has aspirations to be an author, he or she must learn about the book publishing business. And that’s going to be harder today because of all the evolving technology, new formats, and changes in marketing and distribution. There are so many things to label a writer, “novice” and professionalism is hard in an industry where rejection is a constant on the way toward publication. Through teaching students who have book dreams—I have found a lot of writers who are delusional basically. They don’t have the right mindset, knowledge, or character to stay in it through the long haul. They seem to think they have the world’s best idea and that getting published is inevitable. Today with 1 percent of material getting read, and then 1 percent of that actually seeing publication, the reality is that getting a book from hands to paper (or screen or e-format) is a challenge and takes an education, and experience. Plus, while this may sound strange, you have to be an interesting person who can get beyond first level thinking.

You can connect with Andrea via Twitter @AndreaCampbell or her website, and you can enroll for her next class at WOW-Women On Writing.

To establish credibility with your nonfiction book you need to support your statements with convincing evidence. Here are ten ways you can back up what you say:

1. Reveal how you reached your conclusion(s). Support your assertion by letting readers know what steps you took or information you gathered to arrive at your conclusion. If you declare in your earthquake preparedness book that “Southern California will experience a large earthquake in the next 30 years”, readers are going to want to know how you came to that conclusion – did you talk to scientists or confer with a psychic? Experienced readers expect a writer to explain his or her methods.

2. Cite statistics or research examples.

3. Address opposing views or alternate methods and offer a counterargument. If health-guru author’s bestselling book’s thesis is that eating too many carbohydrates is bad for you and your book’s fitness diet is based on eating carbs all-the-time-everyday-as-much-as-you-can-get, you better address health-guru author’s premise or many readers will dismiss your claims.

4. Justify the results. If your book presents a method or framework for achieving a goal, explain how and why the method works.

5. Back-up your statement with a story from your own experience or personal observation. If you declare in your social media book, “Writing articles for A-list blogs will increase traffic to your own site” and you have experienced that in your own business, then include a story that proves your statement.

6. Use case studies.

7. Explain the effects. If you make the assertion that “personal branding is essential for entrepreneurs” you can highlight the positive effects personal branding provides a small business, and list what the negative effects might be if an entrepreneur fails to brand his business effectively.

8. List the benefits and then “show” the benefits by painting a picture of what the end result/goal “looks” like.

9. Identify similarities and differences. If your claim is “social media marketing with Twitter is the same as old-school direct marketing campaigns”, you can identify the similarities between the two methods. If your argument is “old-school direct marketing campaigns are out-dated and ineffective compared to social networking strategies”, you can show the differences between the two to back up your assertion.

10. List your credentials and experience, and those of your sources. If you’re a psychologist who has worked with at-risk children for more than 20 years, stating your experience and credentials will help establish your authority on the topic and support your statements.

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