Nonfiction Ink

When you break the process of writing a book into five main steps, the daunting task suddenly seems much easier (and it is!). According to several studies, it also makes writing a manuscript more efficient and effective.

So let’s look at the five main steps to writing a nonfiction book:

1. Formulizing Your Idea
This includes focusing your theme, determining the scope of the content, analyzing who your reader is and evaluating their needs. For more in ideas, see: 5 Questions to Determine If Your Book Idea Will Sell, 3 Tips To Find Ideas that Sell, Writing For Your Readers, and Preparing To Write Your Book: Focus Your Idea With A Theme Statement

2. Gathering Information
This step involves researching your topics, locating experts and sources, and conducting interviews. For more on gathering information, see: 6 Simple & Effective Techniques to Prepare For Research, How To Find Experts for Your Nonfiction Book, and How To Approach an Expert

3. Organization
Next you’ll develop the structure for your book, determining logical arrangement, preparing a detailed outline, and creating a writing schedule. For more on organization, see: Organizing Your Nonfiction Book, The Quickest, Easiest Way To Organize Your Book, and 3 Steps to Creating A Writing Plan & Achieving Your Goals

4. Writing
The first draft expands upon your outline, turning your topics into chapters.

5. Revising
The revision process involves reviewing your initial draft for pace, tone, clarity, flow, style, concepts, hook, arguments, chapter theses, transitions, layout, and conclusions – then rewriting as needed. The final task involves editing and proofreading the content for grammar, sentence structure, tense, syntax and spelling.

STAY-TUNED: Next Monday we’ll delve further into the topic of outlines.

The complaints I most often hear from new writers is that their books don’t “flow”, the ideas aren’t defined or don’t fit together, or the writing meanders with no clear destination. Several issues cause these common manuscript problems: most often the author has failed to create and follow an outline, he has mistaken a topic for an actual idea, and he lacks a theme statement.

Author Jack Hart believes the best writing ideas begin with a hypothesis – and I agree.

Before starting your first draft, before even beginning the initial research, it is imperative to develop a hypothesis that will be used as your theme statement (also referred to as a mission statement or thesis) to guide the research and writing process. Without a theme statement a nonfiction writer will not have a clear destination. Without a clear destination a writer cannot create a map (outline) to follow, won’t know what specific information to gather to develop a concise and compelling idea, and ultimately will be lost when it comes to which topics to present to effectively support the idea and engage readers.

So then, a successful bestselling book begins with a core idea and a theme statement.

IDEA VS. TOPIC
An idea is an opinion, conviction, or principle. It has meaning and purpose. A topic is a main organizing principle of a verbal or written discussion. It is a subdivision or category of a theme, thesis, or outline. A book may cover several topics that support or expand upon an idea. “Eating blueberries can improve your eyesight” is an idea. “A look at blueberries in southern cooking” is a topic. What is your core idea?

WRITE YOUR THEME STATEMENT
A theme statement makes an assertion about your subject. The formula for creating a one sentence theme statement could be written as:

Subject + Action Word + Object = Theme Statement

Author Richard Koch’s theme statement for his book The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Success by Achieving More with Less could have been “A minority of causes, inputs, or efforts leads to a majority of the results, outputs, or rewards.”

The authors of Trust Agents: Using The Web To Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust, Chris Brogan and Julien Smith, may have written their theme statement as “Building and using networks of influence can positively impact your business.”

Now it’s your turn. What is the theme statement for your book?

Writing down your goals and creating a plan of attack (tasks you can accomplish on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis) will keep you focused, allow you to see results, and provide a real strategy to actually attain whatever it is you endeavor to achieve with your writing.

1. DEFINE YOUR GOAL(S)
A goal should be specific, measurable, and have a deadline – such as “I will complete my nonfiction manuscript by the end of October.”

2. DETERMINE WHAT TASKS ARE NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL(S)
Create a list of all the necessary tasks associated with achieving the goal(s). If the goal is to develop a book proposal package to pitch to publishers the tasks involved might be: analyzing similar books on the subject, conducting market research, creating a promotional plan, writing an author bio, building an author platform, designing a chapter outline, writing a sample chapter, investigating nonfiction publishers in your genre, crating a query letter, etc…..

3. ORGANIZE THE TASKS & DEVELOP A STRATEGIC PLAN TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL(S)
Goals are easier to manage when they are broken down into small chunks: three-year, one-year, monthly, weekly, and daily. Start with your big goals and break them down to smaller and smaller tasks.

You want your detailed plan to be realistic for your lifestyle. If you maintain a full-time job and have two small children and a dog to care for, it may be difficult to fit three pages of writing in each day. Set yourself up for success by creating a practical plan. If you write one hour a day (after the kids go to bed), five times a week – or five hours one day a week (on Sunday when the kids are at grandma’s house) – that’s five pages of writing each week; within a year you will have completed a 250-page book.

You can outline your goals and plan using a simple word-processing sheet, a more complex spreadsheet, or a calendar-planning tool. Your outline may look something like this….

Long-term goal:
“I will be recognized as the expert in my field by the end of 2012.”

Goals for this year, which will help achieve the long-term goal:
“I will self-publish my business book by December 15, 2010.”

Monthly tasks necessary to attain the one-year goal:
January: I will gather initial research and create a book outline
February – March: I will research my topic in depth, interview sources, and obtain photos and permissions.
April – June: I will write the content.
July: I will have the manuscript professionally edited and proofread. I will set up my publishing company and begin pre-marketing for the book.
August: I will make final revisions. I will obtain an ISBN and bar code, register copyright, and apply for LCCN.
September: I will hire a designer to layout the interior of the book. I will hire an artist to create the cover for the book. I will list my book for pre-sale on Amazon.
October – November: I will hire an indexer to create an index for the book. I will submit the book for printing.
December: I will launch the book release.

Weekly tasks necessary to attain the specific monthly goals:
Week 1: I will investigate and evaluate comparable competitive titles
Week 2: I will collect initial research via the Internet
Week 3: I will brainstorm my topic to divide the material into sections
Week 4: I will create a detailed outline with sub-topics and separate chapters

Daily tasks necessary to attain the specific weekly goals:
Tuesday, June 8, 2010: I will write five pages of content.

Studies show that people who write down their goals and develop a strategic plan to achieve them are more likely to succeed. So make a commitment to yourself and your writing career – develop a plan and put it into action. Before another year flies by, you could be a published author.

YOUR TURN: What are your writing goals and plans for 2010?

The right title can make your book a success. Especially for the self-help and how-to genre, you need a title that readers can’t resist. The book’s title is the hook that grabs a reader’s attention. Nonfiction titles are usually five words or less. Some books use subtitles to be more descriptive. Here are six tips to create an intriguing title:

1. USE A PLAY-ON-WORDS
The Greatest War Stories Never Told (military history)
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived The Great American Dust Bowl (American history)

2. USE A POPULAR PHRASE OR SLANG
All Over But the Shoutin’ (memoir)

3. USE THE SUBJECT’S NAME IN THE TITLE
John Adams (historical biography)
Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride (historical, biography)

4. EVOKE AN EMOTION
In Cold Blood (true crime)

5. HIGHLIGHT A UNIQUE SUBJECT
The Devil In The White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America (historical, true crime)

6. PROVOKE INTEREST
An Inconvenient Truth (current affairs, environmental commentary)
How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale (autobiography)
Angela’s Ashes (memoir)
All The President’s Men (political history, investigative reporting)
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea (true life story, current event)
To The Ends of the Earth (travel)

FOR SELF-HELP AND HOW-TO BOOKS, your title needs to do five things:

1. IDENTIFY THE READER’S PROBLEM
Entice a reader to look at your book by addressing their specific problem.
How To Repair Your Credit Score Now; How To Make Money in Stocks; Great Deals In Las Vegas.

2. SOLVE THE READER’S PROBLEM
Successful self-help and how-to titles let the reader know how they will benefit from reading the book. Sometimes the benefit is implied. What to Expect When You’re Expecting; Think and Grow Rich.

3. GIVE THE READER HOPE
The title should be positive and upbeat and convey a sense of hope. Stay away from prevention titles like “Don’t Be a Loser”, a better title is How to Win Friends and Influence People.

4. BE SPECIFIC
Readers buy the specific over the general, so keep your title focused and targeted – “How to Run A Home Business” vs. “How To Make $100,000 Your First Year by Running a Home-Based Business”.

5. BE EASY TO REMEMBER
Keep it short-and-snappy and easy for potential buyers to remember.

An effective exercise is to come up with 10 to 20 titles for your book and ask friends, family, and associates to vote on which one they like best.

STAY-TUNED: In my next post I will outline the elements of a nonfiction book.

Do you have a great idea for a book? Before you spend the next 6 to 12 months writing your nonfiction masterpiece, here are five questions to answer to determine the marketability of your idea to a publisher or agent.

1. DOES A NEARLY IDENTICAL BOOK ALREADY EXIST?
If your book idea is a good one, you’ll most likely find several other similar books already on bookstore shelves. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for another book on the same topic if you have a unique slant, opinion, or solution. But, if a book already exists that is almost identical to your idea you’ll have trouble selling yours to an agent or publisher. Check out www.amazon.com and enter a search for your book idea. Their search-engine will produce a list of current books on your topic that you can research further and compare with your idea. If there are a few near-matches to your idea, you will need to ensure (and show a publisher or agent how) your book will be better than the ones already on the market.

2. HOW LARGE IS THE POTENTIAL AUDIENCE FOR YOUR BOOK?
Who will buy your book? If only you and your parents are interested in your book’s subject, a publisher or agent won’t be begging for your manuscript. If you can identify a large, specific group of potential readers who want or need what you plan to write about (adventurous males over 40 who own dogs and like to go backpacking), you’ve increased your chances for snagging a book deal. A great resource for determining how many potential readers there are for your subject matter is to browse the sales figures of similar titles and review the “Encyclopedia of Associations”, where you can find membership information on just about any type of organization.

3. IS THERE ENOUGH MATERIAL TO WRITE A 175-250 PAGE BOOK?
Creating a detailed outline and calculating an estimated page count will help you determine if you will have enough content for a full-length book. If you have only 80 pages of valuable material, consider producing a digital eBook or a print-on-demand book, instead of traditional publishing.

4. DOES YOUR BOOK IDEA HAVE SERIES OR SPIN-OFF POTENTIAL?
Spin-off or series potential is not mandatory to sell your book idea, but an agent or publisher is more interested in projects that begat more product. Books with spin-off or series potential are considered more valuable.

5. HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE YOU TO WRITE THE BOOK?
In general, a nonfiction book takes an average of 6 months to one year to complete. A publisher may not feel it’s worthwhile to invest in a book that takes you five years to research and complete and only has a potential of 20,000 readers. Alternately, if you’re writing an extensive history that requires five years of your time but has the potential to attract 500,000 readers – a publisher will reconsider the timeframe.

Regardless of your book idea’s potential to garner a traditional publisher or agent, if you are passionate about your subject, if you are committed to the time and effort necessary to produce it, and if you don’t care how many copies it sells – then I encourage you to write it. Put your passion on paper. Express your convictions and thoughts. Provide your experiences and knowledge for others to learn. A book is a powerful gift.

STAY-TUNED: In my next post I’ll discuss Writing For Your Readers.

Is your topic relevant?  Does it solve a reader’s problem or make their life better? Non-fiction books (and eBooks) stand or fall on the delivery of the promise to help the reader.  Regardless of your genre, you are either helping the reader fix a problem (most self-help, how-to, reference, inspirational, travel guides, and cookbooks serve this purpose – “The Insider’s Guide To Surviving the Recession”, “Web Marketing for Dummies”, “What To Expect When You’re Expecting”, “The Alzheimer’s Answer Book”, “How To Train Your Golden Retriever”, “Think and Grow Rich”, “Frommer’s Guide to Las Vegas”), or providing information to expand a reader’s knowledge and world view (most memoirs, biographies, autobiographies, historical accounts, and current events books fall into this category – “John Adams”, “Bailout Nation”, “Easy Riders, Raging Bulls”).

Here are three tips to help you find relevant topics that sell:

BE AWARE OF LIFESTYLE SHIFTS AND READER’S NEEDS
The economic downturn, concern for the environment and depletion of natural resources, and an aging generation of baby-boomers are just three major elements affecting reader’s lifestyles.  As baby boomers age, they are planning for their parent’s medical and care-taker needs and focusing on staying healthy and in-shape.  The financial crises has lead to many people looking for unique ways to find jobs, repair their credit and create debt strategies, avoid foreclosure, and create new streams of revenue (which leads to an increase in entrepreneurship and a need for books on running and marketing small businesses). Many readers are looking for ways to save money by vacationing close to home (leading to an increase in sales of regional and local travel books) and do their own repairs and home improvements (DIY book sales are on the rise). Environmental concern has created an enormous opportunity for  ’green’ books: “It’s Easy Being Green”, “Living Green”, “365 Ways to Live Green”, “Gorgeously Green”, “Go Green and Live Rich”.

REVIEW THE CALENDAR
Everything from the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square uprising to the 30th anniversary of the release of the film “Star Wars” can create reader interest in a specific subject.  The bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth this past February saw the release of a plethora of historical books.  That other little holiday in the month of February produces an increase in sales of romantic self-help guides.

LOOK FOR TRENDS
Whenever a book becomes a bestseller, publishers and readers look for more of the same.   The popularity of “Marley and Me” lead to similar books about owners and their dogs.

You must be invested in your subject, so write what you love, but also look for topics that are timely and relevant.  See if you can find a way to tie your idea into the calendar, current trends, or reader’s immediate lifestyle needs.

YOU TELL ME: How do you find relevant topics that sell?

Stay-Tuned: In the next post I will provide a Book Idea Checklist.