Non-fiction is easier to write than fiction. Fiction requires creating a whole world. Non-fiction is more a matter of finding the pieces of a world you’ve already begun to create.
Non-fiction transforms what you have into what you need.
Think about your goals for writing a book. The short answer is, of course, to have a book. And that is just perfect. I love to see my print books on my shelves. But maybe there is more? Ask the question, why? Sleep on it. The more you drill down, the easier it will be to research and write your book. Plus, being clear on your book goals will help you stay the course as you work through the process and finish. The answers will help create a strong agent pitch and can serve as the draft for the back-of-the-book copy.
It’s an important question to answer.
A non-fiction book based on your expertise can boost your career in many ways.
Outreach – The book will open more professional doors and opportunities.
Reputation – A book delivers immediate authority in your field.
Business – A book can be a reference source answering basic questions about your profession. If you are spending many hours answering basic questions, a book can be a time saver. Unless you bill by the hour.
Timely insights – You’ve spotted industry trends or identified gaps in theory or practice that are immediately applicable in today’s market.
Creative outlet – You want to try something new, and experiment with a different outlet for your imagination since knitting didn’t pan out.
Your Unique Story – No one has seen what you’ve seen or done what you’ve done. Your story and perspective is important to share.
Voice for the voiceless – You are compelled to speak for others and share their story and experiences.
Great! Now how can you start writing your book? First, you will assemble your book. You likely have a great many book-worthy articles and lectures that will work perfectly as the start of your book. Just start digging through your files.
Look for:
- Lectures
- Workshops
- PowerPoint decks
- White papers
- Articles
- Stories
- Lots of stories
If you have many PowerPoint decks, flip through each one and copy and paste the notes. Now, recall the story you tell with each slide. You likely have tailored and modified your stories to suit your audience, but now we need to capture the essential story for your book. An easy way? Open Word, enable dictation and while looking at the slide, tell the story.
Voila, almost the perfect complement to your theme, slide, or just a quick aside.
Stories are magic, they are what draws in your audience. They can make or break the book and your outreach.
Don’t be afraid of change. Allow the stories to unfold organically. Even if you’ve told your stories one hundred times, you’ll find they take on a life of their own as you write them for publication.
Look for publishing and unpublished articles. Can they serve as a complete chapter as is or do they need some light editing? Don’t start editing yet but flag these documents as needing more work and move on.
As you collect your previous work, think of how they can serve the whole of a book. What is the theme? What are your big goals? Does everything serve or are some articles great ideas but don’t fit the project?
What do you love? What do you want to spend time considering and promoting?
Search your work for possible secondary themes, choosing one theme for this book.
“I don’t fiddle or edit or change while I’m going through that first draft.”
~ Nora Roberts
Each book chapter can feature:
The purpose – what you want the reader to know.
Supporting material, either research or expert (you) based.
Two stories that illustrate this main chapter and its purpose.
Clearly, not every book adheres to this three-part formula but I certainly can give you a way to start. What is the most important feature of a successful business and/or non-fiction book? The stories. You likely have everything else for a great non-fiction book, and all you need to do is write the stories. Sure. Easy.
Good luck.
