Do you want to write a nonfiction book that will allow readers to learn about a niche market that only you understand well? Many people have a unique skill set and knowledge that sets them apart from everyone else in their field. If you’ve reached a level of success, it might be time to write a nonfiction book!
Help others achieve their goals in your given field of expertise.
Pick a topic
Some people want to write a book but have no idea what to write about. Or they have a concept, but all their ideas don’t quite fit and the words just don’t flow. The first step is to pick a subject you have specialized knowledge about.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to get started:
- Is there a subject that you know about that others don’t?
- What really interests you?
- What could you write about that would help your business?
It’s important to pick a subject that will capture your readers’ attention and hold it. You can select a target niche market, but you will need to make sure your book will appeal to those people.
One day, about a year ago, a lady called and asked if I would help to write her memoir. After speaking to her I determined that her life story would not make a good book. Not everyone’s does. However, she had a wonderful niche market, a side business that was flourishing. I advised her to start working on a nonfiction eBook about that.
Determine the problems your reader needs to solve
Your readers will pick up your book because they need to solve a problem or get answers to questions plaguing them. Figure out what these issues are so that you can help them.
The first step will be to determine who your reader is. “Everyone” is not a good answer. It’s way too general.
In the case of Chess Is Child’s Play – Teaching Techniques That Work, we determined that our primary readers would-be parents who do not play chess. Yes, the book would appeal to grandparents and educators, as well as well-established chess coaches, but they weren’t our target readers.
With Joshua’s Missing Peace, the target market was parents of children who were having a medical crisis. Of course, I want all parents to read our book, but realistically parents of children in similar situations to Joshua’s would be searching for this book.
Find out who your reader is and then write the book to that person.
Create a table of contents
Before you start writing your book, you need to create an outline or table of contents. Consider what your readers will want to learn and put the information in an order that will help them gain knowledge quickly, making sure that each concept builds on the previous ones.
Next, it will help you to write down paragraph summaries for each chapter. Ask yourself, Why do I feel a certain subject deserves a spot in my book?
Once you have this written, note the subheadings for each chapter. Think about the best way to break up the chapter, so that people can easily understand and apply the information you are giving them.
Write and write and write
The next step is where some people fall off. You must roll up your sleeves and write. Make regular progress and do not allow too many breaks between writing sessions.
It might help to keep a log of how many words you write each day. Make a game of it! Create a target. See if you can write something each day, setting a minimum number of words to be written, such as 500 words per day.
Do not edit as you write, just get all the information out of your mind and onto your laptop. There will be time to edit later.
eBooks can be any length these days, but shoot for 50,000 words if you can. That will be around two hundred pages.
If that’s too much, go for a mini-eBook.
Hire an editor or ask your friends to read your book
After you finish your first draft you can go through and polish and edit. You’ll catch a lot of errors on your own, improving the manuscript through this process, but most writers need a second set of eyes on their work.
You may need to hire an editor. If you don’t have the money, try asking a few friends to read over your manuscript, looking for errors and typos. The more people you can get to read it, the better.
Don’t worry too much about learning how to write a nonfiction book. Just get out there and start writing. I bet you have a specialized area of knowledge that people want to know about. Start writing and don’t allow yourself to stop until you’re done!
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