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Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
by Anne LamottWhen you go into the writing section at Barnes and Noble, this is number four today--behind some style manuals--in popularity. There has to be a reason for it, right?
Choosing a Non-Fiction Book Topic
You’ve decided you’re ready to write your first non-fiction book. You’ve honed your skills on articles and feel ready to expand. So…what should you write about?
A book takes a long time to write. Even if it doesn’t require research, it’s likely to take you six to twelve months to complete, and if it’s heavily researched, it could require years. The first consideration, then, should be your personal interest in the topic. It’s much easier to spend a year of your life on a topic you’re passionate about than to work on one you think will sell well but bores you. If you’re bored, it will show in your writing, and your readers will be bored. Why should they care about your topic if you don’t? Your passion will show in your writing and make the book more than an ordinary gathering of facts.
What Do You Love Enough to Write About?
Begin by making a list of everything you’re passionate about. Put the list in order, with your greatest passions first. Now note the ones you have some type of credentials to put with your cover letter. What type of credential you need depends on the book you want to write. If you’re writing a scientific or historical book for adults, many publishers want a degree from a good school or an important job title. If you’re writing it for children, they probably won’t. If you’re writing on homeschooling, as I do, my somewhat well-known website and the online column I wrote for a while was enough of a credential when combined with my personal experience as a homeschooling mom. No one majors in homeschooling.
Evaluate your own qualifications to write on this subject. If you wrote a term paper on it once, you probably aren’t qualified. If you just like to read about it, you may not be qualified. If you head a large non-profit organization that deals with the issue, you are qualified. If you’ve published articles in respected journals on the subject, led a political fight about it, or lived it, you may be qualified. If you’re writing on living with cancer, and you have cancer, you are probably qualified, depending on the approach you plan to take. Remember, the question isn't whether you're really qualified, but whether others will believe you are qualified. The world isn't terribly respectful of self-educated people at this point in time. I am a big fan of self-directed education, but your publisher probably isn't, at least not for publishing purposes.
What do readers want to read?
Now that you’ve narrowed the list of possible topics to those you’re passionate about and qualified to write, it’s time to find out what kinds of books the world needs. To do this, visit bookstores, libraries, and online shopping. Put in the topic of your proposed book and see what you find. Read some of them. You’re looking for an angle that hasn’t already been covered by hundreds of people.
When I was approached to write a general homeschooling book, I was initially reluctant because there are so many of them already. But then I had second thoughts. How often do you get invited to write a book under contract? I remembered when I first started homeschooling and read the only two books our library had. Both were rah-rah books that appeared to be written for perfect people. I hated them. First, they made me feel hopeless. I couldn’t do what they said had to be done. Second, they told me about homeschooling, but not about how to do it. So I decided I would write the book if I could target insecure people, because I had been one, and give specific how-to help. I wrote to fill the gap in available books and those are the things that got my book praised by reviewers and readers.
Look for the gaps in available literature. What are people not saying in the current books? Is there something missing that needs to be said? Be certain it isn’t neglected simply because it isn’t important or no one is interested. Find out if there is a market for your topic. Talk to people about your topic and see what they wish they could find a book on. Find out if your approach is right for your audience.
When I was about half way through my second book, I gave portions of it to people in my target audience. I figured out very quickly my target audience didn’t like it, but there was an audience that did want it. I made changes and went after a new audience, one that didn’t have a resource already. Be prepared to make changes if you need to.
Writing a book is an adventure. It takes a different type of writing, but it’s fun to learn.
Go on…get offline and make your list.
On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
by William Zinsser