If you’re starting out in non-fiction writing and are unsure of how to go about it, there’s no need to worry. There are a number approaches you can use to write nonfiction books successfully. Read on to find out how to write a nonfiction book:
1. Write for a Niche
Nonfiction books can be found on various topics ranging from cooking, to biographies, to self-help and text books. With so many titles already out there, competition can be strong. One way to make your work stand out from the crowd is to write for a niche, who you know needs solutions to problems. You can then provide the answers a particular niche needs through your books.
2. Write in a Series
There are certain nonfiction topics that lend themselves well to a series. For example, if you’re a coach that helps middle-aged people improve their relationships, then perhaps you could write a series of books to help your audience improve relationships in various aspects of their lives, including at work and at home.
Why is writing a series in this way a good idea? Well, you increase the chances of a reader who buys one of your titles in your series to end up buying all of them, assuming he or she found the first one useful.
Writing a series can also help you in a creating a unique brand because readers will associate you with the titles in your series.
3. Write Shorter Books
If your nonfiction books require longer explanations, then it makes sense to write more. However, ensure you’re not writing more just to fill up space. This does not help your readers, as they’ll be able to see through the fluff.
A good principle to apply with nonfiction books is to write as much as it takes to help your readers solve the problems they are experiencing. And if it doesn’t take much writing to explain a solution, that’s fine. In this case keep your book shorter. Readers often want to find a practical, simple and clear answer to their problem. Give this to them.
4. Don’t be Afraid to Price your Books Higher
When pricing your nonfiction books don’t undervalue your work, and price your titles accordingly. Nonfiction works command a higher price because perceived value comes into play. Readers expect non-fiction books to be priced higher.
Price your nonfiction books too low and there is potential for people to believe the content in them will be of a poor quality. When pricing your nonfiction books for Western audiences, a price point of $2.99 or $3.99 can work well, as can $4.99. Test various price points and stick to the one, which generates most revenues for you.
5. Re-Use Existing Content
If you’re already involved in training, teaching or coaching people, you most likely have existing material. This could include notes, PowerPoint slides and training manuals. All your existing content can be very useful to help you write your nonfiction books. Be a little creative and think of how you can transform what material you have currently into a non-fiction book or a series of books.
Image credit: sillygwailo on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/hv1.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Hiten Vyas is the Founder and Managing Editor of eBooks India. He is also a prolific eBook writer with over 25 titles to his name.[/author_info] [/author]