How to Write a Nonfiction Book – Nonfiction Book Writing Simplified
Non-fiction books are one of the most popular categories of books ever in the world and this is such a big grouping of genres that you can find anything and everything under this category.
Non-fiction books comprise everything from books on history to books on biographies and autobiographies as well as academic texts.
They also include works on journalism and books on any particular technical topic as well as travel guides and much more. We also get self-help and guide books as well as joker book books and much more.
Nonfiction is one of the most popular generous of books and makes up for about 45.5% of total book sales of 2022.
Non-fiction books are so popular in fact that they actually outsell fiction books by a lot globally and this speaks volumes on the market health of nonfiction books.
The nonfiction book market is so vibrant that it is actually quite easy for you to shine in a sector of the market that is already more popular than the other ones.
If you have to look at the market health of nonfiction books then this is a $15.1 billion dollar industry that grows by at least 2% each year.
Nonfiction books are known to produce bestsellers quite frequently and if you are planning on writing a nonfiction book, you should not miss this opportunity for upward market growth and just begin your work on writing a book.
If you are doubtful on how to write a non-fiction book then you do not need to worry because we are here for you. We are going to tell you the best tips on how to write a non-fiction book and this blog is going to be about non-fiction book writing tips that everyone can follow.
Before we do that, let us look at some examples of non-fiction bestsellers that can inspire you.
Examples Of Non-Fiction Bestsellers
“Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” by Yuval Noah Harari
The first nonfiction bestseller we are going to talk about is “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” by Yuval Noah Harari.
This is a fantastic book that talks about the human species from the earliest days to the present and how humans have evolved and the evolution of other species as well.
This book is a treasure trove of information from the agricultural revolution to the scientific revolution and much more.
“Astrophysics for People in a Hurry” by Neil deGrasse Tyson
“Astrophysics for People in a Hurry” by Neil deGrasse Tyson is the second example of a nonfiction bestseller on our list and is exactly what it sounds like, a book that simplifies complex astrophysics concepts for people without a scientific background.
If you read this book then you are going to have a nice understanding of concepts like black holes and dark matter as well as the complex correlation between space and time and so much more.
“The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” by Mark Manson
This is arguably one of the most popular book titles out there and also one of the most popular bestsellers and we are talking about “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” by Mark Manson.
This book is all about self-help and talks about the things you should really care about in your life and this book contains important advice regarding how you can face your life struggles.
If you want to focus on what truly matters in your life then this is a very honest book that talks about it.
“Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson
“Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson is one of the most popular biographies out there and it is the biography of Steve Jobs and talks about the life of Steve Jobs and his role in the founding of Apple.
If you want to know everything about Steve Jobs based on some of the most accurate sources in the world regarding him including interviews with his family, friends and colleagues then you should pick this up.
This book is excellent for understanding how a tech genius and marketing genius is born.
“The Wright Brothers” by David McCullough
And finally, we have “The Wright Brothers” by David McCullough. This is a historical biography about the first two people who invented human flight.
Yes, this is the book that talks in great detail about the story of Wilbur and Orville Wright. This book talks about their failures and challenges as well as achievements and is a testament to courage and determination.
Structure Of a Non-Fiction Book
Before we move on to the important tips to keep in mind for nonfiction book writing, it is important that we glance over the structure of a nonfiction book to have a better understanding of what to write.
– Title
The first and most important bit of your nonfiction book is the title page and contains the book’s title as well as the author’s name and the subtitle and even information about the publisher.
You must understand that the title is the most important hook of the book and that is why you need to make it unique because all it needs to do is to draw the attention of the reader and the body of the book will do the rest.
An example of a very carefully and uniquely crafted title would be “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” by Mark Manson. Some would call it inappropriate and some call it unique but we can all agree that it is effective.
– Acknowledgement
The title page is followed by the acknowledgement section which contains gratitude to everyone who has helped you with the information of the book and the creation of the book.
This section becomes even more important for nonfiction books because when it comes to nonfiction you need to compile together a lot of accurate information which you might need to source from individuals and organisations.
So, this is where you get to say thanks to all those people.
– Contents
The contents or the table of contents contains a list of chapters and topics as well as subjects the book is about and it is chronologically set with the page numbers.
This is just a navigational tool and should not be confused with the index which is different from the contents.
– Introduction
We now have the introduction to the nonfiction book which is exactly that, an introduction and a basic groundwork to help the readers understand the topic and the purpose of the book as well as what the book is about.
This is just a tool to help people understand more about the book without directly getting into the body of the text.
– Body
We finally have the body of the text and this is the most important part of the book and it contains the actual content of the book into various sections.
This is where the magic happens because the entire book is about this section and all the other sections of the book support this particular section.
– Conclusion
Up next is the conclusion and it just draws an end to the body of the text and concludes what the book was about.
This is similar to what you can find in a research paper with the results being the conclusion and similarly, this is an important section that talks about the final thoughts of the ideas present in the book.
– Epilogue
While this is optional and some authors choose not to have it, the purpose of this section is to provide further context about the different topics of the book and to help the readers understand the book better.
– Appendices
If you have really enjoyed the book and you want even more additional supplementary material that is just not important for the body of the text then you can find it in the appendices.
– Notes
Notes are very important for a nonfiction book because they contain additional information about the book as well as additional explanations and most importantly citations and references.
– Index
The contents and the index are similar in the way that they fulfil the role of navigation for the readers but the index actually indexes all the different topics and sub-topics in alphabetical order.
– Author info
The author’s info is self-explanatory and it is about information regarding the author and their motivation to write the book.
This section also contains details about the author’s prior work and also their background in the topic and other important information about the author.
Important Tips for Nonfiction Book Writing
Topic Identification
If you are planning on writing a non-fiction book then the first thing you need to do is to figure out the topic of the book.
When it comes to nonfiction, you can have multiple subgenres and sub-topics within this category which can include everything from biographies to history books and academic books and so much more.
It can just happen that you might be an expert in multiple fields like academics or even history and that is why you need to choose what you are going to write on.
You must choose a topic that you are best at because a second best does not create a bestseller, you need to have that level of passion and determination regarding the topic as it is not possible with any other topic and you need to do something like that.
Market Research
After you have chosen the topic, you must do market research. When it comes to market research, it just means that you need to understand what the non-fiction book market is like for the topic you have chosen.
An author in today’s day and age simply cannot just be an author because they also have to be a marketing expert and the first rule of marketing is to understand the market
You can take the help of multiple statistics in order to find out the health of the market regarding your topic and this will help you also understand your target audience.
While it is up for debate whether you should write for your audience or whether you should not be influenced by anyone during the writing, we leave this decision up to you.
Topic Research
After you have done market research, it is time for you to do topic research. Let us assume that you are an expert at your topic and that you have diligently chosen the topic.
The thing with any topic in nonfiction book writing is that new information can come up all the time.
For example, if you are planning on writing a book about smartphones, you might be an expert at how smartphones work. But new phones are going to come out all the time. It makes sense to update and brush up on your knowledge before writing the book.
That is why you must always do topic research and refresh your understanding of your topic before you embark on the journey of writing the book.
When you write the book, you must make sure that the book is updated with the latest and greatest information and worth your reader’s time.
Narrative Planning
Since it is a book and not a research paper, you need a narrative that progresses naturally and that people who are uninitiated with the topic can understand.
This means you might be an expert on aviation and aviation history but if you have to write a book on aviation history then you need to understand how storytelling works instead of just adding specifics of aeroplane parts.
That is why you must set the narrative yourself and find your writer’s voice which is this unique way you present information and stories.
Writers are made or broken by the quality of the narration and this is something you must pay attention to.
Goals And Objectives
We know it is hard to write a book and you might not have the time to write the book regularly but you must try and do it anyway.
That is why the best tip we can give out to any new author would be to set out a few hours every day to write the book.
This will help you set your schedule into something that includes the book.
Additionally, you must create a few achievable goals and objectives that are not too easy but not too difficult that it is impossible to do.
You must strive towards reaching those goals and objectives all the time because if you start trying to achieve them then you might even achieve them or be ahead of time by the end of the body of the text.
Book Outline Creation
Just like how it is easier to travel somewhere if you have a map of that place, it is easier to write a book if you have a map of the journey of writing the book.
We are talking about the outline of the book because any topic can have multiple avenues you can go into. However, you can get disoriented pretty quickly if you do not have a list of things you want to include in the book.
That is where creating a book outline is very important. Having a book outline will make sure that you always have a macro vision of the entire book so that you know which chapter comes after which and what to include in each chapter and its topic and sub-topic.
It is like having a map of the entire book next to you which will be very helpful during the actual writing part.
Writing
Speaking of the writing part, we come to the most important aspect of the entire book and this is when you have to write the book.
The process of writing a fiction and non-fiction book can be different from each other but the core principles are the same.
When you plan on writing the book, you must have every resource material next to you and in the case of fiction it can be plot lines and in the case of nonfiction, it can be data and numbers.
While you are writing the book, you must make sure to avoid any kind of distractions and by that, we mean things like social media, family or any other kind of work.
We hope this blog will help you write the next non-fiction bestseller and if you have already completed writing the entire manuscript and you want to publish it, we are here for you.
We are Orange Publishers and we are one of the fastest-growing and most popular legacy book publishing companies.
Nearly 50% of our publications are nonfiction and we would love to add your book to that celebrated collection of books.
We have extensive experience in non-fiction book publishing and all our operations are in-house and we would love to get in touch with you regarding your next masterpiece.
