8 Steps to Writing Your First Non-Fiction Book

Are you interested in writing a non-fiction book but don’t know where to start? There’s no need to wait for inspiration. Just follow this 8-step guide and make your dream a reality. Writing your first non-fiction book can be exciting, enlightening, and a little intimidating. It’s a chance to share your expertise with the world in an engaging way. Non-fiction writing is also a different beast from fiction writing. Where fiction writers have more freedom to develop their characters and their plots, non-fiction writers need to use their text as a vessel for information that speaks directly to their readers. The good news is that with these steps it doesn’t have to be overwhelming!

1. Get Organized

You’re going to need a place to keep your ideas. If you have a notebook, computer, tablet or smartphone handy, you can use that as a repository for your notes. But if not—or even if you do—you might want to consider using voice recording software on your phone or computer as well.

Voice recorder apps are easy to use and can help keep track of conversations with others while they’re still fresh in your mind. For example, if there’s someone who’s willing to give you feedback on the idea(s) behind your book (which would be an amazing gift), record their thoughts so that later on when it comes time for editing, you’ll have them at hand rather than having lost them due to poor memory or lack of space on paper/electronic mediums where they were originally recorded in handwritten form.

2. Find Your Topic and Focus

Finding a topic is often the hardest part of writing a book. There are so many things to consider, including your interest and expertise, reader preferences and needs, market trends, and competition. In this section we’ll help you find your topic by breaking it down into three main considerations:

• Passion: Do you have a passion for the subject? Are you an expert? If not, do you have enough experience or research to create credible content that will engage readers?
• Knowledge & Experience: What would be most interesting about writing about this topic? What information do people want most from this type of book? How can I write about this in a way that engages readers and gives them everything they need from it in the shortest amount of time possible (but still give them value)? For example, if someone wants a quick solution, don’t just tell them. Show them how exactly what works.
• Competition: If there isn’t much written about your chosen topic yet (or at all), then maybe it’s time for YOU TO WRITE A BOOK ABOUT IT!

3. Determine Who Is Your Audience

Once you’ve figured out your topic and written a first draft, it’s time to think about who your audience is.

This is an important step in the process because knowing who you are writing for will influence every aspect of your book: what tone you use, what language you use, and how much research you include.

There are four main ways of finding out who your audience is:

• Observation – talk to people.
• Surveys – ask questions.
• Research – look at the data available on the subject (e.g., books by other authors)
• Experimentation – test ideas yourself

4. Identify the benefits of reading your book

To begin, you should ask yourself what the benefit and emotional appeal of reading this book would be.

For example: “The benefit of reading this book is that it will give me a deeper understanding of how to approach my job search from a strategic perspective. It will help me learn how to network effectively, get more interviews and ultimately land my dream job!”

Next, ask yourself these questions:

• What are your goals for writing your book? Are there any personal or professional ambitions that could be enhanced by having written an advice guide? Are these ambitions already being met in some way—perhaps through other types of work that you do on a daily basis (like blogging)? Or are they still unfulfilled because no one has taken them seriously enough yet?
• Why do you want people to read this book? What message do you hope they take away from it—and why is it important for them to hear that message now?

5. Get into the writing habit

It’s a fact: writing is a habit. The more you do it, the better you get at it. At first, your writing will be slow and awkward. But if you stick with it, over time your speed will increase, and your sentences will become clearer and more concise.

In order to develop this habit, there are some things that are helpful to keep in mind:

• Set aside time each day—even if only for 30 minutes—to write down whatever comes into your head without judging yourself or stopping to consider whether or not what comes out makes sense (it probably won’t). This is called freewriting. It’s important that this time doesn’t have any distractions from the outside world such as television or music (or even talking on the phone). You should just be focused on getting words onto paper as quickly as possible without thinking about them too much first!
• Then come back later and read what was written during freewriting; decide which parts of those ideas might make good chapters for the book project at hand; then reword those parts so they flow better together (and possibly add some details) before turning them into complete sentences through rewriting/editing processes.

6. Outline your book

Organizing your book is the next step in writing a book. You want to make sure that you’re ready to write before starting so that you don’t end up getting stuck halfway through because you didn’t know what was going on. The best way I’ve found to organize my books is with an outline.

Outlines can help you stay motivated with your book and keep track of what’s happening throughout the story. They can keep all your ideas organized and straightened out, too! But most importantly, they help you stay on schedule.

7. Determine when you will write

Writing is a habit. Like any other habit (or addiction), you need to make it a part of your routine. If you’re not sure where to start, consider the following tips:

• Set aside at least 30 minutes a day for writing—even if it’s just for one or two sessions per week. This could be 30 minutes in the morning before breakfast or 30 minutes before bedtime. Whatever works best for you! Just remember that consistency is key when it comes to writing nonfiction books.
• Keep an eye on how much time passes between writing sessions and try not to go more than three days without putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard).
• Even if you don’t feel like writing today doesn’t mean that’s true tomorrow; however, if your mind is clear then there’s no reason why tomorrow shouldn’t be today!

8. Don’t worry about making it perfect

You can always make changes later. I’m serious, you can.

Your first draft doesn’t have to be perfect. Remember that great writing comes from re-writing. In other words, it’s all about editing, but your first draft can be just that, a very rough draft. You are still “behind the curtain.” Your friends will be your editor or “editors” as I recommend both a developmental editor and a final editor and beta reads by other experts in your field. In the future, I’ll share more about the editing process and your options. The most important thing is to take your time to write a great book. You will be glad you did.

Conclusion

Writing a non-fiction book is a skill you can learn, and it’s a necessary one for your career. It will help you gain credibility, improve your knowledge base, and make you more employable. Whether you’re looking for more readers or new clients, or just want to make your expertise known to the world at large, writing a book is the way to do it.

There are plenty of resources out there to help you get started. Check out some of my other posts on this site for tips on creating and marketing your book.