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\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n The first step is to come up with your idea, and validate it to make sure it is something that will sell.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
Determine What Problem Your Nonfiction Book Solves<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When it comes to nonfiction writing, it's common for beginning ideas to be a bit vague. It's easy to have a general concept in mind, but to truly make your book a success, you need to do market research to ensure there's an audience for your work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This research will help you narrow down your focus and identify the specific problem your book will solve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In most cases, nonfiction books are written to solve a specific problem<\/strong>. Whether it's a how-to guide on a particular topic, or a self-help book addressing a certain issue, these types of books are meant to provide readers with valuable information that can help them in some way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Side note: there are some genres, such as history books, creative nonfiction, or memoirs, that don't quite fit into this mold. But even in these cases, it's still important to understand why people want to read it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When doing market research, it's important to answer the five W's of your book: the who<\/strong>, what<\/strong>, where<\/strong>, when<\/strong>, and why<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By answering these questions, you'll be able to identify your niche and craft a book that truly resonates with readers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before you completely narrow down your story or topic, you need to know if it's a good idea or not. To do this, you need to run through four steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you find your book topic is not profitable, you can still write it. But if that's the case, you will have to resort to different marketing tactics. You will need to focus on finding the right market somewhere other than Amazon, and getting them interested in reading your book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read more in our article on book idea validation<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to market research for your book, the most important part is understanding your audience. Without a clear understanding of who you're writing for, it will be difficult to create a book that truly resonates with readers. Counterintuitively, you want to narrow down your audience as much as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the best ways to narrow down your audience is by creating a customer avatar. <\/strong>This is a single person that represents your ideal reader. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The more specific you can make this person, the better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It's important to think about things like their gender, age, background, education level, family situation, and even how much money they make. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The more specific you can get, the more you'll understand about the kinds of problems they're facing, and how your book can help them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having a customer avatar in mind can help you make important decisions about your book, such as what types of information to include, what tone to use, and even what types of marketing to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It also helps to think of your customer avatar when you are writing as well so you are writing with a specific person in mind and that will help you to keep your writing more focused. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Outlining is the next part, and is particularly important for nonfiction books.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n You want to make sure you are covering all the subjects thoroughly in your nonfiction book outline, and nothing is lost in translation. Here are some ideas to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have a clear understanding of your target audience and the problem your book will solve, it's time to start brainstorming ideas. If you already know what your book is about, this is the time to think about how to structure your book and what to include in it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you're still not sure what your book is about, this is the time to explore different possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When brainstorming ideas, it's important not to hold back. Write down everything that comes to mind, even if it doesn't seem like a good fit at first. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To help generate ideas, try brainstorming with a group of people, whether it's friends, family or other nonfiction writers. They may have insights you haven\u2019t considered and the exchange of thoughts can be very productive. Also, you could explore other books in your niche and look for inspiration, or research the latest trends and best practices in your niche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, don't be afraid to experiment and try out different things. Brainstorming is a creative process and the more ideas you have to work with, the better your final book will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After brainstorming ideas, it's time to dive into research. Research is the best way to truly understand what your book should talk about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you find that no one has written about your topic before, it might be a sign that the topic may not be as helpful as you think. So, it's important to be open to the possibility of changing the topic or pivoting in a different direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The research process should involve looking through a variety of sources such as books written by others, online articles, podcasts and YouTube videos, interviews, and anything else that may be relevant to your topic. This will give you a good idea of what to cover, but also what gaps in knowledge still exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you research, make sure to gather all unique pieces of data into your notes. Organize the information by topic or subtopic, and make sure to include the source of each piece of information. This will be useful later when you're writing your book and need to cite your sources or refer back to specific information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Research is a crucial step in the book-writing process, and the more time you spend doing it, the more valuable your book will be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It will help you to understand your topic more deeply and help you to better serve your readers. Remember, research is not just to back your claims but to improve the credibility of your book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I often talk about story structure<\/a> when it comes to fiction, but nonfiction books can benefit from using story structures as well. There are many different types of nonfiction story structures you can use, but here are a few examples to get you started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Using nonfiction story structures can be a great way to engage your readers and make your book more compelling. By using one of these structures, you can help your readers understand and connect with the information you're presenting in a more meaningful way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have your structure in place and your notes organized, it's time to weave it all together into something coherent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This can be a challenging step, as you'll need to take all the information you've gathered and figure out how to present it in a logical and easy-to-understand way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It's important to be selective with the information you include, as you'll likely have more than you can include in your book. This means that some things may need to be left out, as hard as that may be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have that all fleshed out and ready to go, it\u2019s time to move on to the next step\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Writing a book is the single most important step on this list, and often the hardest. So I\u2019ve assembled a few tips to get you started.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n Choose the best book writing software for individual project, consider software like Atticus, Scrivener, Ulysses and Microsoft word or Google Docs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atticus is the best book writing software for overall capability, including tracking software and formatting. It costs $147 as a one-time fee and works on multiple platforms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Plus, it is optimized for nonfiction, with certain features that make the nonfiction process SOOOOO much easier, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is my #1 recommendation for authors who want to write and format books of any kind!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scrivener<\/a> is the next best option for organization and customization, but it has a steep learning curve and costs $49 (one-time) for Mac or Windows. $19.99 for iOS devices and reduced pricing of $41.65 is available for \u201cstudents & academics\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use Kindlepreneur\u2019s unique discount code (KINDLEPRENEUR) to get 20% OFF your purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ulysses<\/a> is a customizable and sleek book writing software that syncs automatically and has a drag-and-drop functionality, but only works on Apple products and costs $5.99\/month or $49.99\/year, but with a free 2-week trial. <\/p>\n\n\n\nValidate Your Book Idea<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Determine Your Audience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n Part 2: Outline the Book<\/h2>\n \n
Brainstorm Ideas<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Research<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Use Nonfiction Story Structures<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Put it All Together<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n Part 3: Write the Book<\/h2>\n \n
Determine the Best Writing Software<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Atticus<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Scrivener<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Ulysses<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Microsoft Word<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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