Writing Your Nonfiction Book

This is a must-read book for anyone considering writing nonfiction from memoir to how to, from travel to biography. Whether you are an expert in your field or want to share life-changing experiences, Trish Nicholson's informative book will take you every step of the way. This book has been chosen as the set text for many writers' courses. Highly recommended.

Claiming to be the complete guide to anything is a bold claim indeed. The author promises in her introduction that she will lead you ‘a step at a time' through the whole process of producing and selling your non-fiction book. In my opinion, the author's claim is valid and her promise holds true. This guide book would work just as well for as fiction writing as it does for non-fiction. It is aimed at the complete beginner but there's plenty that could be useful to the more experienced writer, most especially indie author-publishers. The book is divided into three main sections – Planning, Writing and Editing, and Publishing and Marketing. At the end there is a comprehensive list of useful websites, books and a glossary. The advice offered is both general and specific and, indeed, as you read the book you see the author putting her that into practice. There is genre-specific guidance – for everything from travelogues to blogs. As Nicholson herself says there's, ‘enough scope here whether you intend to write on particle physics or brewing parsnip wine'. And there is more general advice on editing, routes to publishing and how to sell and market your work. The book takes you through planning, plotting, point of view – yes these three are just as important in non-fiction as in fiction. There's advice on workspace and finding time to write. The author also covers how to carry out research, how to avoid plagiarism and explains about copyright. Again, all relevant to creators of fiction as well. Personally speaking, I found the sections on blogging, having a website and the use of social media to be particularly useful, as was the section on routes to publishing. I also especially liked the sections on how to write blurbs of various lengths depending on their purpose, and on how to pitch your work both to publishers and readers. Nicholson recommends that you read the book straight through and then re-read as you write. And she says that ‘If you have followed each step with me so far you have achieved by now a thoroughly prepared manuscript, a decision as to how you will pursue its publication and the beginnings of an author platform'. As I said at the start of this review, whether you're a novice or an old-hand, drawn to writing fact or made-up stuff, a prospective or actual traditionally or independently published author, you're sure to find something of use here. I hope to have shown that this book goes beyond the mission of its title. This an essential ‘How To' manual for writers of every sort.

Having reviewed many books on how to write/edit/market your book they all have some good tips, but this one has the lot! In fact one could say it's the ‘real deal.' Not having read author Trish Nicholson's other published work, I can't speak for her prowess as an author, but I can say that Writing Your Nonfiction Book is a superb collection of everything one needs to know about writing – from defining your subject through to marketing the finished product. Aimed at nonfiction writers, the content applies equally to fiction (for example writing style, narrators and points of view, plotting the action, writing people as characters). The contents pages are impressive – catchy and informative chapter titles and key points that outline exactly what one can expect to find. As with any good nonfiction book, each chapter ends with ‘What to do now.' Each chapter has plenty of examples (many from famous authors) to illustrate key points and the book is also extremely well edited. I was able to pick up really useful points – plus I actually learnt something. I was particularly impressed with the sections on grammar such as sentence construction, use of tense and so on. I actually thought Nicholson had missed a point that had always perplexed me – the use of a dash (–) in a sentence, but no, there it was a few pages later. I think ‘must read' is too hackneyed a phrase to describe this book, but if you're an author, I strongly recommend you go out and buy it.