What Should I Write About?

Once you take that leap of faith and decide to write a nonfiction book, it’s a good idea to have a clear picture of what you want to write about.

You may have a burning desire to share a topic very close to your heart, or could be unsure and lacking inspiration.

Usually, people want to write a book because they have something to say or are committed to sharing their knowledge, wisdom, or experience.

Perhaps you want to offer insight into a problem that you have the answers to, such as how to increase eCom sales. You might be keen to tell the story of how you single-handedly rowed across the Atlantic, or give an account of life in 1920s Manchester.

The list is endless of what you can write about and if you are having trouble deciding, then there is one question that you need to ask yourself.

WHY are you writing this book?

If you don’t know the answer to this key question, you may feel a little bit lost at first.

Who Will Read My Book?

The best way to approach this is to have a target group or audience in mind from the offset. Think about who will find your book interesting enough to buy it.

Let’s say you want to write about your long career in hotel management. Who is more likely to be interested in that? What age group, gender or background are we talking about? Knowing this will help you to focus on making sure your book not only offers the right information but also that it is written in an appropriate style. Then, when it comes to promoting it, you will know where to direct your marketing strategy.

It may be tempting to imagine that the wider you cast your net, the better, but this is a mistake. The narrower your definition of ‘reader’, the more effective your marketing campaign will be. Remember that nonfiction usually slots into a specific subgenre, so writing for the whole world is a bit like throwing bait into the whole ocean and seeing what bites.

Creating A Great Outline

Now that you know what you want to write about (hopefully), it’s time to get down to the nuts and bolts of planning your book.

You may feel that this is the most difficult stage of all because, although you have a lot of ideas about what you want to say, they are randomly scattered in your brain. That’s why you really need to create a great outline.

A book outline is similar to a journey that you plan on your sat nav: it gives you the starting point, shows you which streets, towns, or cities you will be traveling through, and knows what your final destination is. It’s like a roadmap to prevent you from getting lost and will navigate you through the whole book writing process.

With a good book outline, you will be able to write more quickly, follow a solid structure, avoid that annoying blank page syndrome, know in which direction you are heading, and eventually, produce your first draft.

Creating The Structure Of Your Book

You have now nailed your nonfiction book outline and are probably raring to go. But, hold on for just one more minute. Have you thought about how it’s going to be structured? If not, read on.

A lot of people rush to get their book finished without putting too much thought into what they are actually saying. Although it might make perfect sense to them while writing, the poor reader may find the content confusing, repetitive, or rambling.

Spending a little bit of time to think through how you want to present your ideas can make all the difference. It needs to be well organized – it needs structure.

If your book outline is your GPS to get you from A to B, your book structure is the actual car you are traveling in.

It’s the chassis, the engine, and the four wheels that move the reader through the book. That’s why it’s so important to make sure it follows a logical sequence. But, how exactly do you create and craft that?