Nonfiction Craft

This excerpt from Nina Amir’s Change the World One Book at a Time examines how nonfiction authors can best effect change in readers.

Bulleted lists and unbridled text formatting might work online, but overuse in a book can risk distracting readers instead of guiding them.

Nonfiction authors can adopt some of the tricks novelists use to make readers care deeply about the topic and want to keep turning the pages.

In a world changing at breakneck speed, how do you prevent a researched nonfiction book from being outdated by the time it is published?

The best way to support your book, especially in the nonfiction world, may be sharing your ideas freely long before the book appears in print.

One writer reflects on the importance of original reference material when a digitized version might be missing critical context.

Academics or experts writing for a broader audience than peers should consider framing complex facts through a personal lens.

Nonfiction writers have to decide where to collect their stories and how much to rely on their personal experience.

Asking yourself these questions can reveal whether your big idea is well suited to be a book—vs. a podcast, newsletter, or something else.

Academia lets writers get away with stringing together facts, but appealing to a general audience means constructing a compelling narrative.

A good editor can help a scholar ensure that the complexity of what they are writing about is intelligently and clearly conveyed.

One way to cultivate a loyal audience is by sharing compelling content, but it’s important to understand the needs of your target audience.

Too many books and not enough time? One author learns that speed-reading print and audiobook versions simultaneously can enhance retention.

In marketing, “proof of concept” means testing an idea for sales potential before going all-in. Here’s how to apply that to your book.

Many people argue using bad-faith tactics. Much more difficult is to engage the best ideas we disagree with, and explain our opposition clearly.

If you sit down to write and find that you can’t, the typical reason is that you don’t know what job the chapter is supposed to do.

Worried you’re not enough of an expert to write your book? That’s OK. You don’t need to be the annoying expert who knows it all. There’s another—far more effective—approach you can take when talking to readers.

The recently published LISTEN, WORLD! is a page turning biography of Elsie Robinson, the most read woman journalist of the twentieth century.

Bridging the gap between research and personal experience can become a book’s greatest strength—but it might require Herculean effort.

A book map—a visual representation of your book’s structure—will help you maintain momentum and ensure a smooth journey for your reader.

If your subject already has a large existing fandom, how can you quantify that audience, using the data to impress agents, publishers, and editors?

Along with sex and death, money is a topic with evergreen appeal. So when you write about money, you put the odds of a breakout on your side.

If you’d like to see your work in national publications—and get paid—tailor your essay to smoothly fit their voice and mission.

When writing a prescriptive nonfiction book, anticipating doubts and objections lets your readers feel seen and keeps them on the page.

Focusing on your “just right” reader—instead of trying to convey everything that every reader might need to know—can help combat overwhelm.