WRITING NONFICTION
turning
thoughts into books
(Fifth Edition,
Completely Revised)
by
Dan Poynter
Smashwords Edition
* * * * *
Published on Smashwords by:
Para
Publishing
Post Office Box 8206
Santa Barbara, CA
93118-8206
U.S.A.
info@ParaPublishing.com
http://ParaPublishing.com
Writing Nonfiction: Turning Thoughts Into Books
5th edition,
completely revised
Copyright 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009 by Dan
Poynter
Portions of this book previously appeared in Write &
Grow Rich
ISBN: 978-1-56860-122-9
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Smashwords Edition License Notes
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* * * * *
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THIS BOOK:
Read this before you write your next book—it will streamline your activities.
—Travelwriter Marketletter
Creative people are more productive when they have the best tools. Get the best computer you can afford and this book.
—Sandy Whelchel,
National Writers Association
Dan shares his experience and insights in a readable, clear and educational way.
—Ray Newton,
National Coordinator
Reader’s
Digest Writing Workshops
I find the contents to be a treasury of wisdom, usable suggestions, and resource information that will be of much benefit to would-be authors. Its broad coverage also includes much that will appeal to old hands such as myself. I heartily recommend it.
—Nat Bodian, author,
The Joy of Publishing
Dan is a genius in our business. Absorb his brilliance, wisdom, and re-duplicable insights by reading and employing this book. He’ll show your how to profitably break into print and keep the money rollin’ in.
—Mark Victor Hansen, Co-creator,
Chicken Soup for
the Soul series
Busy people have trouble finding time to write. Savvy authors do several things at the same time. Dan Poynter shows you how.
—Hannelore Hahn,
Founder and Executive
Director,
International Women’s Writing Guild
Writing Nonfiction is an invaluable, recommended addition to all personal, creative writing seminar, and public library writer reference collections.
—The Bookwatch
I’d trust Dan’s word, recommendations and predictions over about any publisher, editor, agent or book marketing consultant I’ve met—and I’ve met the “supposed” best.
—Jay Abraham,
Getting Everything You Can Out of All
You’ve Got
This book offers the best tools and the best resources for becoming a successful writer.
—Maryanne Raphael,
Writers World
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a story but just can’t imagine how to write it down.
—Bob Holt,
Book Forum of San Diego
Dan is extremely generous with his time and the information he shares with his students, fellow authors and potential writers.
—Alan Rothman,
Sparetime Magazine
Poynter is an insider. He knows the publishing business warts and all. He’s practical.
—Curtis Casewit,
Books for Mature Adults
Poynter’s talent is to get writers motivated to get words on paper by showing them how to break down the project into palpable chunks, establish a schedule, and then bring all the parts together.
—Laughing Bear Newsletter
Concentrating on the nonfiction book, Poynter takes you from selection of your subject through research, choosing your title and cover, to publishing choices.
—Write Now! Magazine
Every nonfiction writer needs a roadmap. Whether you are keyboarding or dictating, this book will guide your way.
—Michael Larsen,
Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency
Every professional speaker needs to write a book for increased credibility and a passive-income source that keeps on giving. Dan’s system is tailor-made for road-warrior speakers who can’t seem to find the time to write.
—Terry Paulson, Ph.D.,
past president,
National Speakers
Association
If I’d had this approach to writing when I was writing ads for electronic products and BluBlocker sunglasses, my life would have been a lot easier.
—Joe Sugarman,
president,
JS&A/BluBlocker Corporation
Carefully researched, thoroughly documented, and well presented.
—Cape Cod Writers’ Conference
Wave Length
A handy, concise and informative sourcebook … Expertly organized and chock full of hard facts, helpful hints, and pertinent illustrations … Recommended for all libraries.
—The Southeastern Librarian
* * * * *
Contents
What Your Book Will Do for You
The New Book Model
What to Write
Selecting Your Subject
Researching Your Topic and Checking for Competition
Your Book’s Title and Subtitle
Your Book’s Covers
Getting Organized
Setting Up Your Binder
Your Writing System
Finding a Publisher
Finding an Agent
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Dan Poynter fell into publishing. He spent eight years researching a labor of love. Realizing that no publisher would be interested in a technical treatise on the parachute, he went directly to a printer. The orders poured in, and the author was suddenly a publisher.
In 1973, he became interested in a new aviation sport but couldn’t find a book on the subject, so the skydiver and pilot sat down and wrote one. So far, Hang Gliding has sold more than 130,000 copies—a best seller!
Continuing to write, Dan has produced more than 120 books and revisions, some of which have been translated into Spanish, Japanese, British English, Russian and German. His books are loaded with facts and figures and detailed inside information. They are always up to date because he revises them before going back to press.
Dan is a pioneer. He wrote the first book on hang gliding, a circular book on Frisbee play and the first book on word processors. He published the first laser-typeset book in 1981. He was the first to send a galley to Publishers Weekly electronically in 1983. He embraced the fax in the mid-80s and pioneered fax-on-demand and to sell reports. He has been selling downloadable reports from his web site since 1996.
A consultant to the book industry, the Publishers Marketing Association recently presented him with the Benjamin Franklin Award for Lifetime Achievement. Dan is a past vice president of the PMA.
Dan is a frequent speaker (a Certified Speaking Professional) at writers’ conferences and many other industry events. Dan runs his own publishing company, Para Publishing, in Santa Barbara.
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The book writing and publishing industries are in a state of accelerating evolutionary change. Publishing companies are growing and consolidating; emerging technologies are transporting information at the speed of light; the reservoir of text is growing ever larger; and the thirst for information is enormous.
The need for determined research and superior writing has never been greater. These industries require new ideas, new methods and new energies.
At the annual Maui Writers Conference, we have managed to bring writers, editors, agents and publishers together in an historic conspiracy to produce better books. Never before have these disparate groups worked together as they do in Maui (and then all year round).
Dan Poynter has subscribed to this new writing/ publishing paradigm for years and now he reveals it to you in this book. When it comes to nonfiction, Dan is the top coach for writing, publishing and, most importantly, promoting.
Read this book now; start on your book today, and I look forward to seeing you in Maui.
John Tullius
Founder and Director,
Maui Writers Conference
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I have not attempted to cite in the text all the authorities and sources consulted in the preparation of this book. To do so would require more space than is available. The list would include departments of the federal government, libraries, industrial institutions, Web sources and many individuals.
Valuable information (and inspiration) were contributed by David Beswick; Gordon Burgett; Charles “Stretch” Harris, Esq.; John Favot; Alan Gadney; Bill Frank; Susan Fulton; Dr. Bud Banis; Michael Kramer; Robin Kinkead; Rebecca Morgan; Stacy Peña of IBM Media Relations; Ellen Reid; Ruth Rose; Dan Seidman; Kenea Maraffio; Lorna McLeod; Barbara Short; Laurant Carrer; Arlene Prunkl; Charles Kent, Esq.; and Joel Gould of Dragon Systems.
Melanie Rigney did the copy editing; Arlene Prunkl did the proofreading; Robert Howard provided another great cover design and Carolyn Porter did the design, typesetting and layout.
I sincerely thank all these fine people, and I know they are proud of their contributions to the book community as well as to this work.
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Forget what you’ve heard about book writing, publishing and promoting; the model just changed—for the better! Now you may print shorter runs at prices that make sense, publish your “books” in other (electronic) ways, sell them automatically and promote them for practically nothing. You will discover how to wring maximum value out of your work. This is an exciting time to be a writer.
To be successful, a book needs writing, design, production and promotion. I organized and automated some of these functions years ago. The last elements just recently fell into place to establish the New Book Model. You will love it!
There is not enough room in one manual to include everything that you should know about writing nonfiction. Consequently, Para Publishing has prepared many supplemental reports (called documents, special reports or instant reports) that are referenced in relevant places throughout this book. You may not want or need these supplements right now, but when you do, you can find them on our web site (See the section titled “A Complete List of our Products and Services” at http://parapublishing.com/getpage.cfm?file=products.html or by contacting us by email, telephone or fax.
I am also including numerous web site addresses for more information. If you are reading a downloadable edition of this book, you may click on the URLs and go directly to the sites.
My system works. In the back of The Self-Publishing Manual, I ask readers to send me their books once they publish. I receive 15 to 20 books each week.
Thank you for investing your time and money to allow me to share this new book-writing/production concept with you. I will make sure your time and money are well invested.
Dan Poynter,
Santa Barbara
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This book is designed to provide information about the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher and authors are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If legal or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
It is not the purpose of this manual to reprint all the information that is otherwise available to authors and other creative people but to complement, amplify and supplement other texts. For more information, see the many references in the Appendix.
Book writing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Anyone who decides to write a book must expect to invest a lot of time and effort without any guarantee of success. Books do not write themselves and they do not sell by themselves. People write and promote books.
Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible. However, there may be mistakes both typographical and in content. Therefore, this text should be used only as a general guide and not as the ultimate source of writing and publishing information. Furthermore, this manual contains information on writing and publishing only up to the printing date.
The purpose of this manual is to educate and entertain. The author and Para Publishing shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.
If you do not wish to be bound by the above, you may return this book to the publisher for a full refund.
* * * * *
Chapter One
What Your Book Will Do for You
Would you like to be recognized as someone who knows what he or she is talking about? Be someone worth listening to? Would you like to get paid for what you know? Would you like a job that is stimulating, interesting and challenging—a job you look forward to? Can you imagine doing what you love and loving what you do?
There are many justifications for writing a nonfiction book—fame, fortune, helping other people or fulfilling a personal mission. Let’s take a look at each of these reasons.
Fame
Imagine being a published author. Picture people coming up to you at a meeting with a copy of your book and requesting an autograph. Visualize passing a bookstore and seeing your book in the window. Consider being interviewed for an article. Imagine the fame that comes with being published.
A book provides you with more credibility than anything else you could do: more credibility than for an audio CD, a video DVD, a seminar, a screenplay or a song. People place a higher value on a book—even though the same amount of work may have gone into the production of those other means of expression. The fact is that authors are highly valued in our society.
•
“Recognition is everything you write for; it’s much more than money. You want your books to be valued. It’s the basic aspiration of the serious writer.”
—William Kennedy,
novelist and Pulitzer Prize winner
•
People think that if you wrote a book, you know something. And you probably do. When you think about it, you are writing your book from the very best research plus personal experience. You will research relevant books and articles, distill their contents down to the essentials, direct your writing toward a specific audience and illustrate it with your personal experiences. You are earning an advanced degree in the subject by conducting the research and writing the paper. Your book validates your expertise and lends more credibility to what you say. You do “know something.”
•
“Writing ranks among the top 10 percent of professions in terms of prestige.”
—Jean Strouse,
Newsweek
•
I serve as an expert witness in skydiving cases. I am not a lawyer or an engineer and yet I advise attorneys, judges and juries on what happened (or what should have happened) in parachute mishaps. My eight technical books on parachutes and popular books on skydiving give me the credibility to be hired and the credibility to be believed.
•
Once your book is published and you become an authority, your value and opportunities increase. You can charge more for seminars, articles, speeches and consulting. Imagine the credibility and recognition your book will bring you.
Radio/TV interviews. Every day, more than 10,200 guests appear on some 4,250 local news, interview and talk shows across the United States. And about 95 percent of the guests do not have recognizable names—yet.
Radio and television talk shows need interesting guests to attract listeners and viewers. Most people think that authors are experts and celebrities, so most of the guests booked on these shows are authors. Your book is actually your entrée to the airwaves.
Advertising products on the air is expensive and, since people are skeptical of advertising pitches, they usually tune them out. Interviews, however, are editorial matter. People listen to editorial matter. Interviews are more effective than advertising and they are free. They can be an inexpensive way to promote books.
•
“Many people love to go on radio and television. In fact, I think some people write books just to get on the air.”
•
Autograph parties or book signings are a form of product promotion not open to producers of other goods or services. Bookstores, both chain and independent, often stage events to draw potential customers into their stores. Authors are the draw.
•
“Never do an autographing; always offer a mini-seminar. Attract buyers to your autograph parties.”
—Terri Lonier,
author, Working Solo
•
An autograph party says, “Come and appreciate me (and buy a book),” a seminar says, “Come on down and I will give you something free (information) that will improve your life.” Always think of the benefit to the potential customer. How can you lure them out of the house and down to the store?
•
Patricia Bragg (Health-Science Publishing) publishes health and fitness books. To promote her mini-seminar at a local bookshop in Santa Barbara, she posted handbills in all the local health food stores. Then she made an emailing to her customer list within a 50-mile (driving) radius. The store was packed and she was “on” for more than four hours—until closing time. The store sold out on many of her titles and gave out rain checks. http://www.bragg.com.
•
“For successful people, autographing scraps of paper for adoring fans is a duty. For authors, autographing (sold) books is money in the bank.”
•
These mini-seminars may lead to more seminars or even a series of them for other groups at other locations.
•
“Books are a form of immortality. The words of men whose bodies are dust still live in their books.”
—Wilfred A. Peterson,
The Art of Living by Day
•
Your book will be a new profit center. There is money to be made in books.
•
It was a long flight home from the Maui Writers Conference and the guy in the next seat struck up a conversation. He finally got around to “And what do you do?”
I sat up proudly and announced, “I’m a writer.”
“No, no,” he quickly replied, “what do you do for a living?”
•
There are some starving writers out there, but most of them are working on fiction, entertainment that is more difficult to sell.
Fiction is a diversion and has to battle with other forms of entertainment for people’s time. Fiction competes with reading other books, going to a movie or taking your kids to the zoo.
People are very short of time today. You can see them on the freeway trying to save time by driving, eating and talking on the cell phone—all at the same time.
Nonfiction is valuable information that people buy to save time or money. They are willing to pay you for the short-course in your subject and they will devote time to reading it. Worldwide, nonfiction outsells fiction by $55 billion to $25 billion.
Most publishers will urge you to work on your nonfiction first and to save your fiction until you can afford it. If you write nonfiction, put it in book form and publish it yourself, you can do very well.
•
“Fiction writers tend to be creative, interesting people who are fun at parties. But nonfiction writers drive better cars.”
•
Many people are working on their own schedule, giving the world a piece of their mind and getting paid for it. This book concentrates on writing nonfiction, providing valuable information people want and need on how to do things.
•